With the "silver tsunami" creating significant attrition, it's no secret that the insurance workforce is shifting. Organizations across the insurance ecosystem are struggling to attract the talent needed to fill critical gaps and prepare for what comes next.
Solving for these challenges requires us to think about people differently – not just as applicants for today's openings but as potential contributors to tomorrow's workforce. By shifting how we evaluate talent – from what someone has previously done to what they're capable of becoming – and then by cultivating traits like learning agility and future capability internally, organizations can build a robust and successful workforce for the future.
Identifying and Prioritizing Transferable Skills
The traditional approach to recruiting often looks backward, focusing on titles held, industries worked in, and responsibilities already performed. Those things matter, but they should not be the only measure of a candidate's value. What if instead we look for transferable skills? This does not mean lowering standards. It means expanding the lens. It means asking better questions about capability, judgement, adaptability, and readiness. Have they led a volunteer group? Did they mention a project that required impressive problem solving? Once these skills are identified, it's then up to talent leaders to determine how those skills can be built upon to develop the optimal employee.
Take a mid-career candidate – someone who's very accomplished, has many degrees, and has been a leader, but now wants to move to something different. Some hiring managers wouldn't even consider this individual for certain roles, concerned they're too skilled. But it's a mistake to dismiss a candidate as a poor fit for a position without trying to understand why this person may be interested in the role in the first place. Maybe they want a different pace. Maybe they are looking for a new challenge. Maybe they want to apply their experience in a more focused way. Maybe they're being intentional about the next chapter of their career.
Hiring for potential allows organizations to recognize transferrable skills, avoid overlooking strong talent, and build teams with broader experience, perspective, and capability.
Pinpointing Learning Agility as a Signal of Future Capability
One meaningful way to spot learning agility is to listen for how candidates connect their past experience to future contribution. Candidates who are committed to growth often show it through action: coursework, certifications, self-directed learning, stretch assignments, volunteer leadership, or intentional career pivots. They are usually able to explain not only what they have done, but what they have learned and how they are applying it. Look for candidates who are taking courses, initiating self-training, or working on degrees that have the capacity to expand or re-route their career trajectory. Listen to how they frame the skillsets they have developed in previous roles.
This perspective shift works on the talent development side too. Personally, I always encourage employees to be visible about their skills, interests, and growth goals. Internal profiles, skills-based assessments, and development conversations can help surface capability that may otherwise go unnoticed. This kind of professional curiosity and up-skilling are important but so are previously demonstrated traits like resilience, adaptability, and change readiness – all things to identify and cultivate. In my experience, some of the strongest talent decisions happen when we look beyond the obvious and pay attention to the qualities that signal readiness: curiosity, accountability, sound judgment, resilience, and the ability to lead through change.
In the same way we look for skills when screening resumes and talking with candidates, talent leaders should be thinking about these elements for internal roles and promotions as well. The skills people identify in themselves and how they rate themselves on assessment tools can inform development opportunities and identify organizational fits that might not otherwise have been obvious.
Spotting and Maximizing Leadership Effectiveness Skills
Manager effectiveness remains one of the most persistent and consequential challenges in human resources. If high-performing employees are thrust into supervisory or managerial roles without training on how to meet new expectations, it's not surprising when they don't succeed. By identifying transferable skills already present in the workforce and pairing them with practical tools, coaching, and accountability, organizations can develop leaders who are prepared, not just promoted.
The process of creating courageous leaders is not solely about preparing employees for a leadership role; it's about creating a courageous-leader mindset. A courageous-leader mindset means being willing to ask thoughtful questions, listen before concluding, challenge assumptions, and recognize where bias or blind spots may influence decisions.
Layered on top of this mindset, practical professional development and training programs can help foster new skillsets and build practical capability. Whether through monthly manager development sessions, focused learning labs, or intensive supervisor boot camps, organizations can build practical leadership capability in a way that is structured, consistent, and immediately applicable.
Building Tomorrow's Workforce Starts with Seeing Talent Differently
Not every individual with transferable skills will be the right fit for every role, and thoughtful selection still matters. But when HR leaders prioritize potential, cultivate internal capability, and apply consistent judgment, we create stronger pipelines, more adaptable teams, and a workforce better prepared for the future.
