Hiring quality people is as important as getting good clients these days, says the Chief Operating Officer of one of the largest independently owned insurance brokers in Canada – and the best way to find them is through paid internships.
“We’ve been doing a lot of hiring, hiring into junior positions,” says John Belyea, COO at Moore-McLean Insurance Group Ltd. “And we’ve found that hiring three summer interns each year is a great way to expose college kids to insurance; because getting good people is as important as getting clients these days.”
The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario are strong advocates of co-op programs and internships, recently tweeting a link to Seneca College’s webpage that brings together employers looking for students.
Belyea likens the summer internship to a test drive for both the interns and Moore-McLean. (continued.)
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“One summer student we hired on full time this year,” he told InsuranceBusiness.ca, “and at the start they had no interest in insurance. We’ve also are launching a cross-training program, exposing those selling personal insurance to the surety and marine side of the business. It isn’t just smart business practice for us, it is good for them as well.”
Evidence that hiring students isn’t a luxury or an extra but crucial to growing a business is revealed in Moore-McLean’s recent expansion.
“During the last 16 months we’ve been expanding,” he says. “We wanted to show that we are not a dull, boring insurance company have a lot of younger employees with us who are bringing a different approach. And I would like to point out, our interns are paid – we don’t believe in slave labour!”
The latest push by Moore-McLean has been into the realm of social media, creating a Facebook page to complement the company’s Twitter and Linked In profile.
“We wanted to present a different face, not just to clients, but reaching out to everyone through Facebook,” says Belyea. “By sharing photos from our charitable events, our company activities, we are weaving this into the overall message that we’ve been sharing on Twitter and Linkedin. We want to show this is a fun place to work out of, which is reflected in our growing number of employees under the age of 30.” (continued.)
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Moore-McLean has a full-time marketing communications manager on staff, overlooking the Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook accounts. The social media presence is an important part of the business, Belyea points out, and one that needs to be handled just right, so you don’t turn off clients.
“The worst thing you can do is use Facebook as a blatant advertising tool,” he says. “You can advertise your business on Facebook without advertising, if you know what I mean.”
