OVERCOMINGHIRING

candidates making decisions about whether or not they want to join your organization as well. Agencies have a particular advantage in that they can build a closer relationship with that candidate pool and give richer and more complete data to the candidate about what they're going to be getting into "

Acknowledging this element of the hiring process is a key part of the hiring success of Powers Insurance & Risk Management in St. Louis. Timothy Davis, chief operating officer of Powers, a family-owned agency, points out that many familyowned agencies have the attributes that job seekers are looking for in today's environment and should be shouting those perks into a megaphone.

“There's a lot that all of us family-owned agencies can offer right now," Davis says. “It's that anticorporate atmosphere that we're seeing across the

Continued from page 32 culture There are a lot of people who don't want to deal with red tape and that atmosphere can be avoided in the family-owned agency. It's something that a lot of agencies should make a big deal about; family-owned agencies understand what it's like to have a family and balance the workload."

Setting the Scene: Job Search Parameters

Your agency is growing, a top producer moves on or an employee retires, and you're looking for your next employee. The quest begins by determining exactly who you're looking for and what you need to do to attract them.

“If you were to draw a compass around your office, does the talent that you're looking for exist within a 10-, 15- or 20-mile radius? If not, then you need to do something different," St John says

Unless your agency is a blockbuster production,