September 1, 2021

A Leadership Hire for 2022

by Mary Newgard

Planning a C-Suite hire for 2022? Well, that’s awesome, and I bet if you’re reading this blog you will take all the insight you can get. The problem is there’s very little hiring and compensation data specifically available for insurance agencies. Thankfully, Capstone reviews and monitors data from its recruiting projects so we can paint a picture of agency hiring trends.

  • 60% of agency hiring happens at the account management/account executive level
  • 30% of agency hiring is producer related
  • 10% that remains is largely management driven (mostly at the COO or division leadership levels) with a small portion carved out for technical roles (claims, marketing and loss control).

The average response rate for an experienced, mid-level insurance professional receiving a job solicitation is 20-30%. Of that group between 5-10% are qualified and referable. Executive hiring has a higher rate of engagement, closer to 30% but the referral rate remains the same.  Executives tend to respond more often for three reasons:

  • They are personally interested in the job
  • They are curious about what the market bears
  • They are open to providing networking assistance

As the process unfolds, the numbers remain the same from submission (referral) to finalists. Statistically speaking, across the entire recruiting industry, recruiters only place 3% of their candidate pool. For you, this means only 3% of prospective candidates will make a job change. This is especially important when setting expectations for a volume of candidates. You might want 5 finalists for a leadership search but to get that there will need to be 150 prospective candidates.

To recruit experienced, senior level insurance candidates you need the design of an engaged search. You don’t want to fool yourself into thinking 1,000 prospects gives you a better chance of filling the role. There aren’t 1,000 people qualified for your job. Realistically, there are 5-10 people who fit all your parameters AND are willing to make a career change. With the right skill, time and intention you can attract them in a 4-8 month range. An engaged process will help you find the right candidates as quickly as possible. Read more about Engaged Recruiting here!

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