Top tips to maximise the chances of hiring the right person for your company.
View every opportunity as strategic
Employers can sometimes be very good at attracting talent, but not so good at keeping it, says Malcolm Whyte, Managing Director of Professional Integrity Recruitment. “Spending time finding candidates with critical experience or appropriate skills must be equally matched by ensuring they fit the team dynamics or company culture,” he says. “Otherwise the new relationship may be short lived or, even worse, cause valuable team members to leave down the track."
Ask friends and colleagues
It can be tricky attracting fresh young talent into the industry, with a particular shortage of those aged 18 to 30. Jo Limbourn, business manager general insurance at The Brooklyn Group, often sources her talent through those already working in the industry, with many encouraging their sons and daughters into the sector. The other option is jobs website Seek, but she admits that wading through the deluge of applications it yields is a big job.
She looks for young people with good school results who have worked throughout their schooling.
Personality matters
An applicant’s personality is also important, with introverts only able to go so far in the industry, Jo Limbourn says. Potential candidates are also asked to write a letter outlining why they’re interested in the job.
There is a serious battle for talent in the market, so brokers on the huntfor staff must think outside the box. a lot of employees are keeping an eyeout for a good opportunity.
Insurance is a great industry to be in – play it up!
“The challenge is that Gen Y wants everything for nothing,” Limbourn says.
“The best way to find staff is to sell the benefits of not just the brokerage, but the insurance industry as a whole. I always talk about it being a professional and social career with a lot of networking functions and advancement opportunities. They can also walk into the industry, land a job, study at the same time and get a degree without having to pay for it.”
Tap into your industry networks
Senior positions are among the hardest to fill, with advertisements on industry jobs boards not as likely to yield the right candidate as tapping into your own industry networks, says Beth Osmont, Managing Director of specialist insurance recruiter, Stirling Anderson.
“There’s a serious battle for talent in the market, so brokers on the hunt for staff must think outside the box. A lot of employees are constantly keeping an eye out for a good opportunity if it comes along,” she says.
Rather than necessarily advertise, you can ask your own network for someone that might be suitable for a role within your business, she says.
“However, going directly to a competitor has caused an all-out war between rival companies. A lot are willing to pay for a recruiter to approach a person for them to avoid the upset,” Osmont says.
Position yourself correctly to attract the right applicants
Companies that have some degree of corporate social responsibilityare also increasingly important to young employees, Beth Osmont adds. “Brokers need to think carefully about how they position themselves to attract candidates.”
Get the right person and they will stay
Once people join the industry, they usually stay. The insurance sector is a huge employer in Australia, with an Axiss Australian executive briefing report titled Insurance in Australia revealing there are around 96,000 people employed in the industry. The report also reveals around $3,000 per head is invested in insurance in this country, proving insurance is big business.
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