How to Avoid Common Insurance Producer Hiring Mistakes
Picking which candidates will become your new insurance producers is a big decision, and should not be taken lightly. Hiring the wrong candidate can not only cost your company time, money, and resources, but could also let better candidates slip by. Here are some tips for avoiding common hiring mistakes in the insurance industry.
- Spend time on the job description. Finding the right candidate for the job is easier when you’ve clearly defined what the job is. Neglecting the job description is one of the most common insurance producer hiring mistakes. Take time to make sure the job description in the posting explains exactly what the responsibilities and required skills are. This will make it less likely that unqualified candidates will apply.
- Learn from past mistakes. Have you recently hired another insurance producer that didn’t work out? Try to determine what went wrong, and how you can use that experience to refine your hiring process going forward.
- Give yourself some time. You can’t always know when you’re going to need to hire a new insurance producer. But when possible, give yourself time to do a thorough search and hiring process. Make sure the candidate is right before making them an offer. Check their references and bring them in for several interviews. Waiting until you desperately need someone can lead to rash decisions and hiring someone who isn’t a good fit. On the other hand, don’t wait too long to decide, or the candidate you like may find a job somewhere else.
- Start with a phone conversation. Sometimes a short phone call will be enough to tell you if a candidate is not a match. By doing some initial phone screening, you will save your time and theirs by skipping the entire interview process.
- Create a competitive compensation package. Compensation in the insurance industry is much more transparent than in the past. Candidates will usually walk into a first interview with a salary estimate in mind. If you are offering way less than your competitors, you may let talented candidates slip by. Consider a package that includes direct compensation (such as salary, commissions, and bonuses) and indirect compensation (such as benefits, paid time off, and retirement plans).
- Get input from your team. The final hiring decision is yours, but your team will be working with your new insurance producer once they come onboard. See if they got any initial reactions from the candidate during the hiring process. Your team knows the day to day requirements of the job, so their input is very valuable.
- Send rejection letters. It is far too common for employers not to follow up with candidates who were promising but did not get the job. Sending them a letter or email thanking them for applying and informing them they were not hired, while sometimes awkward, will let them know that their time was valued. If you need to look into former applicants for possible future hires, you will be glad you took this step.
- Consider working with insurance recruiters. Insurance recruiters carefully screen insurance producers to make sure they are a good fit for your company, and develop them to make sure they are ready to start selling fast. Insurance recruiters can save your company time and money by making sure only the best candidates get hired.
