Compare My Insurance trains and recruits every eight weeks to boost talent pipeline

Compare My Insurance is recruiting 10 new team members into its academy every eight weeks as it looks to support its continued growth, with chief executive Mark Thomas saying developing talent internally has become central to the broker’s recruitment strategy.

Speaking to Insurance Times, Thomas said the business has focused on building its own pipeline of insurance professionals rather than competing for experienced brokers in a tight labour market.

“We are currently inducting 10 new team members into the academy every eight weeks,” he said.

“These people aren’t from a background in insurance either. They could be graduates or people with transferable skills.”

New recruits complete the broker’s in-house training academy, which combines classroom learning, eTrading, mentoring and buddy schemes to prepare them for roles across the business.

Thomas said the approach has enabled Compare My Insurance to continue expanding without relying solely on experienced hires.

“We typically don’t recruit experienced brokers, we train all our staff ourselves,” he said.

The chief executive added that the strategy was driven by the company’s ambitious growth plans.

“We couldn’t fill the spaces with experienced staff. It’s impossible, so we had to find another solution,” he said.

“Let’s take it into our own hands and create those staff ourselves.

“We are probably one of the biggest introducers of new talent into the industry in the UK now,” he said.

Developing future talent

Thomas said the broker recruits graduates through its relationship with Swansea University, alongside candidates from a range of professions with transferable skills, including teaching and social work.

Employee referrals have also become one of the firm’s most effective recruitment channels.

“We’re lucky that we have a lot of new staff who get recommended to us,” he said.

Despite ongoing concerns across the insurance sector around attracting and retaining talent, Thomas said developing employees internally has allowed Compare My Insurance to maintain the workforce needed to support its growth.