Choose an FMO for Hiring Tips and Retention Strategies

Is There a Best Time of the Year to Recruit and Hire?

In this volatile hiring market, brokers know the best time to hire is when a well-qualified agent becomes available. However, please schedule accordingly if you want to create an annual calendar of recruiting opportunities based on selling seasons or your specific needs.

January – March

• After the New Year’s holiday, people are usually more open to career changes and getting a fresh start.
• Insurance is winding down this time of year, making it ideal to train new agents and prepare them for the peak selling seasons.
• Visit colleges and engage with recent and upcoming graduates who may be interested in getting a jump start on a new career in business.
• Attend college fairs. Due to finances, some students will be eager to start a career path and can easily get into entry-level roles in insurance. They can work on acquiring their insurance license while their classmates are still applying and interviewing for jobs. Those getting an insurance license will not face the flood of new graduates competing for work in the Spring. 

April – June

• Tax refunds provide people a little additional security to make a career change.
• Insurance products such as P&C see an uptick in sales this time of year
• Experienced agents are still open to new opportunities before mid-year
• Seasoned insurance agents can ramp up quickly and have time to prepare for the upcoming selling seasons

August – October

• This is a great time to train new agents and refresh seasoned agents for the busiest insurance season.
• All agents push a little harder this time of year because the holidays are approaching, which is a good time to earn extra income.
• This is the season to reach sales goals.

November – December

• This is when the hiring pool is draining, but it’s also a time of reflection. Top agents may be assessing their carriers and company. They may be ready to jump on something new or more lucrative.
• This is a good time to catch your mid-year college graduate who is ready to get started on a new career.
• Recruiting agents who are unhappy with their current employer can be a great way to springboard into the new year.

Build a Team That Stays

Recruiting top-tier agents is only half the battle. Retention is the key to success, but a revolving door of hiring forces you into a never-ending recruitment cycle. Whether your agency is small or large, some strategies apply to all. 

Aside from client relationships, your other top team priority should be agent satisfaction. This includes a positive and inclusive work environment, fair compensation, and career training with growth opportunities.

Vertafore’s 5th annual survey and report, The Insurance Agency Workforce, showed that employee turnover in the insurance industry was estimated at 11.9% in 2017. The survey attributed a significant portion of the turnover to a retiring workforce and an attractive labor market outside the industry.

However, their most recent survey suggests that the employee turnover rate for agencies of all sizes has grown to 20%. The new results indicate a shift in an industry that traditionally enjoyed low turnover rates, leaving many agencies ill-prepared.

Why the sudden exodus? 49% were seeking more financial incentives. In the non-direct pay category, 30% wanted more time off, 25% sought professional development, and 36% wanted better benefits.  

Almost four out of five agencies in the study made changes to retain talent by enhancing their offerings. These changes included higher pay, remote work, flexible schedules, bonuses, extra time off, and more professional development.

Drawing from studies and statistics, agencies can benefit from making changes that resonate with today’s insurance agents. With the average age of agents in the mid-40s, many have families and would be responsive to an offer of work-life balance.

Agencies interested in growing their talent pool while retaining their high-performance agents should develop a strategic plan based on their particular agent pool's pain points and needs.

While you are looking for agents who are licensed in multiple lines, skilled, experienced, customer-centric, and loyal, give them reasons to check boxes for your agency by making your offer meaningful.

• Offer financial incentives and/or bonuses.
• Plan more flexible schedules and more time off
• Provide opportunities for advancement and career development
• Add technology for better workflow
• Ensure that everyone has proper training in technology
• Additional benefits like remote work or company recognition

This is why choosing the right FMO/IMO/NMO is critical. If you can’t connect your agents to the major carriers they need or an easy quote-and-enroll system, they can become discouraged before they even start.

You may have agents who are technology-challenged. So, choosing an organization with simple tools, training, and responsiveness is essential to your retention process. If agents lack the necessary resources, they will look for an agency with those resources.