Make time for training: several methods exist to help employees stay current in their jobs. (Property/Casualty).

In the excellent book, Jack--Straight from the Gut, former GE Chief Executive Jack Welch spends a lot of time talking about the benefits of having a highly trained staff. As he points out, it is the best way for a company to stay profitable and the best way for an employee to stay employable.

No one would argue that having a trained work force is beneficial to both the employee and the employer. Yet, in the day-to-day grind of the insurance business, we often fail to find the time to stay current.

Regardless of time or budgetary constraints, there are several ways to train and to get training. These can be formal or informal, internal or external. Potential training methods are outlined below.

Formal-External: This is the most structured solution. Formal insurance courses like those offered by Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and Alliance of American Insurers are excellent methods for gaining a high level and thorough understanding of the different facets of the insurance industry. Underwriters also can attend daylong sessions about a specific subject. These are often sponsored by the local CPCU chapter.

In addition to industry-specific training, a smart company keeps its eyes open for training and seminars outside the insurance business. One of the most beneficial training courses I have attended was a sales seminar whose subject matter was not at all geared toward insurance. Fortunately, someone at my company recognized the universal benefits of the sales method and encouraged attendance.

Formal-Internal: These are courses devised and run by a company. Often, they can be proprietary programs developed by the company's training department. Carriers without a separate training department can use their human resources, product development or underwriting departments to create training modules that are closely aligned with the company's products and strategy.

The biggest benefit to the company is the assurance that employees are all getting the same message. The employee will benefit from this formal-internal training by getting synchronized with the appetite and strategy of the employer. This is a bigger issue than people may imagine, especially with experienced hires.

Insurance companies may want to consider a "train the trainer" system, where a small group of people learn a topic and are then charged with bringing this knowledge to their own office. Usually, they will use the same materials, visuals and examples when they train at the local level.

There are also many informal methods that are excellent for learning and sharing data. These informal methods often can be tailored to the specific needs of a group and set up quickly without budget restrictions.

Informal-External: An excellent means for obtaining training is to call on people with a certain expertise and ask them for assistance. By nature, vendors and clients often have different but related areas of skill and knowledge. When a vendor offers a training session to clients, it can be an excellent means of receiving real value-added services.

For example, your company may want to improve its understanding of flood or earthquake business. Since most carriers are conservative with these coverages, there may be a void in their experience and their analyses of catastrophe exposures. Most reinsurers have more day-to-day experience with these coverages and would gladly make a presentation to a primary carrier.

Informal-Internal: One of the best ways to keep learning is to work in an environment where training is seen as a normal facet of the job. A great way to do this is to schedule training sessions that are developed and run within an office. These sessions can be handled by someone with knowledge of a specific area or can be assigned as a topic to someone to research and report on.

Some companies use this format in a "Lunch and Learn" setting with a training issue presented during the lunch hour. Sometimes, it is better to schedule specific time during the workday to assure participation.

Even seemingly small things like purchasing periodicals and routing them through your office are worth-while. Every employee probably will find at least one article worth reading in every magazine.

The bottom line is that having trained and knowledgeable employees is fundamental to an effective operation. Whichever method or methods pursued--formal, informal, internal, external--companies need dedication and discipline to make it worthwhile.

There's an old saying: "You are either getting better or you are getting worse." Often, so many pressing things must be accomplished that training can get pushed to the bottom of the list.

Avoid that trap! Set up a training schedule and keep getting better.

Michael P. Egan, a Best's Review columnist, is a property officer with Swiss Reinsurance Co., Philadelphia. He can be reached at [e-mail].