It is not uncommon when working with my clients to find a whole bunch of follow-ups or un-posted items in their agency management system. Such is the case at one of my clients. During the committee meeting discussing the standards and process for ordering and checking endorsements we found that there were in excess of 100 un-posted Policy Change Requests (PCR). There was the usual moan and statement, yet another backlog to solve.

As is usually the case in these instances, the majority of these open items have been received but not closed or posted in the agency management system. This should be a one-time project. It involved each of these items being opened and researched to determine that.

1. Yes – the item has been received and the PCR should be posted.
2. No – the items has not been received and needs to be resolved.

The operations manager advised that the agency would be willing to pay overtime for this project to be handled outside of regular business hours. The lady that advised she would like to take on this project named it the “Outstanding PCR Clean-Up Challenge.” What a great attitude! This is how things get done. Everyone else saw it as a problem. This individual sees it as a challenge and an opportunity to move forward.

How to you instill this attitude in your staff?

This morning I am reading a great  article from “Property Casualty 360” titled As Older Agents Try to Adapt, Younger Agents Want to Be Heard. Over the years I have worked in a number of firms that were family owned with children becoming part of the firm or small firms adding young producers. Even though today’s internet and social media issues did not exist, some of the same conversations did exist. Those of you that were the “young” guys then are the “old” guys now. You need to think back and take stock. I heard more than one of your bosses say you would never make it.

In one agency I worked in for a number of years I saw two things happen that so defines such differences and discussions. The time period 1970 – 1974. A lifetime ago right? I think you will recognize that similar issues exist today.

The Nonconformist Son – The owner’s middle son joined the firm after returning from his time in the military. The middle son had a great education, life experiences, a wide range of connections and many friends. Actually not so different from the Dad. Yet their work visions and habits were very different. The three of us actually shared a workspace so I heard almost all of their conversations. Many were very uncomfortable. The Dad was very successful. A diligent task master. Ethics beyond reproach. A great teacher. A really great mentor to his staff. However, not all of that transferred to his son. He somehow expected his son to understand how things were done and just get too it.

The son’s approach was much more his own style. Having lunch with his prospects and clients. Playing golf and tennis with them, etc. I’ve learned over the years that some of these great differences come from the Dad being influenced by the Great Depression and WWII and the son being living in a much different time period. Ultimately, the son left the firm and moved onto a very successful career outside the insurance industry.

The Loss of a Major Account – Same agency owner here. Of course the agency owner was personal friends with the owners of his major accounts. In the early 70s most of the business in our area were family owned instead of being corporations with boards of directors and owners located elsewhere. This particular account had many family members involved in the ownership and daily operation of the business. We also wrote the personal lines business of almost this entire family along with numerous employees of the firm.

The senior member and personal friend of my boss passed away after a short illness. The line of succession in the firm had been decided a number of years and the Dad of that firm had been grooming the son so that such a transition would mean no interruption in the business. About three months after the passing of the firm’s owner the son walked into the agency with all of their firm’s insurance policies in his hand. He sat at my boss’s desk and signed the front of each policy with his name, a request to cancel and the date. It was a very somber day in our office.

A few weeks later when I was processing the return premium invoices my boss and I had a conversation about this. I asked what he thought had happened. We had always made sure that anyone connected with the firm was well taken care of. There had been no negative claim issues. No apparent problems. His reply to me was that he had not taken the time or thought it necessary to build a relationship with the son that was now in the senior position. He thought that would automatically transfer from Dad to Son.

The Son had a friend also in the insurance agency business. The friend had solicited their business for several years. Once the Son was in the senior position he found that he preferred doing business with his peer and friend instead of someone he didn’t know all that well.

Senior agency owners and managers. Take note here. While these examples are from the 70s, I think there are many similar stories today. The only difference, more tools with which to engage prospects and clients. Maybe the young people in your firm should be your mentors.

Help them set goals, be sure they know your agency’s core beliefs and ethics and get out of their way.

What challenges are you facing one either side of this issue?

This past week was my 1st visit to a new client. Over the past few years agencies in small towns have taken a real beating.

• Shrinking businesses in their town and surrounding area = less clients and prospects.
• Businesses and families struggling to make ends meet. Insurance needs my come last and be bare bones.
• Insurance carriers cutting agencies that can’t meet production standards.
• The continuing soft market.
• Difficulty finding qualified employees.

