What kind of capital does your agency have? You may have a wealth of financial resources to draw upon, or you may just have the people who are involved in making your agency great. Don’t ignore those people: the individuals who work for your agency are the key to your business success. As you fill a new insurance job, consider how human capital management is relevant to your insurance agency and how you can build on your agency’s human assets.
What is Human Capital Management?
When you think about human resources, what comes to mind? If it’s someone who manages payroll, you’re missing a part of the picture. Although your human resources employees certainly manage the day-to-day staff needs such as managing sick leave or making payroll changes, Human Resources is also about insurance jobs. When you’re hiring a new employee or looking at the overall HR needs of your agency, many companies now refer to this role as human capital management to “reflect the more strategic, leadership-oriented nature of the department,” according to Business News Daily. Human capital management looks at the entire picture of your business and considers how you can strategically develop your business by hiring new employees and building the capacity of existing employees.
Hiring to Grow Your Human Capital
When you’re hiring for new insurance jobs or filling an existing position, you need to step back and look at your organization first. Hiring is the perfect time to consider how an employee’s role works for your company. Next time you hire, take a close look at how the position is contributing to your company’s human capital:
- Is that position essential to your agency’s maintenance or development?
- Is it time to change the job, split the job, add duties, or merge it with another position?
- Who does that person report to, and who reports to that person? Is this working for your agency?
- What can this role bring to your business, and how can it inspire growth?
- What can each individual bring that’s a wonderful addition to this role and that might help your business evolve in unexpected ways?
Building Human Capital Through Investment
If you were investing in stocks, you’d research your potential investments and determine how to best make them grow. The same applies to your human capital. Do you want a mentally nimble group of employees who aren’t afraid to innovate and who have the knowledge base to make wise business decisions? According to Consumerism Commentary, “the process of continually seeking more education keeps your mind active and working hard, improves your ability to learn anything (cognitive skills), and opens your mind up to new ideas.” You can develop your own education program, bring in experts from universities, corporate education, or continuing education departments, or reimburse your employees for a portion of tuition payments.
According to Inc.com, investing in your employees’ education not only helps them help your company, it encourages your employees to stay. Since they feel like your company is a place where they’re given opportunities to grow, “trained staff are happier and more likely to stay put.”
At American Agents Alliance, we’re here to support you as you fill insurance jobs, develop your marketing strategies, and educate your employees. Look at our outstanding membership benefits, and discover how building your business is easier when you have our support behind you.
