An insurance executive search firm is tasked with finding talent with the knowledge, skills, capabilities and experience to take on an insurance leadership role.
Whether it’s a new CEO or Chief Operating Officer, a Head of Surety or Vice President of Claims, an insurance executive search firm is typically tasked by a client, to leave no stone unturned in a identifying and securing the very best executive leadership talent in the marketplace.
So, how does an insurance executive search firm find top insurance leaders?
1. Understanding the client’s needs, the role and the person specification
Working in partnership, an insurance executive search firm will spend time understanding their client’s specific requirements, defining the role as well as the skills and experience required to carry it out.
Key to identifying the right talent is meeting with all stakeholders to agree the parameters of the search, Employer Value Proposition (EVP), ideal candidate profile and interview timelines.
Once the insurance executive search firm has a comprehensive understanding of both the role and the company, they will embark on their research, identification and selection phase.
2. Thorough research and forensic talent mapping of the insurance market
The job of a good insurance executive search firm is to carry out detailed research and a comprehensive market mapping of the entire talent pool that matches the client’s requirements.
Remember that the most talented insurance professionals are unlikely to be actively looking for a new leadership position – but are what we call passive candidates.
Read our Insight: Finding Transformational Insurance Talent and Engaging with Passive Candidates
A narrow search strategy based purely on referrals, existing networks and the little book of contacts, will not be enough to find the best insurance leadership candidates.
At this stage an insurance executive search firm should be carrying out detailed and targeted research – reviewing the specific insurance industry segment, competitors as well as potential candidates, who may be performing the same leadership role and have the requisite skills in an alternate industry.
3. Producing a candidate long list
Detailed research and market mapping allows an insurance executive search firm to produce a long list of the most qualified candidates for the role.
A large part of an insurance executive search firm identifying and finding the right candidates is using its extensive industry networks and niche market knowledge.
Past search assignments are a typical source of candidates with the skills and capabilities to meet the client’s needs.
Combining this with tools such as LinkedIn allows an insurance executive search firm to identify candidates currently in similar leadership roles within the insurance industry.
The best insurance executive search firm, however, should look beyond the most common ways of sourcing candidates and add less frequently used methods in to their strategy. This will create the widest diversity of candidates.
All these avenues will allow the insurance executive search firm to collate a long list of potential candidates, who on paper are qualified for the role.
4. Discreetly approach high level, prospective candidates
Once a long list of prospective candidates has been produced, an insurance executive search firm will start its discreet outreach.
LinkedIn is more often than not the most common tool used to approach candidates to gauge initial interest.
An insurance executive search firm will also likely use a plugin such as Zoominfo to find current contact details.
The next step is to speak with the candidate. An experienced insurance executive consultant will use a phone conversation to assess and evaluate a prospective candidate’s credentials based on the client’s specifications.
It also gives the insurance executive search firm an opportunity to understand their motivations for responding to the initial outreach.
Should the insurance executive search firm feel the candidate isn’t a right for the job role, it’s a chance to ask for an introduction to other people who might be a better fit.
5. Rigorous competency-based interviews
After the initial phone conversations, the insurance executive search firm will have started to form a clearer picture of who is and isn’t suitable for the shortlist to be submitted to the client.
Before completion of the shortlist however, the search consultant will put the candidates through a competency-based interview, testing them against their resumes and the key competencies identified by the client.
Following these interviews, the insurance executive search firm will agree the shortlist to be presented to the client for their own interview process.
In conclusion, an insurance executive search firm is committed to finding the very best insurance talent for its client.
To do this, it will:
- Start by understanding the client’s needs, the role and the person specification
- Thoroughly research and forensically talent map the insurance market
- Produce a candidate long list
- Discreetly approach high level, prospective candidates
- Carry out rigorous competency-based interviews
- Before finally sending the shortlist for client interviews
Read more about all the Elements of the Executive Search Process
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