It Took an Agency How Long to Hire a Commercial Lines Manager?

The old saying, “Our agency is constantly recruiting,” used to make firms sound very progressive. That barely cuts the mustard these days.

Agencies must adopt a new philosophy: “We’re constantly talking to everyone.” Recruiting is worthless if you don’t talk to people.

Engagement is key to successful talent acquisition.

I have a great example to illustrate the importance of immediate, timely action on future openings. Below are specs of a project like yours that I just wrapped up for a national brokerage.

Commercial Lines Manager Profile:

• 10+ years in property/casualty insurance; at least 5 years in leadership
• Retail agency experience is required
• Successful performance management (customer service and marketing divisions)
• Employee development (teaching, training, mentoring, quality control)
• Ability to unify the service delivery strategy for current staff of 50; includes future acquisitions/roll-ins
• Project management: Infrastructure, technology, talent acquisition and vendor/carrier partnership
• Relocation: necessary; Bachelor’s degree: highly preferred; Compensation:$100k-$140k.

Straightforward agency leadership profile, right? Here’s how the timing played out.

Recruiting Timeline:

• August 2017- Agency began contemplating the role.
• January 2018- Completed infrastructure changes; green lighted the position.
• February 2018 – Four viable candidate referrals emerge in the first 30 days. Two are chosen for interviews.
• March/April 2018 – First and second round interviews begin (face-to-face and in-person). No new applicants materialize. Agency management experience proves to be the biggest hurdle.
• May 2018 – Offer extended early in the month (candidate is among the original two interviewees).
• July 2018 – 10.5 months since the position’s inception,relocating from 1,000 miles away, the new Commercial Lines Manager begins their first day of employment.

TRUE OR FALSE:

Recruiting Time Management

Job boards are great for pipeline building.

FALSE: Advertisements on job boards refresh daily, sometimes as frequently as every six hours. Unless you pay to sponsor jobs, after a week, the shelf life has expired.

A quick interview process scares candidates.

FALSE: Properly communicated, applicants appreciate efficiency. People are busy and on to the next thing quickly, so a “to the point process” is well received.

Treat anticipated retirements the same as vacancies.

TRUE: Pre-retirees have started giving less advance notice. The norm used to be 6-12 months. Now, many agencies have to backfill retirements with only 30-45 days’ notice. Be proactive with roles vacated by anticipated retirements. Extra payroll expense for a few months is money well spent.

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Talent Training Development