The “Silver Tsunami” of Baby Boomer retirements will soon be felt in insurance IT operations, and is already upon many carriers, Novarica notes.

“For insurance CIOs who must concurrently manage legacy systems environments, prepare for the continuing introduction of a wide range of new and potentially disruptive capabilities while planning for ever faster refresh cycles in key system components, this may not be a new issue, but it is now one that may require high priority attention,” the firm says in a recent report, “Planning for an Aging IT Workforce.”

Following are some tips from Novarica to prepare for loss of talent and institutional knowledge as current IT professionals retire and exit the workforce:

-Develop an inventory of key systems, underlying technologies and key skill sets to illuminate the problem and underlying issues.

-Identify opportunity areas for documenting and preserving vital technical and operational knowledge.

-Initiate a program for cross-generational sharing of insights, perspective, experiences and knowledge.

-Create a better internal understanding of the issues and concerns being articulated by associate.

-Identify approaches that can create more flexible work arrangements and initiate pilot programs to see what works, and what doesn't.

-Consider the value of transitional programs that can retain historically valuable knowledge and experience while also building new organizational muscle.

-Implement programs to provide workers who are changing careers with opportunities to acquire new skills.

-Work with strategic partners to build a new level of competence for supporting mature but functional environments.

-Review the system portfolio to see when and how outsourcing options can produce value added results.

-Evaluate the working environment to assess its impact on a multi-generational workforce.

Special Reports /

10 Tips to Prepare for the Aging Insurance IT Workforce

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