Finding Employees For Insurance Industry Jobs

Finding the right employee for any job opening can be a

challenge to say the least, and this is no truer than in

the insurance industry. With considerations ranging from

experience and education to their personal skills, the

decisions faced by recruiters and employers can be of

critical importance.



When hiring employees for insurance industry jobs it is

important to take many factors into account. Summarized,

these factors include:



1. Education & Certification

2. Experience

3. Personal Skills



Education & Certification

Obviously one of the first criteria you will be looking for

in a candidate will be their education. Whether the

employee is applying for a one of your insurance sales

jobs, customer service, risk management or some other

position you will want to make sure that their education

matches the criteria of the job. With this in mind an

employer will often find him/herself in a position when

multiple candidates are well educated and/or certified.

While it may take additional time, looking into the schools

themselves may yield significant differences.



A certificate from the "University of Phoenix Online" is

worth significantly less than the same certificate from an

accredited educational institution but unless you look into

the credentials you may be tempted to consider them all

equal.



While education cannot be considered the end-all-be-all of

hiring any qualified candidate, a solid education from an

accredited institution reflects more than a knowledge of

the industry – it also reflects the job applicant's ability

to write and present ideas clearly and also to stick with

something they have started.



And isn't that a key feature in a candidate, whether the

education is necessary in their job function or not?



Experience

This is perhaps the most important factor in filling jobs

in the insurance industry (or any industry for that

matter). What you should be reading into their experience

is not simply the number of years they have worked in the

same or similar roles however. While experience in a

specific field lends itself to a strong understanding of

the ins-and-outs of it can also have its downside that must

be taken into account.



The value of experience in the insurance industry comes

primarily from the reduced training that will be necessary

to get the employee functioning. Knowing how to perform a

specific function, especially a complex function such as

risk management or loss control, can save a company

countless dollars in training.



The downside in experience that must be considered is that

an employee may not fully understand the processes and

procedures unique to your insurance company. No two

companies perform all their tasks the same way and an

employee who has performed a specific role for one company

may assume (incorrectly) that you do or should do it the

same way. This can lead to bottlenecks and sometimes even

conflict.



An additional drawback to experience that must be addressed

when filling insurance jobs is the knowledge that the

prospective employee has worked in insurance industry jobs

and has chosen to leave an employer. The last thing you

want is to fill one of your vacant jobs with an employee

who has a history of leaving related positions.



Both of these drawbacks can be addressed with a few simple

questions of the employee and to past employers.



Personal Skills

Personal skills are arguably one of the most important

criteria when filling insurance industry jobs. While the

importance of personal skill is obvious when hiring for

insurance agent jobs, these skills are equally important

when considering employees for administration and more

technical positions as well. While these people may not

necessary be dealing with the public on a regular basis

they will play a key roll in developing a productive work

environment.



Although the primary objective in any businesses is to

insure profitability, developing an enjoyable work

environment in which the various parties can communicate

leads to new ideas, higher productivity due to a

willingness of all employees to work together, and perhaps

most importantly – a lower employee turnover rate.



For some insurance jobs, personal skills are more important

than others however for every position they should be

considered. You may even want to consider having the

current staff who will be working closely with the new

employee meet during the interview process and provide

feedback. If your staff work well together their

productivity will naturally increase.



Conclusion

While every company and position within that company is

different, as long as the above three areas are considered

when hiring for any of the various insurance industry jobs

available, you as the employer are far more likely to

foster a positive, productive and in the end, more

profitable company. You will end up with a staff that is

properly educated, has good experience if applicable, and

works well together. Like any well-oiled machine – this is

the recipe for success when filling insurance related jobs.