Tips for both the prospect and the “hirer”
By Dean Bowen
I still remember my first day at my first job. I was a paintball referee, tasked with getting the paying public to understand that, yes, their eyes are vulnerable to a small projectile fired at 250 feet per second. Even this, a dream job for 15-year-old me in an environment I was familiar with, proved difficult to learn. This is to say that no matter what you do and how you do it, starting a new career can be daunting.
Insurance is no exception to this, with its own long list of processes to be understood and implemented. Whether you’re managing risk or getting shot at by spooked teenagers, there is a learning curve, and it is on the leadership to make this curve as smooth as possible.
Three effective decisions
My onboarding process with Patriotic was not perfect, but there were three primary areas where I was set up for success. The first and foremost is that I was not put on the phones and outbound marketing right away. This was pivotal.
It is essentially industry standard for newly onboarded producers to get to marketing as soon as possible, hitting the phones and selling insurance to their friends and family. It is understandable why this occurs, as lower-tier roles such as a producer tend to be a high turnover position, and what better practice than selling to a friendly audience?
The problem is, as soon as those leads dry up, what you’re left with is at best a $50,000 premium boost for the agency and a producer who has no idea what they’re doing. It is my opinion that this is a disservice to new producers and serves no purpose beyond getting something out of them for the sake of return on investment.
Giving a new producer time to figure out what’s going on and identify what areas they want to target can be invaluable in their growth and development. Additionally, while I recognize the value of “weeding out” so to speak, eventually you must decide what kind of hiring process you will have. More on that later.
My second point: Education. I can only speak to the licensing program in Pennsylvania, but my licensing education and subsequent testing had nothing to say about many important topics, the most glaring of which being the order of operations for the enactment of a policy. This was a major gap in my understanding initially, and it caused a myriad of problems when I did start interacting with customers.
The remedy for this—and what worked for me—was clearly defining what parts of the sale I as the producer was responsible for, along with knowing a basic timeline of how paperwork needs to move and when. This will be second nature to anyone who has been doing the job for some time, but to someone new it is nowhere near as intuitive as you might think.
I personally benefitted greatly from shadowing the other people who work for my agency whenever possible. This was very helpful, as it gave me a look at how they used our CMS, how to interact with carriers, and countless other insights that are best learned by observation, not trial and error.
Speaking of trial and error, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention perhaps the most daunting task for a new producer in this industry: Networking. Giving new producers access to your network can be an essential starting point for them. I’m not recommending you set meetings with everyone you know as part of the onboarding process, but a few introductions can go a long way.
I’ve been very fortunate to have access to mentors and assistance from a broad swath of this industry we call home, and this was a large factor in my initial success. What this boils down to is that with these mentors, a new employee can ask the “stupid” questions without fear of looking uninformed to the boss. Having people around willing to help that don’t sign your paycheck can remedy a lot of worry and unanswered questions, and overall will make things easier for a fledgling producer.
[N]o matter what you do and how you do it, starting a new career can be daunting.
In a similar vein, giving a new hire time and resources to build up their social media presence will pay dividends as time goes on. Managing social media can feel like another job on top of producing, but if the groundwork is laid early and a methodology for social media content is decided upon, it becomes much easier to maintain as responsibilities grow.
Be decisive
To take a birds-eye view, anyone handling hiring for producers must decide: Do you want quality or quantity? Do you want to be constantly onboarding on a shallow level, or do you want to commit to a smaller group and dive deeper?
For some agencies, it can make sense to bring in larger groups and let the job weed them out. However, it is my belief that it is beneficial to be more selective up front; do some of that work yourself, and you’ll end up with a far more capable and flexible team as a result.
Opinions on this will only get you so far; it’s up to you to evaluate where your agency is, decide which methodology works for you, and adjust as necessary.
Additionally, it cannot be overstated how much the initial 90-day period is treated as an interview for your company. This especially applies within insurance because, let’s be honest, there’s no shortage of other agencies to move to. Having a concerted plan for onboarding will go a long way in making your new hires feel valued and informed.
With the newest generation of workers being more willing than ever to leave a job if it isn’t going well, it becomes your responsibility to counteract that and not allow yourself to lose good potential employees to a lazy onboarding process.
I’m not recommending you set meetings with everyone you know
as part of the onboarding process, but a few introductions can go a long way.
New blood, new problems
Speaking of the generational gap within the workforce, allow me to explain my stance: I am 25 years old. My entire tenure of getting a paycheck has been marked with the reminder that everyone my age is lazy, unmotivated—and by my showing any drive at all that I am an exception.
I have not found this to be the case, as I’ve had the privilege of working alongside dozens of young people who proved this idea wrong every day. Sure, there are all sorts of people who don’t like working and never will thrive in a job that requires any level of commitment. However, the question I often respond with to stories about lazy Gen Z workers is this: Why did you hire that person to begin with?
It cannot be possible that everyone from 18 to 25 puts on a “false face” in interviews, only to pull the rug out afterwards. Instead of taking the easy way out and punching down, why not move toward a solution? Why not take responsibility for putting good people into your office?
This potentially controversial stance brings me back to my overarching point: It is necessary to be decisive and responsible. Even if it’s imperfect, have a plan for how you will interview and onboard new producers. Encourage criticism and use it to refine the plan as more people go through the process.
I am very fortunate to work under an agency principal who listens to concerns and acts on them, and this attitude does wonders in garnering trust and a healthy working environment for everyone involved. While building out an effective and productive onboarding process can seem impossible, you’ll never get anywhere without action.
By focusing on day-to-day education, giving a new producer space to grow, and providing resources for networking, you can have your hiring process go from a churn factory to a success story.
The author
Dean Bowen is a risk management specialist for Patriotic Insurance Group. Based out of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, he joined his father’s agency this past summer after a winding career in the trades. He spends his free time tinkering with computers and fishing. You can reach Dean at dean@patrioticinsurancegroup.com or at linkedin.com/in/dean-bowen.
