Client Love
In Their Own Words
Don't just take our word for it — hear directly from the leaders who use HireQuotient every day.
An interview with
Jeff McGee
32 years in Insurance leadership · Hiring & training specialist
An interview with
Doris Sova
40 years in Insurance · Department leader since 2007
Full Transcript
Interviewer
Okay. Hi Doris. Hi Jeff. So, I just wanted to begin by asking a bit about your experience and background in people management.
Jeff
Okay. Awesome. I'll go first. I have been in insurance for 40 years; I've been in a supervisory role hiring, training, mentoring, and leading service teams for 32 years.
Doris
And I'm Doris. I've been in the industry for 40 years and have been in a management position since 2007 in similar capacities as Jeff, with hiring, leading, training, mentoring, and all the management responsibilities of a department leader.
Interviewer
That sounds lovely. So from both of your perspectives, how does the insurance industry differ from others when it comes to hiring and what are the unique challenges you guys would say you have individually faced?
Jeff
Well, I think insurance is like other industries in that we're looking for talented experienced individuals, but now with technology and the ability to work remotely, we're able to recruit nationwide outside of our footprint. This expands the pool of prospective candidates and gives us access to candidates who might not have ever applied for a position on our website's career page.
Doris
Absolutely. That's what I see as the big difference. And I think right now we're in a situation where we are attracting young talent—candidates who have never considered insurance as a career pathway or are coming right out of trade school or college that we can invest in. While we want people with experience, we equally want to consider bringing up talent and investing in their career paths.
Interviewer
That actually makes a lot of sense. So, I'm sure in your careers you guys have used a lot of tools for hiring. Why do you think some of the legacy tools for hiring are no longer as effective in today's environment?
Jeff
I think legacy hiring tools have a place, but they are not as effective as they once were. A platform like HireQuotient gives us access to candidates that might not have utilized a recruiter or applied on our career page. It enables us to have many more contact opportunities and to establish dialogues with current or future perspective new hires.
Doris
Yes. And I think even with HireQuotient, being able to utilize more LinkedIn connections has made our circle larger. The pool is larger because of the automation piece, where the recipient thinks they're getting a direct email from me while it's actually the AI scoring them in that four and five-star category.
Interviewer
I just wanted to drill a little deeper into that. I wanted to understand what your experience has been so far in working with our platform and our team?
Jeff
I've hired two individuals as account managers through the platform. I'm not as versed in using the autopilot as Doris is, but the team has been extremely helpful in setting up the parameters so that our list of candidates is filtered before I see it. I'm very pleased with the opportunities to establish dialogues even with those we don't hire; the AI feature using LinkedIn has vastly expanded our network.
Doris
I would echo that the HireQuotient support team has been outstanding. They've walked me through step-by-step to ensure I have a posting that attracts the type of candidates I am seeking. In terms of hiring, I have a former employee who had moved out of state and it was my email coming to her via HireQuotient that reconnected us; she was ultimately hired back. It keeps a pipeline open.
Interviewer
I would love to hear an anecdote or specific instance about how the solution supported you or improved the hiring process.
Jeff
What I remember is the assistance in setting up the parameters to help filter and find those four and five-star candidates. I could not have done that without hours and hours of trial and error without the assistance of the support team.
Doris
I would agree. I used the tool and turned on the autopilot when we had an urgent need. At first, I had some hesitation, but then I understood the metrics and how, once someone responded, it immediately ceased that cycle because now I am in control of those communications.
Interviewer
And how has the feedback been from those you reach out to?
Doris
I had very little negativity. I might get a response saying they are currently happy where they are, but nothing abrasive. Occasionally I would get a response that it was a business email address, but for the most part, the recipients have been forthcoming, cordial, and willing to talk.
Interviewer
That sounds great. Now that the entire world is moving towards AI, what are your thoughts on leveraging AI in recruitment and talent acquisition?
Jeff
Honestly, I believe AI is here to stay. Smart employers and recruiters are going to be leveraging AI or they're going to get left behind. Those that use it will get the best of the best.
Doris
And I think that with HireQuotient, it helps us stay in control. We're not depending upon an outside vendor or recruiter to do that work for us.
Interviewer
That's great to hear. These were most of the questions I had for today. Thank you so much for joining me and helping me understand the journey you guys have been on.
Doris
Thank you. Likewise.
Jeff
Our pleasure.
Interviewer
Thank you so much. Have a good day. Bye.
Jeff & Doris
Have a great day. Bye.