Frequently I often find everyone from the owner to the receptionist depressed or pessimistic or both.

So how does an agency remain above the fray, survive, thrive and keep up that positive, optimistic attitude?

I can usually tell within a few minutes of entering an office if there is a positive vibe or not. I always really happy when it is positive. It is such a struggle to work with a firm that doesn’t have this. So I was very pleased to find that everyone seemed to be happy or even excited that I was there.

This agency as most agencies has their challenges. But this agency really knows most of their challenges and are rolling out a plan to address and eliminate those challenges. Everyone I met with has an upbeat attitude and in addition to talking about problems also put forth some great ideas and solutions. This group is truly a team.

Our plate is overflowing as we move forward over the next few months. They have more than one initiative going on simultaneously. We had really honest discussions about the time needed to work through each of this initiatives and the time commitment required. There were a few deep breaths but the response was “We trust you to keep us on track and moving forward”.

Oh my! I rarely work with a firm with this much commitment. Their great positive attitudes will serve them greatly in getting through many changes throughout this year.

What is the culture in your agency? How can it be improved or is everyone on the same positive wavelength?

2011 seemed to be a really slow year for insurance agency initiatives. Most of my clients updated document templates as necessary, updated a website or two and seemed to do only business improvements that were necessary. Reasons I have heard are:

• Budget constraints.
• We need to work and write business and not make improvements or changes.
• Nothing new happening with our systems so no updates or changes needed.

I get the budget constraints. But the other “reasons” are not valid in my opinion. If you are sitting still you are falling behind.

I find that often in agencies that do a budget, update the marketing plan for the new year and plan for other capital expenditures, updates in operations is frequently given the boot. I remember a time with systems didn’t change very often or the changes were so small that revisions to processes didn’t seem as important. But in today’s world this just isn’t the case.

I follow several agency management system vendors on social media and work directly with others. I see changes posted by one system or another every day. Such things as:

• A new carrier that is doing download with a particular system or a new line of business.
• The addition of claims downloads.
• The addition of accounting downloads.
• The states and or lines of business added to rating systems.
• Improvements to functionalities in one or more systems that you might be using.

Most vendors do at least one major update release to their system each year. A number of vendors do two or more a year.

If you are not looking at your operations standards, procedures and workflows throughout each year and updating, you are falling behind.

Your staff is not as efficient as they could be and you are losing money. Wasted time is wasted money.

What has changed that you have overlooked and not updated?

At the Dallas Women of Faith a few weeks ago, Patsy Clarimont was telling the story of her son’s very serious and lengthy illness. Several weeks into his stay in the hospital, she and her husband arrived at the hospital one morning to find that their son was going to be moved from intensive care to a different unit.

She questioned if it he was ready yet and would he have everything he might need in the new unit.  As would be expected, she had lots of questions and uncertainty about what was going to happen. As is often the case in hospital, there is lots of reassuring with minimal information and answers.

Patsy said that in the back of her mind she kept hearing “Change can be good”. Since there seemed to be no option but to move forward that is what she did. When her son was moved to the new unit, a new doctor and her team arrived in the room. The doctor made it very clear that she did not want to hear from anyone unless she specifically asked them a question. Parents included.

She had to keep repeating to herself “Change can be good”. With in a few minutes the doctor began giving instructions on medication changes. Apparently the pharmacist in the hospital did not agree with the doctor on a change she had made. The doctor made it very clear that she understood the standard recommendations for the patient, however, she was making this change and there would be no further discussion.

Patsy said the “Change can be good” was coming through loud and clear by now. Due to this change and other changes in how her son was being treated, there was improvement to his condition in a very short period of time. By now Patsy is shouting “CHANGE CAN BE GOOD“!

Most change is difficult. It doesn’t matter if it is a medical issue, a change in your personal life, or a change in the business world. Change can be good. I’m not suggesting that change just be made on the spur of the moment with no thought and planning, however, change should be looked at in a positive way.

In today’s business world, change is happening constantly. Sometimes you are able to plan for a change, but in other cases not so. Many of us use one or more systems that operate in the cloud. When the developer of that product implements a change, it is immediate to everyone. You may have received some information prior to the update, but somehow it is not the same as a planned change within your office.

