Insurance Industry Talent Crisis Introduction

Have you felt the pinch of the insurance industry talent crisis? It feels like every agency I go to says the same thing – it’s hard to hire. When I hear this I cringe a bit. We are in the people business. People are our product. What has happened is that the game, process, and ways to recruit have changed – yet many agencies keep trying to use the same recruiting strategy. 

In this blog we will explore how you can work through the insurance industry talent crisis.

When an insurance agent tells me it’s hard to hire – we have to keep bad people on the team, here are the first questions I ask about their hiring practice:

• Do you have a job ad up – if so, where? (you may be surprised how many agencies do not have a posting up)
• Are you paying to sponsor the post (you will get no candidates if you don’t pay)
• What is the quality of your posting? (you will need to remember the job description is not the job ad – you are selling great candidates to apply)
• Are you proactively reaching out on the job boards or just waiting for them to find you?
• Have you told 3 people per day you are hiring? (you need to work your network)
• Do you have the right filters on the postings? (we hear we don’t get many with the right qualifications)
• How long have you been struggling to hire? (not 6 months—you could have trained a green person!)
• Do you have any specialization on the team? (example: processing, sales, account management, VAs)
• Is your compensation in alignment with current industry standards? (The job boards can share a range that is average)
• Are you spending time daily on recruiting? (remember we are in the people business)
• Have you taken your job ad down and reposted it (if it’s been there too long it’s at the bottom)
• Why would someone leave their position to come work for you?

The real question is are you being lazy in your hiring. The old way was to post and get qualified people within 5 miles of your office. The new way means you have to sell good candidates on why to work with you. Most people are looking to improve their situation; when they get uncomfortable enough to change jobs, your offer has to be appealing.

How to Attract and Retain Top Talent

If you want to solve the insurance industry talent crisis, we need to start by being smart and spending time hiring. In addition, you need to invest in your current team.

We find in so many agencies they have bodies, but the team is under-trained—either in quoting, handling difficult situations, new markets, or technology. You name it. To get ahead, you need to train your team to stay ahead and develop them.

People are your biggest expense—yet we tend to under-invest in them with training and effective, consistent accountability and leadership. This leaves a lot of underdeveloped agents.

Let’s review our top strategies for solving the insurance industry talent crisis.

Believe and Execute on Forever Recruiting

Too many insurance agencies hire out of desperation, not preparation. From the time I got my first “real job” after college, I never looked for a job again—I used my network to find my next opportunity. Many great candidates may not be on job boards. This is similar to insurance opportunities: if you want larger commercial accounts, you have to go find them; rarely do those opportunities call you.

The common recruiting strategy was to wait until you need someone, post, and see what is out there. The new recruiting strategy means that you are always looking. At carrier events, you network and connect on social media. You know the top talent at your competition and actively engage with them. And you have job ads out all the time so you can meet new people.

You may not have a spot, but you do need a bench of candidates to work from. This empowers you to depart from underperformers and build great relationships with new candidates. Remember, you want to be the first person someone calls when they are looking to make a move.

Bypass job postings and get the off-market listings! Great candidates also don’t want to do the job search thing if they don’t have to.

Your Job Posting Is About What’s in It for Them

Insurance industry recruiting has changed. To get top talent, you need to get their attention. For a top person to leave, it has to be to improve their situation. In today’s world, that is not always more money. That can be stability in staffing, better markets, more flexibility, a better culture, or clarity in their role.

Too many job postings read like a job description. They are two different things. Your job posting should paint a picture of how much better it would be to work for YOU vs. all the skills you need them to have.

Similar to insurance prospecting or online dating, your pitch should be clear and benefits-driven. Your job posting can have pictures, testimonials, awards, and benefits.

Think about it: if I’m a top player, I’m most likely well taken care of at my current agency. However, there may be 1–2 things I would consider moving for—so you need to display your value and culture in recruiting.

Have Clarity in What You Are Looking For

One response to the insurance industry talent crisis is to look at your structure. There are new roles and ways of doing business. With VAs, bots, and unique roles, it’s a great opportunity to decide what your agency really needs. Maybe you need a processor, a claims person, or to separate sales and service.

