Think Outside the Box to Recruit Top Talent with Jeff Sophiea of Ideal Traits & Big I Hires
Not one independent insurance agent out there would tell you that hiring is a piece of cake. Never has there been a time when it has been this hard, but that doesn’t mean we give up. It’s going to take more effort than ever to fill these insurance jobs and that’s what Jeff Sophiea of Ideal Traits & Big I Hires came to discuss.
Sure, hiring is not a struggle for agents only, but insurance is a tricky industry on a normal day. In this episode of the Ridiculously Amazing Insurance Agent, Heath talks to Jeff about the topics on our minds these days like why no one wants to work, tried and true recruiting and incentives tactics, and (the elephant) pay structure.
Independent Agent’s Oldest Problem
Whatever side of the coin you work on, captive or independent, we are all having a heck of a time hiring good people. The thing we need to keep in perspective is the fact that this is not a new problem.
Independent insurance agencies have always had a hard time getting people in the door and keeping them there.
This isn’t really a new problem, but you can’t deny that it’s never been this bad. And even if it’s hard, it’s no reason to give up. Agents need people to grow and they need to be the right people.
The agencies out there getting after it, who seem like they have it all figured out, are actually facing the same problem you are. The only difference is that they are implementing good practices, adapting to the changing climate, and putting in the time to see these changes through.
No One Wants To Work, Let Alone In Independent Insurance
But those adaptations are nothing without people willing to meet you there. And right now, it seems like no one is willing to meet anyone anywhere.
Have you driven by a McDonalds recently?
They have every benefit the can think of available on boards and posters all over their locations. They are offering to pay more than ever before and even they can’t get people in the door.
Why is that?
Well, Jeff has some ideas.
- People Are Lazy.
- Poor Branding.
The first one explains itself. But Jeff enlightens us on the second one. You see, he is on the phone with agents all day long and they tell him all about how great their agency is. The problem is that Jeff doesn’t see one shred of that same positivity in the job ad.
It’s basically impossible for candidates to see what you are really made of because agents simply don’t show them. There is nothing for the candidates to look forward to.
So, how do you change that?
Good Branding = Recruiting For Your Insurance Agency
There are so many ways to recruit for your independent insurance agency, but time passes us so quickly we don’t think to put the time into stuff like this. Don’t worry, Jeff has some suggestions.
#1. Career Pages
Create a page all about the position and put some real thought into it. Once you feel like it properly represents your agency and the type of person you need, send the link to your whole team. Have them send it to anyone they can think of.
#2. Employee Referral
The first leads into the second. You can incentivize this. Make word of mouth a reward for your team.
#3. Swag
Getting your logo and brand on something tangible is a great way to promote. Getting a sweater or a tee-shirt to the whole team will spread your brand for you.
Incentives That Incentivize
You might think it’s hard to get people on your team because, well, who would choose you over X, Y, and Z?
You’d be surprised how many people want to work for someone like you in a business just like yours. We recommend that you give people as much of a window into working in your agency as you can.
You also have to be willing to incentivize people with what you know they want. Let’s talk about some of those.
Remote Work
We get it. You want people in the office so that you can keep a handle on things, but that is an old way of thinking. Independent insurance agencies need to accept change or else they will be left behind.
Jeff himself did not want to leave the office and now he can’t imagine going back. It’s tough to hear, but you’ll need to at the very least compromise on this one. Start by having new hires in the office and implement little bouts of remote work at a time. Start with two days a week and go from there.
Sign On Bonus
Look at people you can mentor. Heath has mentioned Chick-fil-a employees and their impeccable customer service. Talk to one of them.
Find people you can grow into agents. This is where reimbursements for licensing comes in. It can even come in the form of a bonus.
Compensation On The Job Board
Compensation is not the only reason people will come to work for you, but you can’t deny that it’s a factor. You could even argue that it’s the most important factor.
Pet Insurance
What perspective hire would not love this? You don’t have to do this, but it’s a pretty great idea. The whole point is to think outside the box to attract people to your agency. Thanks, Jeff!
A Bad Hire vs. Your Independent Insurance Agency
Before we get into our last point on hiring, we need to talk about one very real threat to your agency.
A bad hire is a scary thing. You work very hard ahead of time to ensure that this is not what you end up with, but you never really know.
We define a bad hire as someone who loves to stir the pot, they drain emotional energy of you and your whole team, and the amount of negativity they spread is frightening. When they leave, you are left with watching a lot of time and energy swirl down the drain.
The estimated cost of one of these is around $50,000. Crazy, right?
All of your efforts should be poured into the prevention of this very thing. The more work you do at the beginning, the less of a risk a hire becomes. Everything you accomplish depends on the team you have. Remember that.
The Elephant
This is a topic that Jeff gets asked about all the time. HOw the heck do you structure pay these days?
His first priority is to make that producers who aren’t producing, they aren’t making money. We have all heard those stories about legacy employees who just don’t pull their weight getting paid more than the owner. *Insert cringe.*
Some owners have producers who sell so much that they have a hard time paying that insane commission, but he says you need to see the bigger picture. Would you rather them not be selling? The amount of business they bring in outweighs they weight of that paycheck.
He always prefers commission heavy pay structures because that brings in those go getters. But that can be a tough space to navigate today because you aren’t going to get any experienced producers with a tiny base pay. Some agencies use team bonuses and those work great, too.
You have to find your special sauce. That’s all. It’s not that scary.
Save Yourself A Hiring Headache
So, Jeff works for this great company that we have been recommending to our clients for a while. They are an all-in-one hiring platform that is insurance specific. You have the choice of having them make the ads for you or creating your own using their built in templates.
This platform takes hours, multiple log-ins, and a whole bunch of ads to track and gives you one cohesive hiring experience.
They can help agencies looking to hire one person per year and agencies trying to grow faster that a weed.
The Assessment
We could go on forever about this, but the real selling point here is this assessment they created. You hand it off to candidates and it can help you find the exact type of person you are looking for to fill the exact position you have open.
It’s incredible. Take a listen to the episode to have Jeff explain it in full detail.
Ideal Traits & Big I Hires
When you feel like you have hit a wall when it comes to hiring, reach out to Jeff. You are not alone and these people might hold the special sauce you need for your independent insurance agency.
Just know that. You are not alone. You have options and your perfect people ARE out there.
If you want the full scoop, take a listen to this incredible episode with Jeff Sophiea.