Sometimes that immediate change doesn’t look like or function as described. So at that point, you have to determine how it works, train everyone and move forward. On occasion these change are very good and need correcting, but overall, upgrades and changes to systems are really an improvement and good after all.

If you approach today’s business world’s software and hardware with a “glass half-full attitude” and ‘CHANGE CAN BE GOOD” mantra, you will fare much better than those that don’t.

What change are you contemplating that could be good?

On this week’s America’s Got Talent (July 13, 2011) the judges were very lukewarm on their comments for the arial act. The judges said that the performers didn’t step it up in this performance. They said the performers actually took a step back. One judge told them that they were very disappointed as they had shown such promise previously.

After their performance, Nick Cannon (the host) asked them how they thought they did. The young man said he thought they did “pretty good”. I think that is the point the judges were trying to make. You just did pretty good, not great. They are competing for a million dollars. The act that wins that has to be great, not pretty good. What does this have to do with an insurance agency?

The attitude of the young man made me think about this subject. Always interesting what will trigger the thought for a blog or article.

In the book “Good to Great” the author states that “good is the enemy of great”.

We get complacent with what we do and think we are doing pretty good. If you think you are doing pretty good, you may not actually being do that good. Have you looked at what is happening in your agency? Is it:

• Struggling to stay up with demand and processes and constantly putting out fires?
• Barely staying up with demand and processes?
• Able to maintain a consistent workflow?
• Cruising right along?
• Exceeding your clients’ expectations?

Have you recently lost a valuable client and your not sure why? Could it be that you were “Pretty Good” and not Great? I have been involved in several evaluations of why a client left an agency. In  each case one of the main reasons why clients left was that the agency did not keep its promises. I have seen clients hang on several years never getting all of the services promised. As I audit these files I am often appalled at the lack of staff and producer response. I am also shocked by the tone of and some of the actual comments in some communications.

When I review my findings with the agency owner they are always surprised. They usually have a different picture of what is going on in agency than the reality.  What is going on in your agency? Have you checked in and checked up lately? Do you have questions about how to check in and check up? Let me know.

I haven’t thought much about this lately as the offices I have been visiting the last few months seem to have little if any “blue” language.  However, in the Parade Magazine in our newspaper this week there was a short piece on “Gordon Ramsay, Meanest Man on TV?”  For those of you that might not know this TV personality, his shows are all blue language.  I don’t watch his show, however, on one of our recent visits to a hospital emergency room, his show was on.  I was surprised and offended.  There were a number of children present and felt that it was certainly inappropriate viewing for these young people.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was raised by a truck driver with very blue language and I learned most of it at a very early age and I have been know to use a few curse words.  However, there are a number of places such language is just inappropriate.  I know many people that think it is never appropriate.  But I know others that think nothing of just letting this language fall out of their mouth, in their posts on Facebook and in their other writings.

I was taught in high school that we shouldn’t be offended by curse words in the books we read.  We were told that this was reflective of the particular situation.  In two of the companies in which I worked in the 1970s, blue language was rampant.  During this period I was reading a book about a law firm.  My mother-in-law asked what the book was about.  I told her and she said she would like to read it when I was through.  So I passed it onto her when I was finished.  A few weeks later she gave the book back to me.  I asked her if she enjoyed it.  She said “I really liked the story, but I didn’t like some of the language”.  I didn’t understand.  Later I was discussing this with my husband.  He told me that during her 25 years at the lumber company where she worked, no cursing was allowed in the office.  The president of the company had advised the men in the yard that they were not allowed to curse if they came into the office and if Miss Edna was in the yard, they were not to curse in her presence.  I visited with her about this the next week.  I told her that the language in my workplace was similar to that in the book.  Thus, since I was conditioned to such language in the workplace I had not noticed it in the book.  She was appalled to think that people really talked like that at work.

In my consulting career there have only been a couple of offices that I have visited that had this problem.  At one, it was really only the owner.  When he went on one of his tyrants on the first afternoon, the staff were extremely embarrassed that this was happening when I was there.  The next morning a couple of them apologized.  I thanked them but told them they had nothing to apologize for.  They were not the offensive party.

