Amid a shifting job market, acquiring and retaining the best talent continues to be of the industry’s top challenges. There’s around 13% turnover in most agencies.1 The insurance workforce is aging. In the next few years, it’s projected that 400,000 insurance professionals will retire.2 And only 4% of millennials are interested in working in insurance.3 Agencies are also feeling the pressure to hire for tech and analytics skillsets.
Smaller agencies may face greater challenges than the larger brokers, simply because they may not have the resources for creating effective hiring and onboarding processes. And while smaller agencies may not feel the direct impact of this industry’s labor shortage, they could find themselves unprepared and unable to compete with those bigger agencies to attract the best talent.
However, big or small, any agency can compete for the best talent with the right strategic approach. Here are some talent strategies that any agency can use to accelerate growth.
Smarter hiring reduces turnover and boosts performance
Companies with strong talent management and hiring practices achieve 2.2x higher revenue growth and 1.5x profit margins compared to industry peers.4 This starts in the recruiting phase. How does your hiring plan align with your overall strategic plan? Crafting a strategic talent acquisition strategy starts with robust talent management practices and an astute understanding of any internal skill gaps, as well as hiring plans that are aligned with growth projections. This will ensure that your firm follows a proactive capacity-based plan to avoid understaffing or limiting profitability.
Evaluate your current situation. Do you have the right people in the right places? Who is doing what, and why? Review your current organizational chart and identify the roles you need to reach your goals. What are those positions? Where can you source the best candidates? Are you prepared to effectively onboard and train new hires? Make sure your culture shines on your website, throughout your social media channels and most importantly your job posts and descriptions.
Define what your firm needs to impact move the business from point A to point B, which will provide clear criteria for talent acquisition. Define success: translate business goals into role-specific competencies, such as technical skills, functional expertise, and behavioral attributes. There may be skills and attributes that exist across industries outside of insurance.
There are many ways to source the right talent
Consider building talent pipelines and developing relationships consistently. You can leverage internships, apprenticeships, and alumni networks. Social media campaigns and targeted ads can help attract top talent. Employee referral programs, conferences and industry events are great ways to bring new talent for agencies. Collaborate with universities, trade schools, and local organizations. Engage in the community and DEI initiatives. Be open to potential candidates from other industries such as the pharmaceutical sector, mortgage financing, or retail sales.
Improve employer brand and value proposition
Competitive job seekers today prioritize experiences that contribute to professional growth and a healthy work-life balance, rather than simply attractive amenities or a “family atmosphere.” What truly differentiates your company culture? Do you cultivate an environment where asking questions is encouraged and learning is a continuous process? Do you believe in inclusivity, ensuring all voices are heard and valued?
When creating a positive hiring experience for the potential new hire, consider the entire journey. Is the agency being presented authentically? And is the interaction a thoughtful, positive process where the interview is treated as an event? Firms should aim to build a repeatable and unique process. Perhaps leave the candidate with something with which to remember the agency – like company information, or small company swag (mug, pen, paper). Invite other employees to stop by and say hello or have candidates sit in on a company lunch.
Compensation must reward growth and loyalty
What does your compensation plan incentivize? Agencies should aim to align the compensation with the incentives for growth and retention into the organization. To increase loyalty, firms should tie variable pay to controllable outcomes, not subjective outcomes. Variable pay can be tied to controllable outcomes such as new business revenue, retention, and pipeline health. Use declining renewal commissions (e.g., 25% – 30%) and service team incentives for high retention. Firms can also publish total compensation statements to reinforce value and boost retention.
Training and onboarding can help drive productivity
Just as important as your hiring process – take a look at your onboarding, training and talent retention strategy. Training and onboarding can have a substantial impact on the success of a new hire. Ensuring that new hires understand their job expectations, organizational objectives, and the resources available to them is only the beginning to an effective onboarding program. A workplace, by any measure, is a natural community. How well that community operates determines how well your firm can engage, hire, and retain top talent moving forward. Encourage current employees to welcome the new hire and engage them in conversations and meetings.
Mentorship, as well as a solid educational plan can help solidify the new employee experience. Onboarding has a much larger ripple effect on the trajectory of a business than historically portrayed. If new employees don’t feel a sense of community and belonging quickly, they’ll find a place they do.
Furthermore, well thought-out training and development programs will not only help employee retention by improving worker contentment, but can help them build new skills, methodologies and strategies that will ultimately lead to higher growth. Having strategic coaching and performance management systems for employees will also help drive engagement and retention.
What can FirstChoice, a MarshBerry Company, do to help?
By having a strong talent strategy in place, you set a solid foundation for organic growth. Be intentional in building modern hiring, onboarding, and training processes. It is also important to honestly assess your current capabilities. Joining a network like FirstChoice can offer talent acquisition solutions for the complex challenges of recruiting and retention.
