Greetings!
Even in this economy, great employees are hard to find. You need to work hard and smart in order to find and keep those star performers. Once you have your team, it is important to invest in them by proper training. This keeps the A players on top and moves the B players into being an A player. Our article on trainsingoutlines the key steps to the training process.
Also, we are very excited to offer to you our new employee hiring service through our partner, Insurance Hiring Systems. This is a great resource to help you do your homework before you hire and then have access to many tools that make sure you hire the right person. Click here to visit Oak Hiring Systems to learn about the most effective system ever in hiring new insurance employees.
Click here to hear a brief description from our partner, George Nordhaus on how you can have your own HR consultant at no cost!.
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Employee Training
The dust is settling and people are getting used to the new economy (which is not necessarily a good thing). It is clear that one thing is certain and that is uncertainty. Many businesses now have lower revenue and less employees. Now is the time to rebuild. Just like the phoenix rising from its ashes the independent agent needs to reformulate itself for the new economy. If done properly, an owner that reinvents his or her agency now will come out stronger and in a better position when the economy fully recovers. One key element to the success of a new relaunch of the business is to have the employees properly trained. ... To read the whole article click here |
Top Ten List for Training
Ten steps to a successful training program
 - Look at training as investment
- Determine the needs for the employees
- Promote a culture of learning and improvement
- Get everyone on board
- Start out small
- Choose quality instructors and materials
- Find the right space or method
- Clarify connection between the training, improvement and business success
- Make it an ongoing process
- Measure results and adjust accordingly
Training on a Tight Budget
- Establish a training budget. Know how much money you will need to spend. This will help control how much is actually spent.
- Join a trade association. Industry associations and trade organizations offer a variety of training options, including conferences, seminars, certifications and more.
- Create a cross-training plan. Have employees train each other in how to do their jobs. Not only will your staff learn new skills, but also you will benefit by having backup when one employee is out sick or on vacation.
- Take online classes. There is a plethora of online webinars and training courses, many of them free or low-cost. Check out iTunes U, they have free classes from places like Stanford and Harvard.
- Have a homegrown training class with a brown-bag lunch. Host weekly brown-bag lunches at your business where you or other employees talk about a topic of interest.
- Use local community classes. Community colleges and adult education programs offer lots of courses relevant to your employees, from how to use specific software to accounting and marketing classes.
- Encourage a self-education program. Have everyone on staff read a business book on a topic that will help your business. At the end of the month, lead a lunch meeting where everyone discusses the book and what he or she learned from it.
- Start a mentorship program. Having experienced employees mentor younger ones is not only a good way for novices to learn, but also a great way to ensure the knowledge and experience of older workers is passed on.
- Share the training with everyone else. Instead of sending everyone to a particular training program or conference, send one employee and have that person attend train the others in what he or she learned.
- Find additional resources. Check out programs and classes offered by the SBA, SCORE, the Chamber of Commerce and regional business development centers
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Announcing
Oak Hiring System
Are you are tired of hiring or promoting the wrong person?
Are you not getting the best out of your existing staff?
Is employee turnover is costing you too much time, money and lost opportunities?
Then Oak & Associates has the solution for you!
We are proud to announce that we have partnered with Insurance Hiring System to bring you the Oak Hiring System (OHS) designed to provide you with hiring assessments for every position in any insurance business.
Click here to find out more
Oak Hiring System provides assessment solutions for insurance agencies, brokers and companies - for hiring, promotion, performance review and redeployment scenarios.
As a leader in insurance hiring and assessment services, we offer through Insurance Hiring Systems HR solutions that are easy to use and quick to implement.
Anyone can begin using OHS and benefiting from the clear, concise assessments within 24 hours!
With OHS, you can:
- Focus in on a candidate's thinking style, behavioral traits and insurance skills, all at once!
- Ensure that candidate interviews are incisive and productive.
- Remove the uncertainties of the selection process
Hear all about the new Oak Hiring System Click here for a brief description. You'll learn how to never make a bad hire by using the OHS. With this new service, you will be able to see how your candidates measure up to the top-performers in each of 14 separate agency job positions.
Clients of Oak & Associates get a discount on the OHS. To visit the Oak Hiring System website click here
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