The market for recruiting executive talent in the insurance sector has never been more competitive than right now. Employers are facing ongoing challenges in the sector that are making it difficult to maintain a full roster of talent, as well as discovering new and evolving challenges to recruiting the executives they need, such as:
- Retirement of older executives with a low replacement rate of qualified younger talent
- An industry-wide lack of vigorous learning and development infrastructure to upskill current workers into competent executives
- An inability to define a workplace culture in which remote and flexible work opportunities are increasingly the norm
- Finding executive leaders that have the buy-in and fluency with high-tech ecosystems that niche product providers, carriers, and reinsurers implement
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing insurance companies in need of executive talent may not be as readily obvious: employer branding. Read on to learn how your employer brand could be your greatest asset (or liability) in recruiting the executive talent you need.
What Is Employer Branding?
Employer branding is how an insurance company establishes, builds, and reinforces its public image as an employer. An employer’s brand serves as the public face of an organization, providing a framework for what potential executive recruits should expect in working for your insurance company. It also defines how your firm will present itself to future recruits.
Why Is Employer Branding Important?
When it comes to recruiting executives, a strong employer brand can do the heaviest lifting of your recruiting strategy: name recognition and market authority.
Insurance companies with a strong employer brand will have a much easier time attracting the right talent to fill their vacancies. Likewise, a firm with a weak employer brand is more likely to have difficulty attracting top-tier talent because prospective employees won’t know as much about your company.
“The Unknown” can be an especially big deterrent for potential executive candidates already employed. Many will opt to stick with the company they know, rather than take a leap of faith with an unknown company, even if they don’t like their current role.
5 Employer Branding Strategies for Insurance Agencies
The three most effective strategies for building a strong employer brand in the insurance industry are:
Define an employee value proposition for your company.
This should clearly communicate the value of the brand your organization is developing. A great employer brand will be aligned with its customer brand and reflect and embody what is special about the organization.
Garner Employee Testimonials.
Don’t attempt to do all the work yourself. Enlist others to help spread your brand. The most effective way to get many hands to make light work and achieve true brand recognition is to garner positive feedback from within the organization. Employee experience is the most credible source of brand credibility for prospective recruits looking to find out about a company. Investing in employee advocacy will be your smartest move toward creating a solid employer brand.
Make It Easy for Prospective Employees to Learn About Your Company
Make it as easy as possible for prospective employees to learn everything they need to know about your company. One of the best strategies is to concentrate your company information in one place, usually your website. That’s a good start. But a great website that’s easy to navigate and easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for doesn’t do a lot if you aren’t bringing attention to it on a regular basis. And that means being active on social media.
Be Active on Social Media
Social media is where most prospective candidates will find out about your company. But employers with a strong brand use social media to keep up those touchpoints so that, over time, your company might as well be the only name in the insurance game.
Offer Learning and Development Opportunities
It’s important to offer meaningful learning and development opportunities that encourage employees to upskill themselves. This is where your company culture could become a real asset to you when recruiting executives. By highlighting your company culture and its learning resources, you’re representing a culture that will be a sellable point to prospective employees. Especially those executive recruits with big plans for their careers.
Preston & Company Is an Executive Recruiting Firm for the Insurance Sector
Starting as soon as you can to build your employer’s brand will pay off big dividends in the future. Over time, you’ll gain the name recognition and employer credibility that may be the most significant factor in a candidate’s decision to join your organization.
In the meantime, if you want to source and recruit the top executive talent in the insurance industry, contact Preston & Company today.
