When you are running a business, it is especially important to make sure that you have the right employees working with you. Whether or not your employees are on board with your agency’s goals and expectations is a huge factor in the agency’s success. In order to attract and hire the best employees, you need to have a strategy. And once you hire employees that add benefit to your agency, you need to work hard to retain them.
Here are some quick tips that have worked for us.
Hiring the best employees:
Hiring an employee that will contribute to your agency’s goals and success is as easy as the interview process.
- Before bringing in any potential employee for an interview, review the qualities, experiences, and skills necessary for the job.
- Consider the skills your agency may already be lacking and look to find candidates who can fill the gaps.
- During the interview, ask a good variety of basic skill and behavioral questions – this will let you get to know the candidate on a personal and professional level.
Remember, the best way to be sure a candidate will be a positive attribute to your agency is to be sure he or she fits in with the culture there. You want to hire someone who is going to bring positive energy to the table and be on board with your goals – and get along with the rest of the team!
Retaining the best employees:
Once you have found that perfect combination of skills and personality, you certainly do not want to lose the employee! Retaining employees becomes simple when you do one thing: ask them what they want.
- Always encourage an open-door policy between your employees and management – this will foster open communication.
- Consider using an annual employee satisfaction survey – it is a good way to find out what is working and what is not working with your current strategy.
- Offer relevant and effective training for your employees. It can be frustrating to feel as if you are not knowledgeable enough about a new system or strategy.
- Review the agency’s benefits offerings with employees to find out what they may want more or less of.
Remember, happy employees are not only less likely to leave but also more likely to produce more quality work! Every great business is only as great as its employees – so get out there and make sure you have the best team you can possibly have!
About the Author:
Gillman Insurance was established in 1993 with the idea that insurance doesn’t have to be a frustrating, complicated and expensive process for the consumer. The agency is located in Alpharetta, Georgia.