HBP partnered with health insurance firm Humana to develop a program to provide new hires with a fundamental understanding of health insurance and the broader insurance business
by Site Staff
November 19, 2012
HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING
Health insurance firm Humana needed to develop leaders who could create business impact for customers and stakeholders. The company sought to develop high-potential leaders who would be agile, customer-focused, networked, cross-functional and innovative, all while maintaining a constant standard of performance.
Humana’s main leadership development challenge came in two fronts. First, while many of its new hires came from outside the industry, with a value placed on their non-industry perspective, the company wanted to provide these hires with a foundational understanding of health insurance. Second, as Humana employees in different business functions such as sales and underwriting had a core functional understanding of the industry, Humana wanted to provide them with greater knowledge of the broader business.
By partnering with Harvard Business Publishing, Humana was able to cultivate these learning needs. After conducting a needs assessment, Harvard Business Publishing helped Humana create the Health Care Leaders 2020 (HCL 2020) program. Its design addresses learning needs in three categories — external, Humana-focused and customer focused. HCL 2020 is a cohort-based program with in-person learning events working in tandem with virtual events.
HCL 2020 resulted in a 16-month program, including a launch event, five modules, individual assignments, team projects, in-person sessions and webinars. Each module was customized for Humana, and each speaker, article and other content was matched to the firm’s business objectives.
Initial results from HCL 2020 indicate: nearly 50 percent of participants have been promoted; more than 90 percent of participants reported being satisfied with the program; and more than 86 percent reported the learning experience from the program helped them become a transformative leader. HCL 2020 graduates also noted an increase in sharing and teaching the program’s lessons for individual teams and changing mindsets and thinking about leadership measurement.