Mr. Ramsey seems to think that it is perfectly okay to curse at his employees, anyone he meets and in his home in front of his four children.  This really made me think about today’s workplace.  I know they are not all perfect and that these situations must exist.  While it may not offend those in the office, might it offend a customer?  Over many years I have learned that frustration can be expressed without cursing.  I work hard to be sure that language I have know my whole life and used in the past stays put away as much as possible.  There are much nicer ways to offend those you want to offend.  I have learned how to do that while smiling.

If you have faced this problem in your office, how have you solved the problem?  What similar cultural problems have you faced and solved or are facing in your office.

Last week there were several news reports about ladies in their 90s receiving Master Degrees.  One such lady is Helen Small show graduated from University of Texas Dallas.  Here is an article on this amazing lady. http://tinyurl.com/29rrbhb.  So what do people like this have that others don’t?  Why do they keep learning when they could be doing leisurely things all day?  When working with agencies I hear a number of excuses related to learning.

The excuses I hear most often are:

• I am too old to learn computer stuff.
• I am retiring in a couple of years and I am not learning anything new.
• My accounts are different from everyone else’s in the agency and they won’t fit the system so I don’t need to learn it.
• I can’t learn new things in a group setting.
• I have been here a long time and I know too much for them to let me go if I don’t learn this.
• If I learn more, I will have to do more.

Wow, are you surprised by these or have you heard them too?  I read somewhere recently that you can’t teach people who don’t want to learn.  And my experiences seem to prove this out.  I guess I just don’t get any of these excuses.  I loved school and I loved to read.  I was an only child until I was ten.  I lived in neighborhoods that didn’t seem to have any other children.  So my social life was at school.  Good grades were expected by my parents, no excuses.  Books could take me anywhere in the world.  One of my grandmothers cleaned houses for wealthy people in Lubbock, TX.  In the summer when I stayed with her I would get to sit quietly in the libraries of these houses and look at books.  One seemed to have every copy of National Geographic Magazine ever published.  I loved going to this house and the time I got to spend with these magazines.  I believe reading fueled my desire to travel.  I usually have 3-4 books in progress at all times.

The learning gene seems firmly implanted to this day.  When I am working with an agency and I hear one of these excuses I often just look at the individual speaking.  The too old one just doesn’t get any traction at all.  I have yet to find an account that could not be managed in the system.  In a very few cases, some additional resource are needed to support multi-location billing where a system doesn’t handle this.

The issue about learning new things in a group setting is really puzzling.  Didn’t you go to school?  The last time I checked, school is a group setting unless you are home schooled or have a private tutor.    I know a number of home schooled people and they are well adjusted and learn well in group settings.  So how did you get here?

Those individuals that think they know too much or are too valuable to be let go just may be in for a big surprise.  When profits are down and agencies do restructure, they just may decide that others know enough to take over your work.  I believe these individuals live in a vacuum.  They ignore the fact that there are others in the agency that do know what you know.  More than once I have seen staff step up and learn very quickly when a disagreeable individual or someone who thinks only they can do this work is gone.  Other staff is often relieved when this person is gone and happy to do the work.  I have seen a total shift in the attitude of the office staff to one of a positive, can do atmosphere.

I read an article several years ago about the use PCs in the insurance industry.  This was before insurance carriers had PCs on desktops.  The article advised insurance professionals that if they wanted to succeed in the future, they had better purchase a PC for home and learn how to use it.  How true this became.  In the mid 90s I managed a general agency that employed several underwriters that had previously worked at carriers.  We were a PC shop.  A couple of these underwriters had not previously used a PC and doing so was a challenge for them.  However, they each took on the challenge and learned fast and well.  They were both over 55 at the time.

Some days our work is not particularly challenging.  But others can challenge you beyond anything you could imagine.  I believe this will only continue to increase as our world continues to become more integrated and complicated.  I do like that in our more connected world, we can reach out to others for information and help.

What are your challenges in learning?  What are your tips to learning new technology?  What are your tips to learning new insurance information?

Technorati Tags: Insurance Agency processes, insurance agency culture, insurance learning, technology learning, national geographic magazine

This article was created after reading “Driven by Distraction – How Twitter and Facebook Make Us More Productive Workers” from the March 2010 WIRED Magazine. I would encourage you to read the entire article.

