There’s nothing more disappointing for all sides than when insurance executive searches don’t deliver.
The inability to hire a perfect candidate to fill your insurance leadership role can cost an insurance business dearly.
The hiring manager and client will be left frustrated with an ongoing void in a critical, strategic leadership position.
This can profoundly disrupt any insurance organization – lost productivity, morale.
Candidates who came close are left feeling disheartened and demotivated. Questioning where their next insurance career move might come from.
Failed insurance executive searches will inevitably leave the insurance executive search consultant disappointed too.
Inability to deliver any suitable candidates at all, is rare as executive search consultants can usually identify a good selection of promising candidates for insurance executive roles.
So not being able to deliver the right candidate will be a blow.
There are a number of reasons why insurance executive searches can fail.
Identifying the root causes at the outset will give the best possible outcome of finding and securing the very best insurance talent.
The following four factors often contribute to failed insurance executive searches.
These aspects can be addressed before an insurance executive search even begins.
Lack of groundwork:
Inadequate or rushed preparation and a lack of open and candid dialogue about expectations and the process are a major contributing factor to failed insurance executive searches.
Discussions between the search partner and the client’s internal stakeholders are crucial.
The initial consultation plays a pivotal role in identifying the right candidates.
A comprehensive of the organization’s history, current position, future goals, EVP, culture and job roles is key.
Having a clear grasp of this information will allow the search partner to assess candidate fit accurately and respond to questions asked or concerns raised by prospective executive leaders.
The difference between successful and unsuccessful insurance executive searches often hinge on the collaboration between the key internal stakeholders from the organization and the search consultants.
Lack of clarity around the job role:
Defining a job role well, especially when it comes sought-after insurance talent is much more than simply tweaking the job description of the previous holder of the job.
Times and working practices have changed significantly in the past few years. Candidates’ preferences are different too.
Insurance executive searches often fail because there’s limited information and agreement around information such as job responsibilities, key performance metrics, desired experience, compensation and benefits.
Unity and agreement among the internal hiring team and the search team is crucial to avoid disagreements half way through the recruitment process.
Undefined candidate criteria:
Insurance executive searches will be seeking qualified candidates by researching the passive market.
Developing an ideal candidate profile should consist of outlining and differentiating their essential and ‘nice-to-have’ competencies.
Internal disagreements between the talent acquisition function and hiring manager or a discrepancy between the insurance business and the search partner can lead to unsuitable candidate selection.
Confusion around the search process:
To give insurance executive searches the best possible chance to securing top insurance talent, it’s crucial that all parties understand the nature and timeline of the search process.
Employers can sometimes underestimate the challenges of attracting top talent, assuming that a simple LinkedIn job advert will be sufficient to attract top level insurance talent.
A post and pray approach to hiring is a usual way for insurance executive searches to fail.
Attracting and harnessing transformational insurance talent requires a lot more than posting a job advert, filtering through a bunch of CVs.
To attract the very best insurance talent, you’ll need to look below the surface.
You need to engage with the passive candidates.
The true top performers are well below the surface.
Identifying and persuading qualified candidates demands thorough effort, time and discretion.
To prevent issues arising during the search process commences, it’s important that all stakeholders are aware of the search timeline and milestones.
Poor communication and collaboration:
Keeping the communication channels between the insurance executive search partner and the hiring organization is key.
Essential to insurance executive searches succeeding, is making sure your communication channels are working effectively.
Top level insurance executives expect top level correspondence.
With all the digital tools available today, there’s no excuse for poor communication.
Delays, poor communication or a lack of availability from the hiring team’s side can put the very best insurance talent off.
Mismanagement of candidate expectations:
Top insurance talent want to be presented with all relevant information about the day-to-day culture, development opportunities and an accurate portrayal of the job.
Clear and concise information that your executive search partner can pass to prospective candidates will help manage candidates expectations.
Managing candidate expectations effectively and ensuring the executive search partner has all relevant job information will lead to a successful search.
Insufficient reference checks and due diligence:
Insurance executive searches can fail as a result of inadequate reference checks.
A lack of thoroughness around candidates’ credentials can result in hiring unqualified or ‘poor fit’ candidates.
Comprehensive due diligence around their qualifications and references is essential to preventing costly issues further down the line.
Tackling these issues requires a dedicated effort from both the search partner and the hiring insurance business.
Clear and consistent communication, thorough preparation, openness and buy-in from all stakeholders in the hiring process are fundamental to ensuring the success of insurance executive searches.
Read ‘How to make sure your hiring process isn’t costing you top insurance talent’
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