« Learning From Others Mistakes | Main Blog Page | Correlation between Hiring and Job Performance Criteria »

Don't Hire with your Gut

This may sound ridiculously elementary, but before you start searching for candidates, you have to decide what needs have to be met and what problems need to be solved. As you will see in future posts, a strong assessment of your needs and problems will impact the quality of each step in the recruitment process.

A JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT CUT IT HERE! Let me illustrate using a sports analogy. (By the way, I love sports analogies. If you want to learn how to be a great manager and leader of people, study professional coaches.) A job description for a basketball player might include things such as …
--Must be proficient in dribbling, shooting, and passing.
--Must be able to take direction and execute a strategic plan in support of team goals.
--Extensive travel required.

Of course, every basketball player in the world meets these criteria and to interview the candidates with the most experience doing these things and to hire one of them will not necessarily make your team more competitive.

On the other hand, if you have identified that your point guard is strong and you have good perimeter shooting, but your team gets out rebounded game after game or that you don’t have any scorers who can come off the bench, you now have some needs that can give direction to the whole process.

Similarly, if you identify that your claims unit is good technically, but several adjusters tend to be too black and white and lack tact with agents and insureds, you have now have some needs that can give direction to the whole process. Or if you identify that your production underwriting unit really knows their stuff technically, but can’t seem to achieve their premium objectives, then you now have some needs that can give direction to the whole process. Maybe your unit lacks comraderie that would enhance the atmosphere and impact retention. Maybe you need to be grooming your replacement and you need to hire someone who can eventually take your role.

You might be surprised to find out what your real needs are. Let me give an example from the book Know Your Strengths. In trying to identify the most successful bartenders (those who sold the most drinks night after night), how important do you think their knowledge of mixology or their years of experience was? Not very! In fact, the most successful bartenders are those who can remember the most customer names.

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about what needs and problems might typically go unidentified when it comes to hiring claims and underwriting professionals.