Four members of National Underwriter’s Risk ManagersAdvisory Board were asked:

• What are you doing about the education of those who reportto you?
• What do you look for when recruiting new talent?
• What are you doing regarding your own education?

Gary Pearce, Vice President ofRisk Management, Kelly Services Inc., Troy Mich.

Technology advancements have made possible more educationalopportunities than ever before. Our staff is required to complete acurriculum of 25 classes through Kelly Services’ in-house LearningCenter to learn about our company’s operations. The Law & RiskManagement Division hosts weekly “101” training sessions to teachour staff about key issues.

We attend webinars sponsored by vendors and other organizations.And because Kelly generously invests in professional development,we send people to out-of-town seminars when attractiveopportunities arise.

We also take advantage of more traditional approaches, such astuition reimbursement and on-the-job training and rotation. We’reactive in the Detroit Risk and Insurance Management Societychapter, which always has a good roster of meeting topics.

I subscribe to an absurd number of publications, both at homeand on the job, and I average an hour or two per day with them tokeep up on business and risk topics.

Finally, thanks to the remarkable breadth of exposures that ourcustomers offer, we’re always learning about risk issues we hadn’tpreviously dealt with.

We’ve been able to retain our key talent and therefore haven’trecently been in the market for new staff. When we are recruiting,I look for the right attitude and an ability to take on newchallenges. Experience from a formal risk-management program is aplus, but not a requirement.

Tim East, Director of CorporateRisk Management, The Walt Disney Co., Burbank,Calif.

I completed a master’s degree in Business, Risk Management andInsurance in 2008 from Florida State University, an online program.It was very demanding, but I learned a great deal and feel itgreatly enhanced my knowledge and career.

At a minimum [for employees], the requirement is a bachelor’sdegree in a field that’s related to risk management/business,finance, management…the possibilities are many because riskmanagement is broad.

For an entry-level position, that’s sufficient; for a moresenior position, I’d like to see experience in the industry, eitherwith an insurer or broker, and some certification such as the ARM,CPCU or other credential.

For schools, we look at Florida State University, GeorgiaSouthern and the Katie School—although there are others emerging.For recruiting, we look for individuals who have the education andare the right fit for our unique organization.

Mike McDonald, Vice Presidentof Enterprise Risk Management, Quality Distribution Inc., Tampa,Fla.

I spend a lot of time participating in industry-focusedrisk-management (rather than general risk-management) events, bothas a speaker and attendee. In particular, I look for interactiveforums where I can learn from other industry risk-managementparticipants.

Most of my employees require CEUs, so I send them to seminars,specific classes, invite service vendors in for presentations andmake online learning available.

Since we do not have any entry-level positions, I do not recruitfrom schools. We only hire experienced professionals, and I amalways looking, whether I have an open position or not. Attitude,personality and work ethic are the things I look for in a potentialhire.

Michael Liebowitz, Director ofInsurance and Risk Management, New YorkUniversity

I go to RIMS for my main education. I get the rest of it bynetworking with colleagues—it takes a lot of time to go back and doa full, formalized education.

I also make sure my employees go to the pertinentcontinuing-education programs. They go to RIMS and also to localeducation programs that are specific to their positions.

As for recruiting new talent, I haven’t hired anybody new—andeverybody I have promoted has been internal.

Hiring for my organization will be at entry level. For this Ilook for students who come out of risk-management programs with anemphasis on enterprise risk-management training.

The hardest thing today in finding someone is getting anindividual who is well-rounded. Sometimes students are veryfocused; they jump at the first job that comes along. I understandthat, but there is a difference in working at the carriers or thebrokers and working inside a corporation with a risk-managementdepartment. I would rather have someone with a blank slate thansomeone with preconceived notions.