FAIA Speaker: Employment Crisis Threatens Agencies

An impending employment crisis threatens independent insurance agents and could become disastrous by 2010 unless employers act now, Lisa Harrington, Florida Association of Insurance Agents vice president of Education told students attending her presentation, “Finding the Perfect Employee (Or, Fishing in an Empty Pond), during Oct. 16 opening sessions of FAIA’s Management and Automation Training Seminars in Orlando, Fla.

Sunday afternoon seminar participants also discussed “Managing the Bottom Line,” with Jeff Barbacci and Andy Gray; “Setting Up and Securing a Wireless Network for your Home or Office,” with Brian Leibow; and “Document Management Technology: Considerations and Impact on Consumers,” by Bob Larrivee.

Harrington said that FAIA’s Agency Development Task Force keeps members up with the challenge of finding employees. She gave an overview of the problem, including statistics indicating unemployment has been at record lows from 2001 to 2005.

“This is not a new problem, everyone is going to retire and no new employees are coming into the pipeline to replace them in the job market,” Harrington explained. She said the unemployment rate of 3 percent to 4 percent is actually zero unemployment, since everyone who wants a job has one.

“This is not only true with insurance agents,” she explained. “But, there are CSRs in Florida that have worked for every agency in this room.

Harrington said insurance agencies are competing for employees with not only every other insurance agency, but with every other industry as well.

She quoted magazine statistics estimating that by 2010 there will be 4.6 million jobs available and no one to fill those positions. She called the situation a balance of power, explaining when demand exceeds supply, whoever has the supply has the power.

Harrington conceded that the insurance industry is conservative and has to move slowly, but said it’s essential for all businesses to map out a five-year plan and not wait for a seat in their agency to become empty before hiring new employees.

“I have conducted training classes at which agencies refuse to allow employees from competing businesses to attend,” Harrington explained. “They were afraid their employees would talk to someone from another agency and switch jobs.”

Harrington said the Big “I” recently completed a white paper on Generation X and suggested students should obtain a copy.

“Members of Generation X, born in the mid-1960s, want to know about their future and if they are learning, will stick with you every day as long as they are receiving another notch toward their exit strategy,” Harrington explained. She said one way to keep employees is to be comfortable with youth, who are looking for flexibility and training.

“You need to hire people, not fill jobs,” cautioned Harrington. “It’s essential to select the right person for your agency, if you find him or her and there is no position available, hire that employee anyway.”

According to Harrington, one of the biggest expenses agencies experience is turnover. She said turnover expenses are invisible and no one is following them.

“Turnover subtracts $12,000 to $25,000 from your bottom line every time you lose someone,” Harrington said. “Not only have you lost an employee, turnover costs you in morale, no matter why someone leaves, whether it is on their own or they found something better, or because a spouse has accepted a job elsewhere.”

Harrington warned that employees that are left behind when someone leaves an agency start thinking, “Maybe I should be looking for something better.”

She went over a list of attendant costs, separation costs, exit interviewer costs, administration costs, vacancy costs and overtime, all because the chair is empty.

One answer, Harrington said, could be to offer employees incentives to remain with an agency. These include participating in high school and college recruitment programs, and hiring interns to work part time and during the summer. She gave the audience a list of 28 junior colleges in Florida at which interns with potential could be found.

FAIA’s education expert said it’s essential for agencies to make a five-year plan and proceed to look for potential employees everywhere. She said it’s essential to fill those chairs before they are empty. Harrington used the acronym FISH: find, interview, select and hire.

“Everything goes back to the job description,” Harrington explained. “You can’t find skilled employees unless you are ready.

“When agencies participate in recruiting days they can even be attended by two or three agents from different agencies who talk abut working for Trusted Choice, describing the benefits of being an independent agent and how much money insurance agents make,” Harrington said. She said not to neglect the Invest program and described high schools as a “hotbed” of potential employees when students get out of school and are looking for jobs.

She suggested if high school and junior college students are interested in business they will readily fit in to train as a CSR or producer.

“You can even help them finish college,” Harrington explained. “How much will two years of college cost here in Florida?” she asked. “You can even tell students you will pay $5,000 toward their college costs and they are responsible for the other half. They will really appreciate the help and when they get out you will have someone to fill that empty chair.”

She described FAIA’s Turn Key Recruiting Kit as a valuable asset to be used by members to obtain new employees.

Harrington advised agents to network. “If a policyholder is a golf course, and if you insure different aspects of that business, like the pro shop, the caddies, and the parking lot attendants, then use those connections to look for new employees.”

She advised everyone to avoid attempting to hire employees away from the actual client, but to ask such contacts if they could recommend anyone. She said she had found one excellent employee at a Pizza Hut.

“Don’t hire someone just because you have an empty chair,” Harrington cautioned. She also said that if an employee is not carrying their own weight, don’t keep them around.

MATS sessions continue

FAIA’s MATS sessions will be held Oct. 17 and 18, with Chairperson Veronica Della Porta kicking off Monday morning’s general session with a presentation “FAIA Today and Beyond.” Other morning events will include an ACT video highlighting this agent-carrier real-time interface; a panel discussion moderated by Tom Cotton on “Technology, Is it an investment or headache? with Carolyn Durland, Mike Mansperger, Janice Sheffield, Dick Brown and Ed Higgins; “Personal Political Power,” with Joel Blackwell; and “Dominate Your Market by Building an Awesome Selling Machine,” by Steve Clark.

A networking lunch featuring industry experts and table-top vendors, will be held at 11:30 a.m.

Afternoon sessions will be held concurrently from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Topics include: “The Ten Cardinal Sins Producers Commit, and What to Do About Them,” by Steve Clark; “How to Manage Your Complex Day Using Microsoft Outlook 2000,” with Paul Peeples; “Does Your Disaster Plan Include Business Continuity,” with Richard Roy; and “Document Management Technology: Considerations and Impact on Consumers,” with Bob Larrivee.

Concurrent afternoon sessions from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. will include, “Key Considerations in Disaster Planning and Management for Insurance Agencies,” by Paul Peeples; “Remote Desktop (AKA Terminal Services),” with Mike Mansperger; “Grass Roots Lobbying for Volunteers,” by Joel Blakwell; and “What Should You Know About Business Continuity Recovery Planning,” by Paul Sullivan.

Oct. 18 activities begin with a 7:30 a.m. continental breakfast and vendor training workshop, followed by breakout sessions.

Morning sessions, from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. include: “So You Want to Go Paperless,” with Jay Williams; “Automation Techniques to the Rescue, Allow Microsoft Word to Do Your Work for You,” by Sheri Tingle; and “Managing the Bottom Line,” with Jeff Barbacci and Andy Gray.