Big Recruiting Challenges Ahead for Insurance Agencies in 2025

By | January 27, 2025

Have you felt like hiring and recruiting has been harder lately? It’s tough to find good candidates. People seem less committed to the process. There’s more competition with offers. With so many ups and downs, I sometimes wonder if the whole world has gone mad.

My January column usually forecasts new year hiring trends. I’ve experienced the challenges mentioned above, as I’m sure you have, too. What insurance recruiting challenges will we face in 2025? How should your agency respond?

Low Unemployment Will Reduce Candidate Engagement

Recruiting is infinitely more difficult when unemployment is low. The candidates you solicit are employed and have less time to focus on a job search. You’ll notice fewer job applications, slower responses on LinkedIn, and higher interview dropout rates.

I don’t believe insurance professionals are less interested in career opportunities; I believe they are overworked with more things competing for their attention. Adjust your process to accommodate a busier job seeker.

  • Reduce the steps in your interview process. Candidates lose patience and question the process after the third interview.
  • Combine interview steps; for example, turn three one-on-one interviews into a panel interview.
  • Share benefits information and pre-close on compensation two steps before the final interview.
  • Eliminate due diligence steps (i.e., drug tests, references, or background checks) that aren’t crucial for hiring decisions.

Brand Differentiation Combats Job Opening Saturation

More job openings and fewer applications are a perfect recipe for a flooded job market. The farther down the list your job opening falls, the less effective it is at bringing in qualified applicants.

  • See if paying to boost and sponsor your jobs can improve your opening’s position at the top of search results.
  • Shorten job ads so candidates get the gist in one scroll. Effective job advertisements are short; load the top section with specifics and tell the reader exactly what makes it unique.
  • Convey “Why us?” and “Why now?” information to pique candidate interest. Pair job posting links with videos and testimonials on social media.

Longer Time-To-Hire Leaves Little Margin for Error

Starting last January, I saw many agencies, large and small, move away from remote hires. The result was a substantial increase in time-to-hire rates. An account manager job went from between 60-90 days to fill to over six months. No $80,000-$100,000 account manager job should be open for that long, and yet that’s exactly what happened in 2024 on all sides (benefits, personal, and commercial lines). If you restrict openings to one location and one ZIP code, don’t be surprised this year if your job is open for 6-12 months.

Time is the most crucial factor in recruitment. The longer it takes you to hire, the more you poison the sourcing well. Candidates wonder what’s wrong with your job. They get sick of messages from multiple recruiters about the same job.

The solution to minimizing time and errors is threefold:

  1. Recruit much earlier than you think. It’s better to start a full quarter earlier — somewhere four to six months ahead of schedule.
  2. Deputize decision makers. Don’t lose time in the process due to uncertainty about what comes next, who takes charge, and who makes the final decision.
  3. Make a contingency plan at the start of your search. “At X date, if the job isn’t filled, we will…”
    1. Change location parameters
    2. Hire fully remote
    3. Change the compensation
    4. Change experience requirements
    5. Shut down the search
    6. Promote from within
    7. Split the position in two
    8. Call a recruiter for help

Topics Agencies Talent

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