- What career opportunities exist for IXPs?
A Gallup poll showed that approximately 66% of workers aged 18-24 ranked learning and skillset opportunities as a Top 3 work benefit/perk. Other polls show lack of career path is another reason for advisor attrition. Carriers must accept that IXP recruiting is not in a vacuum – instead, it is a part of a broader competition for talent. Someone who is not a great advisor may be a great wholesaler.
- Who is the right person for my firm?
Carriers and firms sit on troves of recruiting data that can be used to understand the advisor profile of individuals who tend to be successful in the firm. Some carriers identify key metrics and data points to develop successful advisor profiles. Improving selection upfront in the recruiting process will improve overall retention rates.
- What does mentorship and training look like for IXPs?
Every carrier and agency will have different mentorship and training models. Some will use standardized onboarding at the carrier level, while others will rely on a traditional sales manager/general agent training model. No matter what the model, firms must consider using technology to supplement the existing training model to provide increasingly personalized training solutions. For example, carriers may consider promoting suggested training modules leveraging data from an advisor’s recent sales activity.
- What is your firm’s competitive advantage?
Confronting the advisor shortage requires strong recruitment practices, but the punctuation to those recruitment strategies will be the ability to retain the talent you want. Most firms will focus on competitive compensation, but the best strategy will focus on developing a stronger value proposition. Carriers and firms should evaluate developing the advisor of the future – shifting away from ease of doing business (making it easier to submit business) and focusing on the ease of growing business (rethinking how an advisor establishes and grows their book of business).
Reimagining IXP recruitment
Improving IXP recruitment will prove critical to carriers and firms – not just in the battle for talent, but also in the competition for customers. Carriers must reimagine their IXP strategies considering this new reality and develop a comprehensive talent management and lifecycle approach that incorporates recruitment, training and retention of valuable new recruits. For those who make the appropriate investment, the rewards will be worth it: greater customer retention, reduction in lost investment, and greater profitability.