Hiring agents and CSR's

[JAM]

This has been the biggest chalenge when starting out my own shop. How do you find capable employees? what has worked best for everyone else?

[Big Dog]

Since it appears you're in SoCal, there are probably plenty of well qualified account managers (CSR's) that are available.

First, you need to determine what skill sets you need in your people, and what a competative salary level is. Keep in mind that since your firm is new, people will be hesitant to come on board unless there is an adequate incentive.

You could use recruiters, but...I wouldn't recommend that (many in SoCal don't have a good reputation). Start by advertising in local papers. Also, if you're a member of the IBA local chapter, they may be able to assist in providing qualified candidates.

[FFA]

I just got what may be the find of a life time. I reached out to my book of business and got a top notch referral.

[Rainmaker]

Hiring agents(producers) is a much different process than would apply to CSR's. For all the hiring methodologies, personality tests, skills tests, topgrading, Caliper, DISC, etc., I think all of us are students and there are no experts! I would however encourage the following for you to consider:

1) decide which one (producer or CSR) you are going to hire next

2) create a process which includes third party testing

3) check references thoroughly and do a back ground check

4) be clear on performance expectations, role, compensation, and build in semi-annual or annual reviews - especially important when you have a small shop and personal relationships and the familiarity that is fostered in such a small environment can really get in the way of business when there is a performance issue that needs to be remedied

5) look to clients and ask for introductions or referrals from them to people with whom they worked in the past and thought highly of their work

6) ask carrier reps

7) post ads

don't be afraid of using recruiters - sure they add to the acquisition cost of a new hire but you can learn a lot from them and a good recruiter is a great advisor to a growing agency - you'll get tips on the market, competitor hiring methods, and get introduced to professionals you may not have been able to access. Either budget the cost, work out terms over 3 or 4 months to help with cash flow issues, or better yet offer to split the fee with the candidate! I know a lot of agencies doing this successfully, they pay half the fee and the employee agrees to pay the other half - sometimes in the form of a salary reduction for year 1 and then they are normalized in year 2 forward. Lastly on this point, for producers you can increase your performance metrics/milestones for them to achieve as it relates to book migration, new business production, or in expense allotments relating to car and T&E reimbursements to essentially net out the recruiting costs to zero. Math is math and a simple adjustment to your cash flow projections and performance metrics can open up a whole new world for agencies that have not employed this mechanism and in many cases passed up some really great talent because of it.

9) Hire slowly - take your time. Discuss your process with a candidate, convey the timeline from start to finish, and work the process. Trust me the more time you spend in the hiring process the more you'll learn about the candidate - and therefore have a higher percentage chance of success with the new hire once they are onboard. A bad hire is COSTLY at every level and when you are a small shop. For example with 2 CSR's if one of them turns out to be a bad hire then you've got problems with half your service team! So for small shops, start ups or for a producing owner's first few hires, be very careful and move deliberately through the hiring process with candidates to give yourself the best chance of success.

10) Don't hire a producer or CSR if you can't afford to sustain their compensation level at least 18 months. Too often small agency owners rush to hire and are not financially ready. If a producer has trouble migrating business in the first year, or, you spent too much time training up a new CSR and your production dropped off because of it - you're doing a real dis-service to yourself, your agency, your employees, your customers, and the producer or CSR who you have to layoff because you may have been too rosy on your cash flows and optimistic about your projections. Your reputation will suffer in the community, and your ability to make future hires will be impacted severely. Budget carefully and make an offer that you are comfortable with, when you are ready to make it and that with 110% confidence feel you can sustain for at least 18 months in case something goes wrong in the first 180+ days. More often than not - there is a surprise somewhere relating to either the ability to migrate business or the ability to produce at the levels represented during the hiring process! So be prepared!

Hope this helps! Best of luck to you!

[kiswest]

One avenue to explore for CSRs is a temp agency. No obligation to keep the employee and you may find a golden nugget, especially in this economic enviroment