Replacing these retiring professionals with millennials will be difficult. Just 4 percent of millennials expressed interest in an insurance career, according to The Hartford's 2015 Millennial Leadership Survey. So where will the talent come from, and how will the industry fill so many open positions?

Retaining the knowledge

The answer is closer than you think. In fact, your next best employee could be working for you right now. Many of your retirement-age insurance professionals are sticking around — the BLS estimates that by 2024, the number of workers over the age of 55 will have doubled since 2000. These workers will make up 25 percent of the U.S. labor market — a 13% increase from 2000.

Older workers want to work beyond traditional retirement age for a variety of reasons: to supplement their retirement income, to remain active participants in an industry they've devoted their careers to, or to switch gears and contribute in a lower-stress position. But they don't want to commute — they prefer working from home.

The work-at-home advantage

That mindset creates a large advantage for carriers. By embracing flexible work arrangements, carriers can retain the knowledge and skills possessed by the long-time workers who have helped their businesses grow and thrive. It takes rethinking the traditional workforce and embracing the potential that remote workers bring.

The immediate advantages of hiring a retiring insurance professional in a remote arrangement include the following:

• Low overhead. Remote workers require no output for office space or equipment.
• Improved communication. Remote workers are available via messaging, video chat or phone at any time during the workweek.
• Affordable knowledge and skill. Veteran insurance professionals have decades of on-the-job expertise and a large network.
• Access to a large talent pool. By hiring remote workers, companies can remove geographical boundaries from their search and locate the most qualified candidate with the right-fit experience.
• Reliable workers. One study shows that those who hire remote workers can expect a decrease in sick days and employee turnover.
• Increased productivity. Remote workers report feeling more productive working from home. In fact, one Stanford University/Ctrip study revealed them to be more productive by 13% over on-site workers and to work 9.5% longer than office-based staff.

Remote workforce best practices

Savvy carriers that want to take advantage of the depth and breadth of veteran talent can create a successful remote work program easily by following these best practices.

1. Evaluate open positions. Review what remote work possibilities exist for those positions. Are there retiring employees who might be able to fill these positions in a work-from-home arrangement? What skill sets do they possess that would lend themselves to each position? Are they interested in a transition to remote work?

2. Plan the switch. Decide how you and your remote workers will work best together. Identify the preferred method of communication, and use it consistently. Also, use Skype or another video chat program to include your remote workers in meetings and communications just as if they were sitting in the office.

3. Develop a guide for each position. How often will you need your remote worker to be on the job? What specific functions do you need them to perform? What tasks will they take on that are tying up too much of your current staff's time? Review each position from a new perspective and decide which tasks can be siphoned away from the full-time staff, enabling them to concentrate on more critical items while their remote colleagues tackle less-urgent or labor-intensive tasks.

4. Train all staff on communication tools. Your remote worker is part of the team, despite not sitting in the office. Make sure your entire staff has access to the same communication tools — and knows how to use them — so that communicating with all team members becomes second nature.

5. Review home office equipment. Make sure your remote worker is using the latest security software and the same programs your in-house staff is using. Is your remote worker being given access to the office network or server? If so, what security is in place on both sides to ensure safe data transfer?

6. Check in regularly. In order for your company to benefit from a remote workforce, you should review performance and productivity on a regular basis. Spot-check work occasionally to ensure you're getting the level of quality you require. Also, keep the dialogue open with your remote worker, and ask for weekly progress updates — even an informal bulleted list can help you stay on top of the work being completed.

Creating the advantage

The biggest challenge agencies and carriers face in the coming decade is attracting and keeping experienced, skilled workers. By thinking outside the traditional workforce model, carriers and agencies can find talented, knowledgeable professionals who want to ease into retirement with a remote position.

Retiring insurance professionals bring a wealth of talent to the job, and they're eager to remain active and engaged in the insurance industry through a remote position. By adapting your workforce to include work-from-home positions, the veteran workforce can be the competitive advantage your company needs.

Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is founder and CEO of Work At Home Vintage Experts (WAHVE). Sharon can be reached at [email protected].