News. Buyer Satisfaction Better When Local Agent Plays a Role – A new industry study says that buyers who purchase their auto insurance policies through local agents give significantly higher average satisfaction scores compared to those who purchase policies from call center representatives or via Internet channels. "Buyers who use insurance agents are also more likely to purchase bundled auto and homeowner insurance policies," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, who conducted the recent J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Insurance New Buyer Study. "Despite this trend, insurance providers are steadily enhancing their Web sites capabilities, and shopping through a direct channel certainly has its benefits for prospective buyers, as most cite the ease of conducting business as a primary reason for shopping and purchasing direct," Bowler added. (Source: Insurance Journal)

News. Survey: Top Performers Hard to Find and Keep – Retention concerns have risen significantly in the last year, with 73 percent of hiring managers in the U.S. worried about losing their top performers to other job opportunities. That number is up from 46 percent of hiring managers surveyed in 2007. Robert Half International Inc. surveyed 4,000 finance and human resources managers in 20 countries, with 56 percent admitting it's been hard to find skilled job candidates. The survey indicated that each job candidate is interviewed an average of three times before filling a staff-level position, compared with only two interviews last year. Employers also reported using project professionals more often, and at more senior levels, than during the last three years. Hiring managers surveyed from the U.S. said industry knowledge and experience was the most important attribute – a trend reported in 16 of 20 countries surveyed. Last year, regulatory compliance expertise was the leading response. (Source: Birmingham Business Journal)

Views. How Can You Keep Your Top Performers? – There are many reasons why employees choose to stay at a company or organization – for example, challenging work, ample professional growth opportunities, appropriate pay and good working relationships with co-workers. Retention also improves dramatically when you know the preferred workplace behaviors of each employee – the impetus behind our development of the Omnia® Retention Profile. Written in plain English, this powerful management tool examines employees’ personality tendencies and expected behaviors while detailing strengths and challenges. It also provides insightful information for more effective management, including motivational and training needs. Your employees can complete the Profile in less than 15 minutes, with results available online in about three business hours. Please call your client relations manager at (800) 525-7117 to discuss the many Profile package options available – and end retention issues today!