Threat of recession should not overshadow insurance industry’s hiring needs: recruiter

Despite the possibility of an economic recession in the future, the insurance industry still needs to find ways to recruit top talent, an insurance specialty recruiter notes.
During a breakfast seminar held this month, DGA Careers management and other industry professionals discussed the increased number of opportunities in insurance leadership and jobs for qualified candidates.
“With a median age of 41, [the insurance industry’s] share of boomers is significantly higher than the rest of the workforce,” Lorie Guthrie Phair, a consultant at LePhair Associates, said in a press release. “A full one-third of the broker/adjustor community alone could retire in the next 10 years . . . and that percentage is even higher in management.”
There is a need for an immediate shift in recruitment approaches to meet the changing times.
“The recruiting pyramid has been flipped upside down,” Donald
Givelos, founder of DGA Careers and Insurance Works, said in the release. “Years ago, there were 10 candidates for one open position. Today, there are only one or two good candidates for 10 positions.” Companies need to include the use of multimedia, online job fairs and leading-edge incentive programs in their recruitment efforts, according to the release.
Also, insurance companies need to:
create a strong HR brand to attract new and qualified talent;
develop CRM policy that puts the emphasis on the candidate;
foster stronger retention policies and incentives for staying (i.e. beyond salary alone); and
develop a continuous formalized recruitment process.