I’ve met 100’s of Insurance Agency Principals this year alone and a common challenge seems to be finding good people. When I ask what they’re doing to find people, there’s usually excuses, muttering and an epiphany that they’re not actually doing anything to recruit Insurance Agents, CSR’s or Account Managers. Every agency should have a Recruiting Strategy. We all have a pipeline of sales, (hopefully) and, we should have a pipeline of recruits. When I train Agency Principals, I always advise that they invest 3-5% of their time Recruiting Insurance Professionals even if you’re not hiring. Interviewing a few candidates each month is a great idea and you never know if you’ll come across a gem. Monster, Career Builder, Recruiters, Carrier Reps.
Then I always advise them to look at all of the people in their agency and ask this question:
“Knowing what I know about all of my employees, would I hire them today? If the answer is no, you then you should think about making the tough decision. And, if you had recruits in the pipeline, the decision would be easier becuase a big reason you haven’t made a change, is you haven’t found a superior replacement.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you fire your entire staff tomorrow. People should always be given an opportunity to succeed with training, motivation, a positive environment and a career path where there’s potential growth financially and professionally. If you provide this to your employees chances are you don’t have any deadweight.
Always remember whose name is on the front door. Employees lose respect for Bosses that employ deadweight because they’re working hard for the company and the deadweight gets away with negativity, lack of production, poor attendance, and making tough to implement change. Don’t be held hostage in your own agency! Also, don’t be afraid to go outside of the insurance world to hire. There are a lot of talented people with great attitudes from other industries that can learn how to quote, service, sell and be effective Insurance Professionals.
Implement a Recruiting Strategy. Train your people. Create a positive environment and you’ll be on track to grow. Contact us and join me on LinkedIn.
Happy Selling!