Attracting the right talent to insurance, how to make it irresistible

​After an extremely uncertain year tainted the job pool and left many worried about talent shortages in the insurance industry as caution saw fewer candidates leave an existing role, we begin the new year with a fresh start and a market that shows positivity once again!

With the demand for talent growing across all areas of insurance, it is important for businesses to revert back to a long-term approach when it comes to hiring fresh talent. However, with this increased hiring demand, the market remains candidate short; how will you ensure you are attracting the right candidates over your competitors? Creativity and flexibility are key to attracting the best talent in the current candidate short market.

So, how can you persuade the best talent to join your business?

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1. If experience is what you need:

Focus on ability and capability instead of age! The surest way to attract more experienced talent is ability-based job adverts; use your words carefully to highlight exactly what skills and experience you require for the role. Ensure you are promoting the opportunity for best use of a candidate’s skillset to entice those who are looking for the chance to utilise their best abilities. This will also align potential candidates with the exact skills you require from the beginning – so get specific and provide detail.

2. Open up your options:

Offer flexibility and unique opportunities. With a quick search, you can see what other roles are available for the type of employee you are trying to attract; so it is crucial to offer something that stands out from the crowd. This could be a unique trait of the position or your business that no one else is offering, such as free on-site parking or extra annual leave. Flexibility is also a main driver for candidates after experiencing work from home during the pandemic, so consider this as an extra perk. Could you offer a 4-day work week? Or the option for ‘choose your hours’? I.e. staff coming in earlier and finishing earlier, or starting later and finishing later. Another great option is promoting opportunities for working mums to help attract professionals with great experience, who only require slightly more flexibility but have great ROI and tend to have a longer tenure.

3. Internal to External promotion:

Use current employees as brand ambassadors. Highlight your current employees as brand ambassadors who can attest to how great your company is and what it’s like to work there. Do you have a blog where your employees can write guest articles about their job and the company culture? You can then push this content across your social media. If your current workforce promotes a job opening to their own network with a personal caption of why they like working for your company, it will promote the culture to help attract the top talent. If you look after your current talent, it’s easier to attract more!

4. Align your strategies:

You need a talent acquisition and internal mobility strategy in place! The most in-demand talent want to know that you have a process in place for clear career progression, and that the culture and engagement is good (as decided by the employees, not the owners!) – this will put you above your competitors. Try asking your highest performers what attracted them to the role and your organisation and use this in your talent acquisition strategy before you get to the recruitment stage.

Need some help with your internal mobility policy? Learn why it’s important and download our free template here!

5. When in doubt start at entry-level:

It may sound counterintuitive, however, opening more roles to entry-level candidates will create less demand for tier 1 roles. Try moving your best current talent up the ladder with your internal mobility strategy and hire more graduates to grow your team. Wanting to push your technology and innovation strategy plans to the forefront? This is the opportunity to hire young talent who have the passion and knowledge in these areas. By opening more entry-level opportunities with ample room to grow quickly, you take pressure off the top tier hiring demand.

Need help hiring grads? Check out our Future Insure Graduate Program , where we support the long-term development of the industry by attracting new talent and future leaders to your business!

6. Show who you really are:

Your company is represented by your recruitment process. Whether internal or external, the person recruiting for your role is the first point of contact for candidates. This means they are shaping the first impression that your potential employee has of the company. Ensure the person overseeing the hire understands the role and can provide the necessary information, but also has the authority to make the hiring decision, so not to slow the recruitment process down waiting for second and third-round interviews.

Wondering how your recruitment process compares? Find out more here .

If you’re looking for the best talent and want to make growing your team a seamless experience, we have an amazing specialist Insurance and Wealth Management team with exceptional industry experience. Find out more about the team here.

Have a position you need help recruiting for? Register your details on this page!