Training Initiatives Provide an Innovative Approach to Recruiting
True to it’s innovative culture, Patra continues to expand Patra Academy, a program developed to meet internal hiring needs and address the talent shortage our industry is currently facing. Developed to expand the pool of talented insurance professionals through recruitment and formal training, Patra Academy recruits, trains and hires individuals with no previous insurance experience. Upon completion of training, graduates are placed within our nationwide network of insurance staff.
“Patra has expanded its place in the insurance and InsurTech marketplaces. Patra Academy is supporting the company’s growth by providing a path to find, train and employ great talent,” said John Simpson, CEO of Patra. “Not only are we feeling the talent shortage within the insurance industry, good business practice dictates that we don’t hire away talent from our clients, leading to even fewer qualified candidates. It’s very limiting.”
As the program has expanded, it’s become clear that a outreach like this is well-suited to an under-utilized, and often under-served, talent pool: military spouses. Because Patra allows many of its employees to work remotely, the company has trained and employed more than 30 military spouses and veterans with jobs that are portable enough to follow them to their next duty station. Two Patra Academy locations are in proximity to military bases – Fort Campbell, near Clarksville, Tennessee, and Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada. Patra has also recently formalized a partnership with the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), which will focus recruiting on and near major military installations, hiring spouses of active duty military.
“Patra’s approach to recruiting, hiring, training, and employing our country’s military spouses is inspiring. They truly appreciate the immense talent our spouses possess and Patra Academy is proof of its commitment to supporting our military families,” says Kristen Geist-Hodgkins, Program Manager and Team Lead for the Employment Readiness Program at Fort Campbell.
Patra Academy takes a “starting from scratch” approach, as most new hires have no insurance experience. We pay for trainees to earn their insurance licenses, train them on Patra account manager processes and provide them with a professional career. Graduates, who begin working at Patra in roles suited to their training and other pre-Academy skills, often include former attorneys, engineers, accounting and retail professionals.
Patra Academy’s success and subsequent expansion bring the total number of locations to three, with a facility at our headquarters in El Dorado Hills, California in addition to those in Fallon and Clarksville. To date, Patra Academy boasts a retention rate near 90 percent.
Patra is committed to expanding this innovative solution to address staffing needs and to recognizing the talent possessed by military spouses and veterans. The program is expected to expand with up to three more facilities in the next five years and plans to cultivate this partnership with MSEP by seeking those locations near active military bases.
About Patra
Patra is a leading provider of technology-enabled outsourcing services and software solutions to the insurance industry. Patra powers insurance processes by optimizing the application of people and technology, supporting insurance organizations as they sell, deliver, and manage policies and customers through our PatraOne platform. Patra’s global team of over 6,500 process executives in geopolitically stable and democratic countries that protect data allows agencies/brokerages, MGAs, wholesalers, and carriers to capture the Patra Advantage – profitable growth and organizational value.