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
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