Benchmarking Property and Casualty Insurance Firm Sales/producer Training Practices in the United States
Author: William Yarbrough
Publisher:
Published: 2007
Total Pages: 154
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAbstract: The Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry is experiencing increasing competition from fewer firms fighting for decreasing premium growth. The nature of the industry creates limited opportunities for sustainable competitive advantage. Organizational competencies are arguably the best choice to pursue differentiation. Studies have concluded that training can be linked to firm strategy as a cultural, organizational, and financial performance enabler. The Sales/Producer role is unique in the P&C environment due to its virtual team composition, distribution channels, and historical attitude towards training opportunities. Traditionally, sales/producer training has been undervalued in the P&C insurance industry. By benchmarking industry training practices it may be possible to find trends of interest for firms looking to re-examine the value of its training programs. This survey of P&C insurance firm training professionals, coupled with other studies and professional interviews, identifies opportunities for firm differentiation. The evidence suggests that training impacts firm strategy as an inseparable component of an overall effort to build the effectiveness of virtual teams. With training as an enabler, cumulative efforts to partner with sales/producers become culture. Firms appear more likely to motivate sales/producer resources to action, partner with sales/producers, and positively affect firm strategy when they take specific actions. These actions include creating synergies among the following: training evaluation, learning technology, resources outside the traditional training team, training methods physically and organizationally closer to sales/producers, sales skills as part of the technical/functional skills training offered, and training on firm culture/vision/values.
