The demand for talent in the loss adjusting sector is perhaps more intense than it has ever been. An ever-expanding remit in response to evolving customer demands is putting significant pressure on the diverse skills base which underpins our industry.
A contributory factor in this battle for talent is that our industry is paying the price for a period of underinvestment in people. This has been recognized – the repercussions felt – and in recent years, bolstering the workforce has become a critical endeavor across the sector.
There are of course only a finite number of talented, experienced loss adjusters in our marketplace – and competition for such expertise is fierce. But in equal measure, there is pressure to foster new talent, attract the next generation and restock what is at risk of becoming a depleted pool.
It is also important to recognize that our ever-expanding remit requires an ever-expanding skills base. We need to not only restock our talent pool with traditional loss adjusting expertise, but also creating channels that feed in from other sectors – particularly in areas such as cyber and forensic accounting, and across new technologies – that will help bolster our ability to deliver for our clients.
At Crawford, we have adopted a multi-channel approach to ensure we meet our talent quota. While the opportunity to attract experienced practitioners into our ranks remains strong given our market position, our focus is very much on talent investment.
That means working to attract fresh minds through our doors that introduce new knowledge sets that help broaden the insights we give to our customers. Central to this is our ability to create an attractive working environment, where the opportunities for career development and the potential that our industry offers are clear.
We are also capitalizing on the wealth of experience across our organization to help new or junior members choose the right career path and rise up through the ranks via our comprehensive mentoring and development program. At Crawford, we not only want to attract talent, but we want to make it stick – and to do that we must demonstrate our willingness to invest time, money and resources to support the growth of every member of our team.
We recognize that our industry is top heavy, with many experienced practitioners reaching the end of their careers. That’s why we have put in place an extremely robust succession pipeline, promoting from within wherever possible and ensuring that no matter what changes in personnel occur, our ability to deliver high-grade service will never be disrupted.
At Crawford, we play a critical role in helping to restore and enhance lives, businesses and communities in the aftermath of often devastating events. We take that role incredibly seriously. So, having the right people in place with the right skills, level of understanding and quality of support is always our top priority.
