We want to address a hiring elephant in the room. “The TALENT SHORTAGE in the Insurance Industry.”
Unfortunately, it’s a phrase we hear a lot in the insurance world. We understand, but we don’t agree. Work is busy, and the visibility into the candidate market is limited for many companies looking to hire. When you think of who to hire, you probably lean into your personal network, present and past colleagues pool, and whoever happens to be ‘loudly looking’. We are going to challenge the notion of a talent shortage and make a bold statement:
The problem isn’t a talent shortage … It’s a lack of preparedness and willingness to invest (even a small amount of resources) to hire someone that could be trained up to 80% capacity within a short time. A time frame that we argue could be less than the amount of time that some roles are left vacant.
In this article we will dig into the gaps that might be making it harder to hire than it needs to be, and how Recruiters (the good ones, anyway) can help you fill those gaps with candidates you never even knew existed.
The Talent Isn’t Missing… You Just Can’t See It
Insurance is a relationship-driven industry, so it’s no wonder that many hiring managers rely on their own networks to fill open roles. The thing is the BEST TALENT isn’t always highly networked. Some of the most motivated, adaptable, and high-performing candidates come from SMALLER MARKETS, DIFFERENT SEGMENTS, or are simply heads-down doing great work instead of rubbing elbows at industry events.
These “hidden gems” might never show up on your radar, but they are out there and could be the perfect candidate to fit into your team. What you need is someone who knows where to look, and how to recognize potential beyond a checklist of technical skills.
Related: Unspoken Interview Rules – Learn how to make the most of your interviews to spot that hidden potential.
Why SOFT SKILLS Are the Hardest to Spot, But Matter the Most
It’s natural for anyone to prioritize experience when hiring, but focusing ONLY on technical skills can cause you to overlook people who could thrive in the role with the right support. Traits like CURIOSITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, INITIATIVE, and good old-fashioned “give-a-damn” can’t be taught, but insurance products and systems can.
The truth is ( and we’ve seen this many times ) a self-starter from a smaller brokerage who’s excited to grow can outperform a burned-out “big fish” hire ten times over. As Recruiters who’ve watched entire careers unfold, we’ve seen firsthand how someone with the right mindset and support can scale faster, and deliver more impact, than someone who checked all the boxes but lost their spark years ago.
Related: Leadership Isn’t the Only Way Up – Explore how career paths outside leadership can reveal overlooked high-potential candidates.
Recruiters Aren’t Here to Find Who You Already Know
Here’s the ‘AHA’ moment of the article: in MOST cases, hiring a Recruiter to bring you candidates from your existing network isn’t just redundant, it’s a WASTE of resources. The true value of working with a specialized Recruiter lies in our ability to identify, engage, and deliver candidates you would NEVER FIND on your own.
Think of us as the talent scouts of the insurance world. We’re the ones discovering the next breakout performer before they headline on the main stage. We are a bit like a record label signing an unknown artist before they top the charts, we introduce talent with potential, not just a perfect resume that hits all the notes.
Related: How to Level Up Your Hiring Strategy – Discover how proactive recruitment delivers better, more surprising results.
Want to Meet Your Next Great Hire BEFORE They’re Famous?
If you’ve been feeling like every resume looks the same and the spark in candidates has been missing, we’d like to suggest it might be time to add a different lens to your HIRING STRATEGY. Sauce specializes in finding that “something special” in candidates and introducing them to the companies where they can shine.
Let’s talk – Whether you’ve got an open role or just want to see who’s out there, we’d love to introduce you to someone you haven’t met yet.
So… Is There Really No One to Hire?
The next time you hear (or say) “There’s a talent shortage,” ask yourself: Is that really true, or are you just missing connections that are a little trickier to find? Expanding your HIRING STRATEGY beyond the usual suspects and trusting a Recruiter to dig deeper can open doors to game-changing talent.
At Sauce, we’re not here to flood your inbox, we’re here to surprise you. Let us show you what you’ve been missing.
