RECRUITING THE RIGHT TALENT FOR INDEPENDENT AGENCIES

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His advice? Don’t rush the process. “If you do, you might end up filling the position with a candidate who isn’t right for you,” says Duda. “Always be on the lookout for new talent, stay patient, and do your due diligence when hiring.”

Gazzolo agrees. “Devote your energies to hiring the best,” she says. “As exhausting as it may sound, don’t take your hand off the throttle as an agency owner during the decision process.” with full-time career advisors whose purpose it is to connect students with jobs. Again, emphasizing the socialgood component of the insurance business will make working for your agency more attractive.

Once you’re reviewing candidates, know that the inexpensive option isn’t always going to be the best option.

Beal adds that once you employ members of this set, some of the keys to keeping them include fostering diversity among your staff; embracing technology that makes your processes more efficient — using outmoded systems will cause them to look elsewhere; providing mental health days; and possessing a genuine interest in them and their career. Provide them stipends to go to a conference, or for training. Help them and empower them as professionals, rather than just giving them a paycheck.

When hiring within this demographic, Gazzolo suggests agency owners do a salary equanimity check through a recruiter or indeed.com to ensure that their personnel are being paid competitively. If you attempt to pay them less than what they’re worth, they’ll know — and they won’t stay with you for long.

TO HIRE THE BEST, STAY PATIENT

While independent-agency talent is no longer ample or cheap, it’s not impossible to find it. It just takes time and patience. Duda says that sometimes, that’s longer than an agency principal wants to spend: “They don’t always have the luxury of being patient.”

“Gauge their personality,” Duda adds. “Trust your gut feeling when it comes to hiring, but have all the information available on hand when you make that decision. Just because someone is licensed and has a good resume doesn’t necessarily mean that they can sell insurance at a high level.”

In the end, there’s no one road to take when recruiting for your agency; diversifying your efforts is essential to finding the right person for the job.

“Since the beginning of time, one-third of jobs have been filled through an ad, one-third have been filled through referrals, and one-third through recruiters,” adds Gazzolo. “The best search is all three.”

Shawn Moynihan is Senior Director of Marketing for independent agency network Renaissance Alliance. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of National Underwriter Property & Casualty and Propertycasualty360.com.