Technology: The Answer to Most—But Not All—Problems

When you cover technology for a living, it's easy to get caught up with the idea that software solutions are the answer to every problem known to man—and the insurance industry. Occasionally we need a reminder that people operate the technology, and are the ones who feed the data we so desperately treasure into the systems. Technology can provide the answers, but it is humans asking the questions.

That's why an interview with Gartner's Kimberly Harris-Ferrante posted on our Web site is an excellent reminder that insurers can ill afford to ignore the human element when initiating new technology implementations for the enterprise.

The industry knows this issue as change management, but for many companies it's simply change. Business users often are told to do their jobs differently without the courtesy of being asked what about their jobs should be done differently.

Believe it or not, there are people who want to do their jobs more efficiently. Saving money for the company often means employees are less likely to stand by and watch a representative from HR visit a neighboring cubicle and start cleaning out a co-worker's desk.

Harris-Ferrante listed change management as one of the areas of concern she sees for the insurance industry in 2012. In the interview she explains how some insurers have forgotten how the culture of the company needs to change in order to facilitate the improved working experience that is supposed to take place when using new technology appropriately.

"It's not just buying technology and voila, you are modern and doing fancy things," says Harris-Ferrante. "When you focus on how you are going to do things differently you have to be sure the employees, the culture, even the incentive and compensation plans are driving the behavior you want. Otherwise the technology won't do anything for you.

"You can't just wake uptomorrow and do something different," she continues. "You have to deal with training, employee retention, change management, employee education. If youdon't take a strong look at the role of people and process, and change management from an organizational point of view, you can't be successful."

Of course this is a lesson for all of industries, not just insurance. Technology doesn't magically transform businesses. People need to understand the capabilities of new systems and how best to make efficient use of their time and the software in order to achieve sought-after results.