When your agency scales, the first move we make is to separate sales and service. Let’s be honest, it’s very rare you find someone who is excellent at both. If you can divide roles, you may find better talent by placing them in the right role for them.

Tell Everyone You Know That You Are Hiring

When I open up positions at Agency Performance Partners, I have a goal to tell 1 person per day that I am looking. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool. Too often we don’t leverage our normal, natural network. There is power in putting the word out into the universe—it’s the law of attraction.

The more people you tell, the more those people tell, and you have word of mouth working for you. People who know you, your agency, and your team are more likely to refer someone who is a great fit for you.

Leverage More Than One Job Posting Site & Spend Money

I can’t tell you how many times agencies will tell me they aren’t getting any applicants. I ask them if they paid to post the job—and they find out they didn’t. You won’t get any eyes on your openings if you do not pay to play. Recruiting is a business, not a charity. Pay to boost your openings. I use the recommended budget that the systems provide.

If you aren’t getting any good applicants and it’s been a few weeks, take the post down and repost it. When you do this, you shoot back to the top of the boards.

Also, use Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, IdealTraits—use it all. When you need to hire, you have to be aggressive with your postings and spend. There are times when you have the luxury of being patient. However, if you are up against the wall, tear down all your boundaries. Post in all the places you can.

Lastly, don’t discount recruiters. They are consistently working to know the markets and what is working and what is not. In addition, they can crack into people who aren’t looking but may be interested if the right opportunity crossed them. Yes, you will pay them; however, again, hiring is a business.

Stop Thinking You Need a Seasoned Person

There are times where, yes, you need a seasoned person. However, if you practice forever recruiting, this is not hard. When you are in the people game and you are not prepared, you end up hiring out of desperation. At the same time, stop hiring every waitress that is nice. If you have a strong interview process and you really look at your agency, you could identify entry-level roles where you could train your next new hire.

So often agencies complain about candidates. However, if you hired a green person 9 months ago, today they would have 9 months of experience and could start taking lower-level tasks off the team. We have to get comfortable with the fact that there are more people leaving this industry than coming into it. 

It’s our responsibility to protect our agency, and that means identifying and training new people and inviting good people to have a career in insurance.

If You Have a Revolving Door – It’s YOU

Agency owners get frustrated with turnover. Now, don’t get me wrong, some turnover—controlled by the agency—is healthy. However, if you have people leaving of their own accord, that’s a problem.

Stop blaming the team—you hired them. If you can’t keep people, you need to analyze—openly and honestly—why you can’t keep people. Stop saying the person wasn’t right—well then, how do we hire better? I see so much blame on other people when leadership needs to look in the mirror.

You need to get down to the root cause of why people aren’t staying and then fix it.

Our Agency Assessment can help you with this. It’s so expensive to make the wrong hire. It costs you time, money, and team trust. Fix your hiring and retaining problem, and you will have smoother sailing.

You can learn more about our recommendations on running an agency here.

Build a Repeatable & Ruthless Interview Process

When we recently hired, there were people I met that I thought would be excellent for the role. Then they didn’t pass the personality profile. We didn’t move forward. Some candidates were SHOCKED.

I would get frustrated that no one could pass the profile—they had the experience, but could they work here and for me? I had to be ruthless to not bend on the standards.

We have a 9-step process including homework, profiles, and flying to see candidates as well as having dinner with their spouse or significant other. You may think this is crazy, but people’s personal lives impact their work life. I want them to know me, and I want to confirm I’m not getting a hot mess express on the team.

By being ruthless, I get the best, and I won’t settle for anything less—as I too am in the people game.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the insurance industry talent crisis demands a proactive, strategic shift in how agencies approach recruiting and retention. By embracing “forever recruiting,” crafting compelling job postings that highlight benefits, leveraging multiple paid job boards, and building a robust network, agencies can attract top talent.

Additionally, investing in team training, clearly defining roles, and maintaining a rigorous, repeatable interview process are critical to building a strong, sustainable workforce. Agencies must move beyond outdated hiring practices, take responsibility for turnover, and create an appealing culture to secure and retain the best candidates in a competitive market.

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