After years of training thousands of insurance professionals, I have found that the ones who perform the best usually cover the cost of their own education. It’s also been recently discovered through national studies that the more money parents pay for their kids’ college education, the worse their kids tend to perform academically. The same holds true for hiring a new support staff member that you intend to help get their insurance license.
Here are two reasons why students do not perform well when they are not financially vested in their own education:
- They don’t care! They are still trying to find their way in this industry and they are unsure if this a path they want to take. So if you push them into completing the course, they may feel like they are being pressured and not perform well on purpose. Getting an insurance license is something they should want to do and actually appreciate the opportunity being given to them. If they don’t value the opportunity, they won’t take the time to study and discipline themselves to take the state exam. These students don’t have the study skills necessary to pass the exam on the first attempt.
- It’s your money, not theirs. You have made the sacrifice for them, statistics have found that individuals perform better when it is their money on the line.
So where does that leave you, Agency Owners and Hiring Managers? You feel pressure to increase your sales production, and you need a licensed support staff member as soon as possible. Here are two options to consider:
- Consider an education reimbursement plan, which allows you to pay for the employee’s course and exam fees after they have passed the state exam.
- Wait until the employee has reached a probationary period, which will give you time to see if this person is fit to become a licensed insurance professional. Becoming an insurance agent requires good communication skills, being able to follow instructions well, great customer service skills, good use of technology and excellent comprehension skills. If the potential candidate doesn’t possess those qualities, it may not be a good idea invest in their education because don’t have the necessary skill set to maintain a successful career in this industry.
Is it time to rethink how you support your employee’s continuing education and license pursuit?