P R A D

can improve the success rates for those hired, but internship programs also tend to create good visibility in the community and help advance an agency’s brand locally, which can increase the overall pool of candidates beyond simply those who participate directly in the program.

Internship Impact on Success Rates

76%

52%

Selling the Opportunity

An often overlooked aspect of the selection process involves selling the candidate on the opportunity and also setting clear expectations in the event the candidate is hired. Although this generally takes place as a part of the overall

College Graduates without Internship

College Graduates with Internship

Source: Supplemental survey

interview process, it is important to remember that a critical piece of the selection process is to encourage the candidate to “select” the agency. That must be done in full-light of the associated performance expectations. A well-qualified producer candidate will have many good opportunities from which to choose. Be prepared to sell the candidate with a compelling presentation on the unparalleled career opportunity before them. Do the work to ensure performance expectations are clearly understood. In our experience, setting clear performance expectations in advance can be an excellent means by which to have candidates screen themselves out of the process: “you expect me to do what ?” As with all the elements of producer recruiting and development, designate one person to be responsible for a candidate’s selection process. Nothing will turn a high caliber candidate off faster than a sloppy process with poor communication. The individual coordinating the process for a specific candidate is not tasked with performing all of the functions associated with the process, but to create a clear road map for each candidate to ensure that all the pieces fall into place on time. Many agencies find that a human resources employee is ideally positioned to play this selection process coordination role. This role involves timely communication at each step in the process, clear delegation of responsibilities to agency personnel, arranging interviews and testing with the candidate and facilitating the decision making process with agency leadership. Be Professional

With a successful screening process completed and producers now on board, we turn our attention to setting these new producers up to succeed.

36 Producer Recruiting & Development Study