Why Soft Skills Matter

This issue reveals data and compensation insights gathered from Insurance Journal’s annual Agency Salary Survey. For the third year in a row in the survey’s 16-year history, salary averages and total compensation averages (including additional compensation such as profit sharing, bonuses, and other income) reported were higher than ever before.

This trend is good for agency employees, producers, and agency owners, but talent shortages and hiring demands have not eased for the independent agency sector. Agency owners are struggling to keep pace as the industry’s ongoing talent war continues. Competition is fierce for experienced top talent, especially in the service roles, the experts interviewed for this report say.

“Client-facing support people are really valuable,” Kevin Stipe, partner and CEO of Reagan Consulting, told Insurance Journal.

Competitive pay, job stability, and flexibility have become table stakes for companies looking to hire top-tier candidates in this sector. But those who exhibit top-level experience along with what Stipe called “soft skills” will become even more valuable in the future.

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools play a larger role in independent agencies, the technical skills that are also part of the service role job are going to become more commoditized, Stipe predicts. That’s because with these innovative tech tools agencies can equip employees with answers to those technical questions much more effectively, he explained. But what AI can’t do (yet?)—is deliver to clients the service they need with “emotional IQ.” And that emotional service will become a much more valuable skill in insurance brokerage client support going forward, he said.

It’s those soft human skills that are essential for agencies to have happy clients, he added.

“Soft skills are as important now as they will be in the future,” agreed Mary Newgard, partner and senior search consultant for Capstone Search Group, a national recruiting firm dedicated to the insurance industry.

“There is no technology that can replace parts of the process that require human interaction,” she added. “Some interactions can be automated, but when it comes to building relationships, working through conflict, and addressing complex needs, I don’t think AI can replace people.” This rings true for many facets of an agency, from selling to and servicing clients to recruiting and retaining top talent, Newgard said.