My prospects and clients often tell me that they want everyone in their agency to do things the same way. That is what they expect me to accomplish when they engage my services. Well, what exactly does that mean? Do they want a bunch of robots that can’t think for themselves? It is very important that an insurance agency has standards, procedures and workflows and that everyone follow them. But these defined standards, procedures and workflows address processes. What about thinking, negotiating, customer service, marketing and a host of other situations that arise everyday?

What happens if you have hired robots and they can’t think on their feet, so to say? Is there one standard answer when one of your clients has an issue with an insurance carrier? Is there only one way to negotiate the terms and pricing on an account. Are all of your clients the same which makes it easy to know what your staff is going to say to them in every situation? I fear if the answer to any of these questions is yes, that your agency has become one of those direct writers that advertise on TV.

The article in WIRED Magazine really got me to thinking about this. I often have my best ideas or find the solution to a problem at times when I am not immersed in work. Haven’t you had a great idea in the shower, with no place to write it down? And sometimes you forget the idea before you can get to something to capture your thoughts. So apply this to your staff. Where to they get their relief to have creative time. It might not be via Twitter of Facebook as suggested in the article, but there are other outlets. I always encourage agencies to look at business models outside the insurance industry. In many other industries firms employ a number of tools which incorporate the work life and other activities into the work day.

I recently saw a piece on TV about a firm that adopted a school in their area. Members of the firm became volunteer tutors at the school. While the students at the school benefited greatly, the staff members of the firm said they were the ones that had benefited more. I know a few insurance agencies that have competitions with prizes. Think Wii bowling, trivia and other fun games. I have always found that fun and laughter are great for the creative juices.

I know some of you are sitting there thinking so what is creative about the insurance business. Think about these ideas:

1. Putting together the best coverages for a difficult risk usually takes some creative thinking. These might include, what markets do I need outside current markets, would the client take more of the risk and how do I convince them of the benefits of that. As a broker in the surplus lines market for 25 years, I had to be creative many days.
2. Negotiating terms and pricing on accounts. It is important that all of the facts, the good, bad and ugly about an account be divulged to the insurance carriers. However, does your staff know how to put this information in its best light and negotiate effectively. I do not mean the squeaky wheel or high pressure approach here. I don’t believe that works in the long term for you or your client.
3. Your client has just had a serious loss. While it is properly covered there is still lots to deal with. Will a standard, predetermined answer or process necessarily address the issues. You and your staff may need to roll-up-their sleeves and be prepared to help your client deal with the details of getting all the information needed by the adjuster and wading through the paperwork, emails, phone calls. Remember you told your prospect that you are their trusted partner. Now is time to deliver.
4. Marketing must be approached with a creative mind. In today’s world there are more marketing outlets and ideas than ever before. You will be stuck in the old mold if you don’t get your creative juices and ideas rolling on this.

These are just a few examples of where creative thinking is needed in the ever day operations of an insurance agency. Solutions and ideas come at the most unexpected times. Don’t suppress the creativity of your staff. Because yes there should be creativity in an insurance agency. Would you please share with us the tools you use to help your staff think and act creatively?

Technorati Tags:
Insurance Agency processes, insurance agency workflows, insurance agency culture, creativity, twitter, facebook, Wii bowling, negotiating

Over the past couple of months I have been having my website re-done into a blog forward site.  I want to share my thoughts and experiences on:

• Best Practices for insurance agencies.
• How to integrate and maximize your technology.
• Discuss issues relating to agency culture and attracting and retaining the next generation of staff.
• And other subjects of interest to you.

I want to hear from you about the subject that interest and concern you.  I am using Intense Debate for comments.  You will find this a more interactive format for comments and discussions.

Insurance agencies face so many challenges today.  Most agencies aren’t yet thinking about, discussing or thinking about the challenges of the future.  If you aren’t working on the future while working on the present you will be left behind.  In many ways agencies are always playing catch up in technology.  I don’t believe you will be able to do this in the future and be profitable and be able to sustain your business.

Your clients and your future staff continue to become more technologically savvy everyday.  To attract and retain both you will need to be able to exceed their expectations and stay ahead of the curve.

Subscribe to the RSS feed and join the discussion.  I look forward to talking with you.