Career Planning in Life Insurance
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Introduction:
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Reasons for interest in Career Planning by the Life Insurance Organizations:
- Technological change and obsolescence in the workplaces – the introduction of e-commerce/ e-insurance;
- Increased education has created rising expectations about what constitutes a happy and fulfilling life;
- Continuing pressure from policies;
- Organizations typically lose as many as 30 to 50 percents of their ‘younger’ employees during the first two years when employed on the job;
- The shortage of capable managers, skilled, professionals and technical workers has resulted in ways to develop personnel from within through career planning and development.
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What is Career Planning?
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Various Career Stages:
Three different career stages include:
- Exploration: At the initial stage one has to explore all his/her desired goals, try to stick to the possible and feasible ways to achieve that goal & need to found the most effective and efficient one (among all these alternatives of suitable jobs).
- Establishment: The individual has to establish himself/herself on his/her best suited/ available position in the Life Insurance Company – preferred by him/her.
- Mid-career: Remaining productive at work is a major challenge of career at this stage. Some employees reach their goals at the early stage and go on to even higher heights. These employees are climbers.
- Need for Career Planning:
The following are the reasons – why we need Career Planning?
- To attract competent persons and to retain them in the organization.
- To provide suitable promotional opportunities.
- To enable the employees to develop and make them ready to meet future challenges.
- To increase the utilization of managerial talents within an organization.
- To correct employee placement.
- To reduce employee dissatisfaction and turnover.
- To improve motivation and morale.
- Organizational Career Planning:
Even Career Planning is equally needed for each & every organization for the following reasons:
- Human resource needs development;
- Upgrading of human resources for increased productivity is a must;
- Career paths definition differs with the difference in objectives;
- Assessment of individual potential job capability & improvement in Efficiency requires frequent/ annual measurement;
- For the required matching of organizational needs and the individual’s career needs.
- Career Counseling for quality of work life.
- Audit and control of career planning and development.
- Basic features of Individual Career Planning:
The basic features of the individual career planning involve the following aspects:
- Identifying your interests, skills, and potential;
- Identifying your life goals and career goals;
- Developing a written plan (including the schedule) to achieve your goals
- Seeking and obtaining the best first;
- Communicating to management your career plan;
- Seeking counsel from your manager and the Human Resource Department on career plans and feedback on your progress;
- Evaluating internal and external (other company) opportunities;
- Seeking aid from sponsors;
- Making known (publicizing) yourself and your accomplishments;
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Is your life clouding your career?
- Face the reality of the situation. Ask yourself what’s happening in your life and, instead of blaming others, look at what you can do to get beyond it.
- Make sure the place that you value most in your life – your home – gets the time, effort, energy it deserves to become a haven for you. Work on your domestic relationships and create an environment that’s loving and supportive.
- Take a timeout for yourself and give yourself the things you deserve. Have long, luxuriating baths, go for walks, eat and exercise regularly and treat yourself to a pampering massage or facial.
- Understand that your energy gets depleted by caring for someone who’s critically ill and needs to be replenished.
- Never turn to substances like pills or alcohol as coping mechanisms they’ll only compound your problem.
- In times of your trauma and stress:
- Get professional help. Understand that the way you’re feeling is normal and you can’t go at it alone.
- Seriously consider leaving the relationship if you’re being abused.
- Think very carefully before confiding in your boss. Sometimes this is the best course of action. But if your company has a strictly “no personal problems allowed” policy, you need to tread carefully.
- Focus on the part of work you really, love and enjoy. This is itself becomes restorative.
- Avoid watching or reading things that distress you focus on positive, uplifting input.
- Conclusion:
For all the Life Insurance Organizations the following features are most important in respect of today’s plight:
What do customers buy?- Your product – which is common to all.
- They buy the culture that is special to you and known in the market.
- Your identity is known in the market- say, LIC (as the Market Leader), ICICI Prudential (Leaders in terms of Nos. of Policies sold- among the private players ) and Bajaj Allianz ( Leader in terms of market share -among all private players).
By Mr. Anabil Bhattacharya, Published in Life Insurance Today, September 2006
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