Hiring in the 21st Century

Show Them the Money

First, it helps to know what potential job seekers are looking for, and in today's economy that is overwhelmingly a stable salary. The risk of a compensation package that revolves around commissions may not be as appealing as it once was. A recent study conducted by GreatInsuranceJobs.com and InsuranceSalesJobs.com surveyed a random sampling of Florida insurance sales employees. Eighty-five percent of respondents said that guaranteed compensation with a limited upside was most important to them in a new sales job, compared to 14 percent who said less or no guaranteed compensation with higher commissions and an unlimited upside was most important.

In the same survey, however, 55 percent answered "somewhat" when responding to the query of how willing they were to accept some risk in income with a lower salary as long as it included the potential for monetary bonuses based on superior performance. Forty percent said "very," and five percent answered "not."

"It's just a little scarier time for people now," said Harrington. It's difficult to go from a salaried job to a commission-based one, especially in today's tight economy. Harrington theorized that sales agents with contracts coming up now may negotiate to stay on salary for another year, trading additional inside work for that security. However, she stated, "Usually, if good sales people are ready to come off contract and go on commission, even if the economy is bad, they are probably going to say, 'I want to control my destiny.'"

Scott Kotroba, president and founder of GreatInsuranceJobs.com and InsuranceSalesJobs.com, noted that the survey results speak to the true character of a great producer. "While the economy may have some people spooked right now, it is that 14 percent willing to leverage the future on their abilities to sell who have the true personality of a sales producer, and thus will be the most successful in that job," he said. "Someone who is unfamiliar with the unlimited upside of insurance, though, might balk a bit."

Many agencies have found hiring success with people between the ages of 28-32 who have previously worked in a sales environment, and not necessarily in the insurance industry. They just need to have what Kotroba calls the money gene. "A producer won't last long if he or she doesn't have it. The 'money gene' is the drive to pound the streets, network, and get involved in the industry," he said.

Large companies often test candidates for that sales drive in advance of a job offer, added Kotroba. But all that testing can present problems, chiefly red tape. Some hiring processes are so inundated with bells and whistles that outstanding candidates get snatched up by other companies during the time it takes to review those test results. Kotroba believes agencies need to become more nimble in this regard to ensure that they reap the rewards of recruiting the next hot young producer to their agency.

In Person and Online

Finding that ideal candidate is "a matter of dangling carrots where people hang out," according to Roger Lear, president of Orlando-based Lear & Associates, an executive recruiting firm that often works with insurance agencies. He said that "technology word-of-mouth" through the Internet is the new marketplace, and employers need to take advantage of it. "The aim is perhaps not to directly recruit them, but to entice them to consider the lucrative insurance industry in their job searches."

Tapping into the vast resources of the wired world is what GreatInsuranceJobs.com and InsuranceSalesJobs.com prides itself on. "We utilize many new ways to position our clients in front of potential candidates on the Web, such as social media, search engines, and networking," said Kotroba. "We are also the only job board that is intimately involved in the insurance industry — we attend many conventions — and that sets us apart from the larger job boards in that we really understand what it means to be in this business."

But for all of the advantages of Internet-driven techniques in recruiting job seekers, actual exposure to the industry in a person's early career-development years remains critical. That's why FAIA started a workforce development task force as part of a five-year plan.

"We're working with community colleges around the state," said Harrington. "We had legislation passed last year that a two-year degree with a specialty in insurance will waive the 440 license. That will encourage young people in college to possibly major in insurance, because when they leave school, they'll be automatically licensed and immediately employable."

Through its national office, the association also sends agents and recruiters into high schools — they work with 29 in the state of Florida — to run the InVEST program. This hands-on teaching program sets up the entire business class to function like an auto insurance agency for six weeks. They sell policies to fellow students and then service those policies by taking claims or adding or removing vehicles.

"We use auto insurance as the example, because that is where their lives are right at that moment; they are learning to drive, getting their licenses, and getting cars," reported Harrington. "So it teaches them how car insurance works, why safe driving is so important, how it is that their rates are affected if they get tickets, that kind of thing. It's a great education for them, even if they don't end up in our business."

Harrington has slightly reframed her pitch these days. "One of the things I tell young people is that because insurance touches every industry, you can make it touch something that you enjoy. If you like tropical fish, you can go out and sell insurance to all the tropical fish stores in your area. If you like kids, you can sell to daycare centers. If you like golf, you can sell to golf stores and golf courses. There is a way to make it very personal and very fun that's unique to the insurance business. I don't think that changes because of the economy."