Insurance: Hiring for Cultural Fit
Why Culture Fit Matters When It Comes to Top Performers
Insurance agencies who hire and develop top producers have realized there’s more to evaluating candidates than considering skills and experience. While it may be important for candidates to have the sales potential and industry knowledge you need to grow your business, if hiring managers forget to hire for culture even the most promising candidates may fail. A study published in Organization Science examined hiring practices at insurance firms and found that a bad culture fit completely negated great experience. This means that agencies who ignore culture during the hiring process risk negatively impacting both their culture and retention.
What is your culture?
Your office culture can encompass anything from your dress code to team events to whether your office prefers afternoon or morning meetings . . . but it usually begins with your core values. Your values are the crux of your employment brand and should tie your diverse cast of employees together. Take some time to think about how you describe your office culture and how you present your values. This doesn’t only matter in terms of employment brand, but carries to your company’s brand and reputation as well.
Hiring for Cultural Fit
Incorporating your culture into your hiring process is critical to setting up new hires for success. It’s a way of being honest about the environment and expectations so both you and the candidate can make the best decision.
Careers Page
Begin by looking at where you show off your employment brand. Showcase your culture on your careers page by writing about your values and including company photos. With this information upfront in the hiring process, you will immediately attract candidates who are drawn to that culture. You can also ask current employees to speak to your culture when writing a review on Glassdoor.
Interviews
During the interview process, be sure to include culture questions alongside ones targeting skills and experience. Find out what they value in a job and in a work environment. Take some time to write a few questions that speak directly to your unique culture.
Assessments
Comprehensive personality assessments can be a great asset in determining culture fit. Hiring managers can measure key competencies – such as teamwork, integrity, and conscientiousness – that thrive in their agency. Current top performers can also take these assessments to benchmark against candidates.
CareerPlug Helps Insurance Agencies Make Great Hires
CareerPlug works with over 6,000 insurance agents to make hiring easy. From building out compelling careers pages to show off agency culture, to creating customized interview guides, CareerPlug works with agents to build a better team to grow their business.
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