Start New Hires Right

New hires at Bigham Kliewer Chapman Watts (BKCW) do many things, but wondering what they’ll do next isn’t one of them. That’s because the on-boarding process at this Killeen, Texas, agency is smooth and specific. Managing Partner Bill Kliewer has put lots of thought into getting new employees up and running, and his process can be condensed into a handful of steps that could probably be displayed on the walls of agencies everywhere.

But on-boarding is not easy or just the latest business fad term. Ensuring the effective acclimation of new workers to their jobs, agencies and corporate cultures is one of the most important—and potentially, one of the most profitable—tasks an agency can take on. The sooner new hires feel comfortable and confident in their positions, the sooner they start adding to the value of your agency.

Properly on-boarded operational staff members can be “up and running and performing a significant role in the agency” in 90 days or less, says Kliewer. Producers take longer—up to two years. “But in 90 to 180 days, you’ll know whether or not a producer will be successful,” he says. “They may not have made a lot of sales by then, but you’ll be able to tell, based on their activity.”

Test, Test
Before offering the job, you may have tested candidates to determine if they possessed the aptitude necessary to do the work. If you didn’t, Kliewer says start now. “We learned the hard way,” he says. “We thought we were smarter than the tests, and that there was no way a person could miss being successful because they had all these great qualities. But we were wrong—four different times. Now we test.”

Job profiling doesn’t guarantee that a person who fits the profile will be successful. “But it does guarantee that if they don’t fit, they’ll fail,” says Kliewer. “Don’t just test potential producers. Test for your other job positions as well.”

Candidates with industry experience should also be tested for insurance knowledge and practices. “Once you know their strengths and weaknesses, you can set up training in their weak areas,” Emek says. “These might be non-standard policies or BOPs—or it might be customer service.”

Make it Personal
Once a new hire starts, other than showing him around the office, assigning a workspace and taking him to lunch the first day, what else can agencies do to help “the new guy” get off on the right foot? First, assign one or more mentors. Kliewer and other experienced on-boarders say mentoring not only teaches employees your agency’s particular way of doing things; it helps them get to know others faster and more quickly feel like part of the team.

But don’t just ask your top producer or best account manager to befriend the new employee. “Set up a clear methodology for mentoring,” advises Sharon Emek, former agency owner and now CEO of Work At Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE), a New York City-based staffing solution for the insurance industry. “Have a written training program that the staff has had input in creating and make this the roadmap that mentors follow when training the new employee.”

Without mentors, new employees sit down and start doing things the way they did them at their last job, Emek observes. But mentoring is time-consuming, so assign more than one person to do it. You may want to divide the job by skill sets, scheduling one mentor in each department to spend a day or more with the employee. Consider asking each of your people to spend 15 minutes teaching the new person something he probably wouldn’t learn from anyone else. In this way, those in subordinate roles realize they, too, have knowledge to share and a role to play in bringing new folks up to speed.

Try Multifaceted Learning
As soon as employees are comfortable in their new surroundings and working with mentors, start a formal education process. BKCW sends its new administrative employees to accredited customer service representative training. New producers attend one of several carrier-run producer schools. BKCW further requires all staff members to obtain the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) professional designation within five years of their starting date.

“We pay for this and if they pass each exam the first time, we pay a $500 bonus,” says Kliewer. “That means they can knock out $1,500 a year in bonus money by passing three classes, and within 18 months of coming to work for us, by passing every course they’ll know more than 90% of the people on the street who sell insurance.”

Employee manuals, a list of all technology applications available in the agency and written policies regarding the use of personal devices, mobile applications and the Internet should also be part of the education process. Northern Insurance, a four-branch agency with locations in New Mexico and Arizona, created a new employee training guide by copying sections from a sample guide and tweaking it to fit. “In the guide is a checklist, broken down by departments,” says P.J. Wolff, Northern’s president. “As the employee learns something, they check it off the list and the person who taught them initials it. This way, the employee can’t say, ‘You never showed me that.’”

Northern Insurance also mentors new workers and follows up regularly, asking employees to write down questions and talk about tasks they found difficult. “Follow-up is critical and should be done at least weekly for the first eight to 12 weeks,” says Wolff. Afterward, formal follow-ups should take place at least once a month, he says, with employees encouraged to speak up when they are uncertain. “Slow down and take the time to develop your human resources,” Wolff counsels. “After all, they are your main asset.”

Track Progress
Bill Truesdell, president of The Management Advantage, a Walnut Creek, Calif., consulting firm, believes new employees should be cared for a bit like new automobiles. “Invest in your new assets by monitoring them early and often until you’re comfortable with their performance level,” he recommends. “Orientation is the best time to instill the attitude you want your workers to have, so make training positive and stress the things that are truly important. Helping people adjust to how you do things at your agency requires some oversight. But for talented and capable people, that usually ends fairly soon.”

Amid the excitement of bringing in a new hire, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the obvious. Truesdell finds it surprising how often personal introductions are forgotten or left unfinished. “You wouldn’t bring a new shortstop onto a baseball team without introducing him to the rest of the team, would you?” he asks. “Personal introductions are just as important in your agency. If you don’t do it, it tells people you don’t care.”

Personal introductions have other advantages, too. They tend to make established employees feel more comfortable with the new person. And when everyone in the agency knows the new hire and understands her job, they can help by answering questions, offering tips and telling mentors or managers when there seems to be a problem. Other employees can be your eyes and ears when you’re not around to help.

Assess the Work
If you’ve provided all necessary new-job materials, appointed mentors and kept close tabs on your new talent, you’ve probably also told him the length of his probationary period and the date when his work will be reviewed. Stick to it. Failing to review when you’ve promised lets everyone down, not least yourself.

“Be clear from the beginning,” says Emek. “Tell new employees how long they’ll be given to get up and running, then give them all the training, mentoring and tools they need to be a success.” And if afterward they still don’t “get it,” terminate them. The sooner you do, the sooner you can set about finding—and on-boarding—the right person for the job.

Susan Hodges is an IA senior contributing writer.