Brand Building: Enhancing Appearances through Genuine Action

Brand building or building your business’ brand are phrases we hear a lot these days. In this extremely competitive hiring market, they are concepts none of us can ignore. As recruiters dedicated to the insurance industry, every day we use a wealth of resources to find qualified candidates to service an industry facing one generation on verge of retirement, another disenfranchised by the traditional office dynamic, and a third (Gen Z) that our industry has yet to market to. 

At a time when companies and the economy are growing past recovery, these factors make a perfect storm of sorts. While many talented boomers are leaving the industry, many millennials are craving a change and many GenZers want to be in positions and work for companies that value their contributions and seem, for the lack of a better word, “cool,” now is a time for insurance entities to reflect, reassess and make adjustments that open their doors wider to a wealth of potential talent.  

Questions we should be asking.

Is your benefits program attractive? Is it competitive in the current and future marketplace? Is it a major tenet of your brand building efforts? 

Benefits have always been a relatively important part of securing talented professionals and retaining their contributions. The pandemic taught us, if anything, that security (ensuring the well-being of ourselves and our families) is worth its weight in gold. Professionals want to have essentials like healthcare and retirement contributed to. Competitive benefits programs acknowledge that your organization values not only an employee’s professional contribution but their personal wellbeing as well. 

Do you communicate openly with your contributors? Is your culture one of transparency? 

I believe the quickest way to recognize and rectify a problem is to talk to your people. I know it is effective because I do it. It is very easy to carry on, business as usual, never talking to anyone beyond those directly under you, essentially creating a company culture where no one seems to really know what’s going on. As far as brand building goes, this will leave employees feeling disenfranchised and lost. It’s important to get the lay of the land; to ask, “how’s it going? Is there anything we can do for you? Are your needs being met?” If we don’t talk to each other the lines of communication can degrade before we even get to use them, leaving employees feeling isolated, unheard and ready to move on to an organization they feel will “hear them.”

Where are we going? Where do we want to be? What impact do we want to have?

Answering all these questions seems to be of especially significant importance to the youngest portion of the professional workforce. Gen Z and a large enough percentage of Millennials want to work within businesses and organizations that are impact-driven and have a visible plan on how they want to make the world a better place. It sounds kind of grand, but these generations want to know where you stand and that you want to be a force for good, even if that is localized to just your business and your consumers. It can be realistic; they just want to know you’re doing what you can. 

I know taking care of your employees, listening to them and letting them know you want to be the best version of yourself seems like actions we should be taking on a daily basis. But not everyone takes the time to make sure they’re following through. Not everyone commits to brand building that reflects a destination. The world and the hiring market is changing every day, and we all need to pay attention. 

At The James Allen Companies, we want to ensure your brand and your culture attract only the best the insurance space has to offer.