10 facts brokers need to know when hiring new employees
January 6, 2015 8:31 AM
Independent insurance brokers are under hiring, new employees are struggling and a huge majority of new hires come from within the industry, Reagan Consulting found when it surveyed 4,641 brokers from 562 firms and conducted a follow-up survey with 112 firms that hired 1,505 new employees over the past five years.
Here are 10 key facts the Atlanta-based management consulting firm discovered about agent/broker recruiting and development: [Image: Fotolia]
Here are 10 key facts the Atlanta-based management consulting firm discovered about agent/broker recruiting and development: [Image: Fotolia]
1. Poor success rate
Just 56% of employees that are new to the insurance industry were either successful or on track to becoming successful. [Image source: Reagan Consulting]
2. Discrepancy among firms
New hires at the top 25% of firms have an 84% success rate compared to a 22% success rate at the bottom 25% of firms. [Image source: Reagan Consulting]
3. New blood needed
Just 35% of new hires came from outside the industry, and only 6% were recent college graduates. [Image source: Reagan Consulting]
4. Majority of new hires were free agents
Experienced brokers moving from agency to agency accounted for 55% of new hires. [Image: Fotolia]
5. Women are more successful
Women had a 63% success rate while men had a 61% success rate. A huge majority, 79%, of new hires were male compared to the 21% who were female. [Image: Fotolia]
6. Firms are under hiring
Between 55-60% of firms arent hiring enough new employees to support their desired growth. [Image source: Reagan Consulting]
7. New production can forecast producer hiring
The average sales velocity, which is calculated by dividing the current years total new business by the prior years total commissions and fees, was 12.7%. [Image: Fotolia]
8. Aging shareholders
The weighted average shareholder age was 53.3 years old. [Image: Fotolia]
9. Producers are aging, too
The weighted average producer age was 48.7 years old. [Image: Fotolia]
10. Pre-hiring test a good indicator
The success rate for producers endorsed by a pre-hiring test was 63%, which was 12 points higher than producers not recommended by a test or with inconclusive results. [Image: Fotolia]
