July 10, 2019
Introducing Captain Contract- A Recruiting Superhero Saves The Day
by Amy Stuntz
Iron Man. Black Panther. Captain America. All great superheroes, but seriously, kids these days! They don’t remember the classics nearly like we do- Superman, Batman and Mighty Dog. Huh? Mighty Dog. Oh yeah! Hopefully after reading the title you have that same phrase stuck in your head, “Here I Come to Save The Day!”
Recruiting is an equalizer for companies, no matter the nature of their business. It’s true even within an industry like insurance with nuances between carriers, agencies and third-party firms. The consistent issues we hear- sourcing candidates, vetting qualified applicants and building a diverse workforce- can be found in Great Insurance Jobs’ recent survey.
According to GIJ’s 2019 Insurance Industry Employment and Hiring Outlook Survey the top recruiting challenges insurance employers experience are:
- Too many unqualified resumes
- Finding experienced people in the salary range of the job
- Retirements
- Recruitment budgets are low
- Recruiting a younger workforce including millennial and Gen Z’s
Contract, contingent and part-time workers are alternative work arrangements, the solution we are passionate about for addressing insurance recruiting issues. Temporary staff and work from home positions are becoming increasingly more popular as companies and brokers navigate the unique circumstances of their market.
A Hero Among Us
Captain Contract has some questions for you- and solutions- for saving the day!
Does your company stereotype part-time employees? If you know a position is going to be difficult to fill, ask hiring managers if they will consider less than 40 hours/week. Even if it’s 30-35 hours, the difference can be huge in the eyes of applicants looking for an alternative.
Can we be flexible with pre-retirees? Retirement sounds great until you’re sitting at home, napping at 11 am and bored out of your mind. Many experienced insurance professionals between 55-65 years old contact me with a desire to remain employed but with slightly different parameters given this phase of their life. They are terrified of grinding for 50-60 hours a week but going down to zero.
- Consider how you can modify positions for pre-retirees’ schedules
- Make sure to actively promote this within your job advertisements
- Pair them with millennials- contract or perm- for an easy solution to training and mentoring
We need staff but budgets are a concern at a full-time pay scale. We see this a ton on the claims side. Cat claims teams are a budgeting and recruiting nightmare. Our solution- use funds to hire a part-time field adjuster to work as needed and only pay for hours actually worked.
No candidate meets all of our experience requirements. Full-time positions can hamstring you into an “all chips in” situation. Our suggestion- turn one role into two part-time positions and split the responsibilities. Hiring two people at the same time will reduce recruiting and on-boarding costs.
More hours don’t always mean more productivity. Contact me for more ideas on how to incorporate part-time or contract staff into your company’s recruitment plan.