07:50 AM
USAA Adds 850 Jobs
Seeking to maintain high levels of customer service, USAA ($73 billion in assets) is adding 850 new jobs, about 500 of which will be located at its headquarters in San Antonio. The jobs are predominantly service related and run the gamut from financial planners to member services representatives, but also include about 60 IT positions.
USAA attributes the need for new jobs to successful financial management, according to Steve Yates, president of USAA ITCO, the company's technology arm. "We've managed our financials very responsibly during the economic downturn, which has allowed us to introduce new products and make our existing products more competitive," Yates asserts. "The new and improved product offerings have increased member demand, which means that in order to maintain the level of member service that USAA is known for, we have to put more people on the phones helping members."
The majority of the IT jobs will be located in San Antonio and include a variety of manager, architect, analyst, administrator and programmer positions. Yates comments that the staffing level of ITCO is projected to remain fairly constant, at about 2,700 positions nationwide, despite anticipated business growth. "We are achieving enough IT productivity that we are able to absorb an annual production growth of around 30 percent without increasing staff," he says.
Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio