Winning Talent Acquisition Strategies for Independent Insurance Agencies

02/28/24 • 31 min

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Will Jones, editor-in-chief of Independent Agent magazine, is joined by an expert panel to discuss the intricacies and challenges of hiring at independent insurance agencies, as well as some much-needed winning solutions. As the insurance industry marks Insurance Careers Month, Claudia St. John, president of The Workplace Advisors, an HR consulting and training firm; Nolan Duda, partner and client experience manager at IdealTraits, a recruiting platform built for independent agencies; and Katherine Strate Smith, president and CEO of Strate Insurance in Morristown, Tennessee, offer their unique perspectives on independent insurance agencies’ No. 1 challenge—hiring. Both the insurance landscape and the world of work continue to evolve amidst technological advancements, global economic trends and the lasting effects of the pandemic, the task of attracting, retaining, and developing talent has never been more complicated. Thanks to this specialist panel, this episode provides the foundation for a path forward. Agency Nation Radio is where insurance professionals turn on the mic and share unscripted stories about leadership, technology, marketing, success, and failure—stories that helped make them the professionals they are today. From Main Street USA to the pages of Independent Agent—we’ve got the stories you want to hear. For more, catch Agency Nation Radio on your favorite streaming platform or visit https://www.iamagazine.com/podcasts William Jones, Editor-in-Chief, Independent Agent Magazine https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-j-jones/ Claudia St. John, Founder and CEO of The Workplace Advisors, Keynote Speaker, Author https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiastjohn/ Nolan Duda, Client Experience Manager at IdealTraits Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-duda100/ Katherine Strate Smith, President and CEO at Strate Insurance Group, Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinestrate/

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DOI: From R&B to P&C and Benefits with Jarrard ‘Rod’ Powell Sr.

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Jarrard “Rod” Powell Sr., agency principal at Encore Insurance Group Chesterfield, Virginia, shares his unique experience in insurance. Powell grew up cutting records and touring as an R&B artist, but by the time he reached his 30s, he was looking for a more stable career. After breaking into insurance through claims and benefits, Powell realized that “insurance was not only something that I could do, but something that I would enjoy,” he says. “And lo and behold, it went from something on the side to a passion to, ultimately, a purpose.” In 2022, Powell and his business partner founded Encore Insurance Group, a mid-Atlantic independent agency that runs the gamut from commercial property & casualty to life, retirement solutions and employee benefits, specializing in voluntary benefits and enrollment communication services. Starting the agency was “an opportunity to create the culture that’s going to service communities in the way that we desire, help people, bring value and be a solution,” Powell says. Agency Nation Radio is where insurance professionals turn on the mic and share unscripted stories about leadership, technology, marketing, success, and failure—stories that helped make them the professionals they are today. From main street USA to the pages of Independent Agent magazine—we’ve got the stories you want to hear. For more, catch Agency Nation Radio on your favorite streaming platform or visit https://www.iamagazine.com/podcasts. You Should Get A License Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@ysgetalicense

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Young Agents Take On Hard Market: Working With Carriers

Members of the Big “I” National Young Agents Committee partners with Trusted Choice to share information about the hard market as part of a special bonus series on Agency Nation radio. Guests Adam Risman, Commercial Risk Advisor at Risman Insurance, and Haley Meisner, SVP of Independent Agency Distribution Strategy at Liberty Mutual, went behind the microphone to talk about the importance of relationships between agencies and carriers. This discussion, moderated by Cassandra Koegel, a member of the National Young Agents Committee, focused on how the hard market has impacted agents and carries across the country. This conversation provided some perspective from the agent-side and carrier-side with today’s current landscape in the marketplace. Discussion centered around changes with submissions, communications with pre-submissions, changes from carrier requirements, and adaptions that have been made to submissions to meet carrier requirements. “Agents rely on carriers for placement. They are the supplier, at the end of the day, the underwriting paper. So, it’s so important that we realize that reliance on one another and we’re partnering together and get out of this successfully. Communication is one thing, but what is in that communication? Education is key right now,” Meisner said. During this session, Risman and Meisner both shared their approaches to handling conversations on different sides of the industry. Risman said, “You have to be in constant contact with your carriers, with your marketing reps, with everyone on that side. I think it’s just so important to have that mutual understanding and be able to make it a seamless process, but without over-communicating, without learning and educating ourselves on both sides, it just won’t happen.” Agency Nation Radio is where insurance professionals turn on the mic and share unscripted stories about leadership, technology, marketing, success, and failure—stories that helped make them the professionals they are today. From Main Street USA to the pages of Independent Agent magazine—we've got the stories you want to hear. For more, catch Agency Nation Radio on your favorite streaming platform or visit iamagazine.com/podcasts. -------------------------------------------------------------- Cassandra Koegel https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-koegel-cisr-ains-ailp-mlis-b2329390/ Adam Risman https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-risman-clcs-ba218172/ Haley Meisner https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-smith-meisner-41535080/