What Erie Insurance does to develop transformational talent

To identify transformational talent and keep the focus on the execution, Srinivasa uses the concept of IDEATE: Innovation, Delivery, Efficiency, Acceleration, Talent, and Execution Quality. With the need to IDEATE in mind, the company takes a multi-pronged approach to talent development.

In the IT organization, there are several high-level talent programs focused on attracting, retaining and developing talent. One of their key talent pipelines is the apprentice program, which runs for 18 months, and trainees are exposed to at least three areas of IT and are expected to be productive while they learn. At the end of the program, they’re placed into a role in the department where their skills and interests are best aligned.

Srinivasa also runs an IT Leader program for those who don’t have core IT skills but are strong leaders. “Our IT Leader program is for senior people who might have a military background or leadership experience in a non-IT function,” he says. “But they have great communication skills, and know how to get things done. This program allows our IT team to have the right balance of technical and leadership skills.”

An ethos to drive change

The IT organization at Erie Insurance also runs a “lateral move” program where technologists shift from working on legacy to emerging technologies, which allows Srinivasa to upskill his staff. He also takes a stretch assignment approach: “Maybe your day job is as a business analyst, but you’re getting a stretch assignment to be a project manager,” he says.

As important as any of these programs, he adds, is the opportunity for everyone in the IT organization to pursue a cloud certification, as well as train in agile development. The retention results from this training is strong, says Srinivasa, with attrition rates in IT at the lowest in the industry, and similar efforts are in place within their ecosystem of partners.

What Srinivasa is looking for from all these programs is what he considers to be the most critical skillset for transformation talent: customer centricity, a pioneering mindset, collaboration, and adaptability. But more than any of these skills, he says, is the ability to drive change.