The Ontario Broker - Volume 24, Issue 5 - 50

COLUMNS
Hiring Non-Insurance Roles
H
iring is an important process at any organization. At
brokerages, you often start by adding more underwriters,
sales roles and professionals with backgrounds in claims. As
you evolve, you hire non-insurance roles like marketers and
coders. These roles are essential in helping drive innovation, enhancing
customer experience and improving operational efficiency. If you're
considering hiring from a non-insurance pool, here are a few things to
keep in mind.
Needs Analysis
Before diving headfirst into the hiring process, take the time to clearly
define your needs. Are you looking for someone to help you bring in new
customers or automate systems? Do you need a dedicated person to
handle social media so your receptionist can focus on customer service?
You'll need to determine if you have enough on-going work to justify
a full-time hire. If you haven't already, it's probably best to start by hiring
a contractor in the role to better gauge the amount of work you have for
them. By bringing in a professional, they'll likely identify other places
where they can contribute with their expertise, which might not be
immediately obvious.
The Right Fit
This part of the process will be similar to the hiring you've done for
insurance related roles, but there are a few key areas to focus on.
Self-Motivation
* Managers who haven't previously supervised coders, marketers or
creatives may not know the appropriate timelines for this type of
work. Since this new role may be a department of one, it's crucial
your new hire can stay on top of tasks and projects independently.
Problem-Solving
* Since there may not be other employees in the company doing
similar tasks, non-insurance team members will need to think
critically and find innovative solutions on their own.
Skills-Focused
* As we all know, industry knowledge can be learned on the job, so
focusing on hard skills is more important for these roles. In the case
of marketers, you might benefit from hiring outside of the insurance
industry to bring fresh perspective to your brokerage.
Team Player
* Place extra emphasis on the candidate's ability to work
collaboratively with others. Since they may not be coming from
within the industry, they'll need to rely more on you and your team
to provide context to what they're doing. If, for example, you're
planning to hire someone to code automations for your processes,
ask an employee they'd be working alongside to join the interview
process for their read on culture fit.
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The Ontario Broker
New Grads
There are waves of new graduates coming out of their programs who
are struggling to find that first job in their chosen field, and they're hungry
for a chance to prove themselves. New grads can be a more affordable
way to test out new roles. You can also consider co-op programs for a trial
run before committing to permanent additions.
Work Samples
Especially in the case of marketers, rather than relying on their
interview and experience, ask to see samples of their work to judge them
yourself. Fresh grads will have classwork that can function as a portfolio
piece. Coders might have case studies of their work they can point to as
a demonstration of what they're capable of. It can be easier to see how
pieces might fit when you see real examples and imagine them being
done for you.
Different Perspectives
If you want different outcomes, you have to make different choices.
Embracing the inclusion of non-insurance roles can transform your office
in ways beyond just what's anticipated. Adding non-insurance roles can
provide a new set of lenses to view business challenges and offer new
solutions. Approaching this change strategically can ensure you'll get the
most out of this move in a new direction.
The Ontario Broker - Volume 24, Issue 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - Volume 24, Issue 5
