Snap polls reflect questions posed by members of the Celent Executive Panel, a group of C level executives in the insurance industry. This snap poll came from an insurer that is looking for insights on enterprise architecture practices.
This deck provides a summary of the responses to a Snap Poll conducted October 6-9, 2025. Questions for a snap poll come from one of the other members of the panel. The snap poll was fielded to select members of the Celent Executive Panel, a group of C level executives in the insurance industry. 18 insurers responded to this survey over the course of three days.
If you are an insurer and are interested in participating and receiving these snap polls, please email kcarnahan@celent.com to verify eligibility.
The question that was posed was:
Background: This insurer is hoping to gain insight into how other insurers handle learning and education. They’re curious how others think about things like required v. voluntary activities, dedicated learning time, compliance vs training requirements and consequences for not fulfilling them. And they’re curious about how learning and development departments are generally perceived and their level of influence in an organization.
Questions:
Is learning and development/training centralized in your organization or decentralized? Or a hybrid approach?
How many hours per year per employee in an IT department are typically allocated for learning and development?
Who has the primary influence over upskilling and development decisions in your organization?
- Leadership / executives
- Employees / individuals themselves
- L&D / learning & development teams
- Other (please specify)
- Not sure
Which of the following does your organization use to guide employee development?
- A skill taxonomy
- A competency model
- Needs assessment
- Department goals
- Other
- None of the above
- Not sure / don’t know
How actively does your organization use its skill taxonomy or competency model?
- Very actively (core to most development decisions)
- Somewhat actively (used in certain areas)
- Rarely (exists but not really applied)
- Not at all
- Not sure
- We don’t have one
Are upskilling goals part of your organization’s development plans (separate from performance correction)? If so, how are they treated?
- Not included
- Included, but with no consequences or rewards
- Included, with rewards for achievement
- Included, with consequences if not achieved
- Included, with both rewards and consequences
- Not sure
Who is typically responsible for training employees on new systems or platforms in your organization?
- Vendors / external providers
- Project or rollout team
- Central L&D / training team
- Managers / team leads
- IT / technical support team
- Peer-to-peer / “train the trainer” approach
- Other (please specify)
- Not sure
How do you measure the impact of your learning and development programs? Are those metrics tied to effectiveness and/or value?
In your organization, L&D is seen primarily as:
- A strategic partner in shaping direction
- A trusted advisor with some influence
- A support function with limited influence
- An administrative function with little to no influence
What is the biggest barrier to building a strong learning culture in your organization?
What innovations or approaches in employee development have been most effective in your organization?
If you could improve one aspect of learning and development in your organization, what would it be?
Any other thoughts or comments about building or maintaining a learning culture?
