The Importance of Hiring the Right People... and Keeping Them

The biggest challenge for an agency is bringing on the right talent and fit for your agency. I suggest first developing what your perfect employee would encompass regarding traits. I would set four to six traits as your ideal example of a perfect employee. You may and/or should have different lists for your agency’s specific needs. You agents would have different traits than your customer service representatives (CSRs) as well as your agency managers. Each agency will be unique because if you are a small rural agency, all three of those employees could be the same person. If you are a larger agency, you could have more diverse and different types of employment opportunities.

An example of a trait list for agents may be:

- dynamic

- adaptable

- problem solver

- technology literacy

- social

- detail-oriented

An example of a trait list for CSRs may be:

- organized

- detail-oriented

- friendly

- efficient

- task-oriented

- good follow-up skills.