Viva Las Vegas! With the Big “I”

People and technology are particular areas of concern to Louise “BeBe” Canter, who was installed as the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), at the organization’s 108th annual convention & InfoXchange held Sept. 21 -24 in Las Vegas. (See IJ’s interview with Ms. Canter on page 22.) And some 2,000 independent agents attending the convention had the opportunity to take time out from the non-stop glitz and gambling of Caesar’s Palace, to attend classes, seminars and luncheons addressing those topics and much, much more.

At a Sept. 21 luncheon hosted by the IIABA’s Diversity Task Force, Paula C. Gentile, vice president of operations and general counsel at MGM MIRAGE Risk Management, spoke on the importance of diversity in the workplace and the advantages of hiring minority employees and contractors who bring value and new ideas to a project. Gentile stressed that when it comes to diversity in the workplace, statistics were not as important as what minorities bring to the table. “A lot of time we talk about diversity and hear about numbers and percentages and increases and expansions and all this kind of stuff, but I want to talk about what I think diversity is from the heart,” Gentile said, “not from the numbers.”

From an Italian-American background herself, Gentile peppered her talk with food metaphors. Comparing the workplace to a buffet, she noted that if the menu offered only poached skinless, boneless chicken breast, the meal would be pretty bland and uninteresting. Gentile said the importance of a diversely populated workplace is that people from different backgrounds and cultures often bring new ideas and perspectives into the organizational mix and that can be good for business. Ultimately, Gentile said, whatever hiring or contracting decisions are made, they have to meet that criteria—they have to be good for business.

IIABA’s Diversity Task Force is a cooperative industry group made up of IIABA agents and brokers, several leading insurance companies, and members of organizations representing Latin American, African-American and Asian-American agents. The task force is initiating a pilot professional development program designed to position urban and minority-owned agencies for company appointments and successful client relationships, while at the same time offering insurance companies greater business opportunities in emerging urban markets.

On the technology side, the IIABA unveiled a new workbook designed to assist agents and brokers in implementing effective electronic information management solutions. The “Best Practices Guide to Agency Electronic Information Manage-ment” was developed by Laura Nettles of Atlanta-based Nettles Consulting Group in coordination with IIABA’s joint Agents Council for Technology (ACT)/Council for Best Practices Work Group.

The product, which is available for download from the IIABA Web site, allows for easy use throughout an agency. The purpose of the workbook is to provide management and staff with practical solutions to electronic information management issues. The opening section assists the agency in “Building a Firm Foundation” upon which to effectively implement electronic information management solutions. Included in the guide are a feature implementation checklist, database auditing guidelines, task force guidelines and workflow guidelines.

IIABA vice president of Education & Research Madelyn Flannagan, who oversees the association’s Best Practices initiative, noted: “This workbook is an important addition to the Best Practices series of tools designed to help agents and brokers enhance the value of their businesses by assessing their current information management situation and then providing them with practical steps to improve their coordinated management of information.”

One recurring theme throughout the convention was how to interest young people in careers in the insurance industry. To that end, InVEST, the IIABA education program designed to attract qualified recruits into the industry, hosted 60 students from Las Vegas’ Desert Pines High School for a “job shadow” experience at the convention. The students spent the day with mentors from insurance companies, independent agencies, the national InVEST Teacher Task Force, and the InVEST Board of Directors at the InfoXchange opening general session, followed by lunch and a tour of the exhibit hall. During the job shadow event, mentors networked with students and discussed how they got involved in the insurance industry and shared advice on achieving career goals within the industry. InVEST also raised $38,000 at a silent auction held during the event—the proceeds that will fund InVEST’s Annual Scholarship Program.

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