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Hire education CPCU's NLI Program provides leadership training to all insurance professionals By Bruce D. Hicks, CLU, CPCU Continuing education, continuing professional development, and continuous learning should be terms that have meaning for every person who makes a living in the property/casualty insurance business. The question is whether continuing education represents a goal or objective that one wants to reach or if it is an obligation that can’t be avoided. A need for additional learning or training exists for most people for a variety of reasons. It can be due to changes in job requirements, following a mandate to maintain a license, fulfilling an obligation to remain in good standing with an association, or acquiring skills to pursue a different level (or kind) of responsibilities. The Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) has long understood the value of an ongoing commitment to education. It has encouraged this pursuit as a measure of professionalism—an obligation to self and the insuring public to enhance one’s expertise. Education for CPCU members does not stop once they have completed the rigorous requirements for their designation. The Society offers the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. The CPD is an endorsement to the CPCU designation based on achieving a minimum level of points within a three-year qualifying period. The program awards CPCU members points for a wide variety of activities, including participation in seminars, classes and courses. The Society has also developed a broad-based program called the National Leadership Institute (NLI). Under the NLI, persons involved in the insurance industry can participate in the following courses: • Building Highly Effective Teams The Society promotes the NLI Program as a set of courses that offer high quality, inexpensive, and convenient training. The course content covers areas that should add to anyone’s professional skills. The courses are offered in either half-day or full-day sessions. The Society markets the courses in a variety of ways. They are packaged as part of their regular annual and mid-year meetings; as special educational events sponsored regionally or locally; or offered along with local chapter events, such as their “I”(nsurance) Days and/or conferment ceremonies for new CPCUs. The program, which began in 2000, was created in response to feedback the Society received from its members. Specifically, the organization was asked to provide opportunities to develop leadership skills. While CPCUs, typically have substantial insurance expertise, through their experience and their attainment of the CPCU designation, many have not been in the position to acquire other essential skills that could help with career advancement. The NLI Program, though originally developed as a service for the Society’s members, is available to any interested person. Mark D. Dolinski, the Society’s continuing education coordinating manager, who administers the NLI Program, says that the various courses have seen healthy participation by many non-CPCUs. When asked whether the NLI Program has created more interest in the CPCU program, he said: “Absolutely, one of the nice features of the NLI is the ability to reach out to both members and non-members. Having non-members participate allows them to see the quality and the experience one has from being a CPCU.” Although only five years old, the NLI now delivers more than 50 courses a year to both members and non-members. Larry L. Boehm, CPCU, of the Standard Mutual Insurance Company, attended the NLI Program offered during the Society’s 2006 NLI Leadership Summit in Phoenix. He had this to say about the experience: “I participated in ‘Strategic Thinking and Planning’ and ‘Practical Techniques for Project Management.’ I chose those courses for their perceived value to me in my management position. I was not disappointed. “The presenters were knowledgeable and able to get the information across in an educational and entertaining manner,” he continues. “The use of children’s building blocks during the Project Management course was an unusual and effective way to demonstrate the effect of changing instructions during a project’s development. “I would be interested in attending future NLI courses due to the professionalism displayed in organizing and teaching the classes that I attended. I would highly recommend the NLI course series to those in and out of the insurance industry. The NLI provides valuable course work in follow-up to the CPCU designation.” “Evaluations are compiled for NLI programs,” Dolinski says. “We have received an overwhelming positive feedback to our courses from both members and non-members. Members appreciate the work that the Society has put in to developing such a broad array of leadership development skills.” Dolinski adds that members also appreciate being able to participate in the programs at both the national level and a local chapter level. The NLI’s instructors are carefully chosen based on their experience in the area related to the course they are recruited to teach. According to Dolinski, the NLI interview process helps assure that the courses are taught by highly qualified facilitators. Each instructor is given a facilitator’s guide that includes examples and information on different concepts and approaches an instructor may use in leading a class. The guides contain a list of all relevant learning objectives that should be met by a given course. Their use also creates a level of consistency with the presentations made by different instructors and in the different courses. The Society also encourages a high level of interactivity in its presentations. Dolinski states that interaction has proven to be a very successful way to deliver new information, and he believes it makes the NLI courses more effective. Maria Amparan, claims service director for United Services Auto Association (USAA), who attended “Turbo Charge Your Career” and “Time Management—Managing the Only Non-Renewable Resource” at the 2006 Leadership Summit, says, “I definitely derived knowledge and strength from the courses I selected. I have already been helped by what I learned, and I continue to use the tools I gained. I have incorporated a lot of what I learned in the first two classes, but I don’t seem to be able to manage time, as I work in a dynamic environment. New things come up every day, through e-mail, reports, customers, personnel, that requires a daily change of schedule and priorities.” Amparan continues, “The NLI is a great supplement to the CPCU program because the topics are broader—about management and dealing with everyday issues in any type of business, while the CPCU program is more geared to learning the insurance business. “While the workshops are for everyone in any type of business, all of us are insurance people with the same issues and time constraints, so it was a comfortable feeling to know that we were all on the same page.” The CPCU Society considers feedback to be extremely important in administering the NLI. As mentioned earlier, the program originated in response to suggestions by CPCU members. Further, feedback (as well as surveys) and contacts with various other insurance industry leaders helped to determine the courses offered by the program. These sources are also used in considering new courses. The program appears to be a good fit with the Society and popular with its members, and it also appears to be committed to it. Dolinski states that, “The greatest challenge has been the constant enhancing of our current courses while developing new and exciting leadership development learning educational opportunities.” If the Society were an individual, at 65 years old, it might be thinking of slowing down and entering retirement. However, although the Society has been at the top of its game for most of its existence and is extremely well known, slowing down is not part of its plans. The Society continues to keep trying new ventures to increase its value in the industry. And isn’t that the real objective of continuing education? * |
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