Working Smarter: Finding Agency Productivity Gains

Transcription

1 Working Smarter: Finding Agency Productivity Gains

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS WORKING SMARTER PART ONE NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WORK AND WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY PART TWO WHAT S IN IT FOR ME (WIIFM)? PART THREE AGENCY LEADER PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGENCY LEADERS PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR AGENCY LEADERS PART FOUR PRODUCER PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCERS PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR PRODUCERS PART FIVE SERVICE STAFF PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE STAFF PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR SERVICE STAFF CONCLUSION THE QUEST TO WORK SMARTER IS A NEVER-ENDING PROCESS 2

3 1 NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WORK AND WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY Today, as an insurance agency professional, you face challenges you didn t contemplate years ago. Consumer buying behaviors and patterns are different. Generational shifts have affected the workplace in a number of ways. And competition is fiercer than ever. 3 IF YOUR AGENCY IS PRODUCTIVE IF IT ADOPTS LEADING- EDGE WORKFLOWS AND TOOLS YOU LL FIND IT EASIER TO ATTRACT AND DEVELOP STRONG-PERFORMING EMPLOYEES, WHICH SERVES YOUR AGENCY AND CLIENT BASE VERY WELL.

4 Now, insurance agencies find shoppers engaging with them after doing extensive research, not up front. Service expectations are different too. I ll get back to you with an answer doesn t cut it with consumers who want and expect an immediate response. And whatever response or communication does take place must be on the customer s terms, not the agent s. Workforce dynamics have changed as well. It s no secret that a wave of agency principal and employee retirements are just around the corner. Couple this with an influx of younger employees including millennials, who by 2020 will form 50% of the global workforce 1 and agencies need to adapt their perspectives on work and workplace productivity. Workplace flexibility, a focus shift on employee career paths, a fresh approach to marketing and greater reliance on technology to drive engagement and growth are all part of tomorrow s insurance agencies. Even as these various forces affect insurance agencies, competition continues to evolve. New players Google and Amazon, for instance are making plays in an insurance space already awash in competition. Independent agents are fighting for market share with increased attention on customer experience, community engagement and strategic market focus. Fortunately, technology advances are available that drive and support the consumer, employee and marketplace shifts we see. Agencies are able to become more productive with relative ease thanks to cloud technology, mobility, better communication between agency and carrier systems, and increased adoption of third-party apps and other tools. 1 Millennials at work: Reshaping the workplace. PwC WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY, A FOCUS SHIFT ON EMPLOYEE CAREER PATHS, A FRESH APPROACH TO MARKETING AND GREATER RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT AND GROWTH ARE ALL PART OF TOMORROW S INSURANCE AGENCIES. 4

5 2 WHAT S IN IT FOR ME (WIIFM)? Your agency could experience the positive results that others are experiencing through increased productivity that technology delivers. First is revenue growth. Productive agencies can attract prospects and engage existing customers more efficiently. They are able to identify and act on opportunities to maximize customer and account relationships. And they can better differentiate themselves in their role of trusted advisor. Similarly, agencies are able to reduce overhead expenses and free up staff time. Enhanced agency-carrier interface allows agencies to reduce tedious work and the people costs associated with it to the tune of 10 to 15%. Workflow redesign, including the use of new agency management system technologies, helps eliminate redundancies, delivering similar gains. Customer self-service capabilities not only respond to customer desires; they free staff time for more important tasks. On top of growth and time- and cost-savings, your agency also can reap intrinsic rewards. Productive employees who get more done are happier, and workplace happiness is contagious. Better yet, happy employees produce happy clients. If your agency is productive if it adopts leading-edge workflows and tools you ll find it easier to attract and develop strong-performing employees, which serves your agency and client base very well. 15 % ENHANCED AGENCY-CARRIER INTERFACE ALLOWS AGENCIES TO REDUCE TEDIOUS WORK AND THE PEOPLE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT TO THE TUNE OF 10 TO 15%. 5

6 TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS 3 AGENCY LEADER PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGENCY LEADERS Nobody needs to tell you that managing an agency is tough work. Eking out management productivity gains can be tougher yet. Reports available within your management system help, but they re only as good as the data within the system. Workarounds in the system can yield misleading data that are counter-productive for employees and managers. That s why many agencies focus on making sure employees enter thorough and accurate data. Workflow consistency can yield real productivity gains. So can implementing procedures and processes to capture comprehensive customer risk and demographic information your agency can use to better market, account round and engage customers. Understanding data and having meaningful information available for all agency functions is important. Data analytics helps agency leaders better understand their business, deliver appropriate service levels, understand producer workloads and performance, increase revenue, market more effectively and strengthen carrier relationships. Carrier-related data can offer easy insight into profitability trends, as well as gaps and opportunities. Some agencies make available to all employees, right on their management system, important carrier data, such as classes of business insurers will write, appetites and corresponding underwriting guidelines. Data within the system is only actionable when it s accessible. That s why managers make use of mobile technology to access information while out of the office. Cloud computing and the use of Web-based software allows agency leaders to connect and be productive at any time, wherever they happen to be. Online management systems deliver added productivity by relieving managers of maintenance, backups and other server-related duties. For me, one of the biggest challenges I ve had to deal with is being able to be productive in our agency management system when I m not in the office. I am out of the office quite a bit for various reasons. Unfortunately, work never waits for me to get back into the office. It continues to pile up while I m out. Being able to use a tablet to connect to our management system while traveling has allowed me to be out of the office during busy times month-end, even and still be able to connect and be productive while away. TOMMY DIES CFO, Bryan Insurance 6

7 PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR AGENCY LEADERS USE SOFTWARE TO AUTOMATE, TRACK & REPORT Achieving productivity gains starts with understanding practices and performance. Start with management system reports. Talk with your vendor and fellow system users to understand what s available. Learn what they say. Of course, to get the most from system reports, you need to make sure your team is entering data accurately. DIVE DEEPER INTO YOUR DATA Take your understanding of data to a new level. Tap your data to better understand client, prospect and employee trends and activities. With business intelligence gained from your system data, you can easily zero in on new business opportunities, identify responsive and profitable carrier performance, and productively align resources, activities and employees. IDENTIFY & IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES Walk around. Seek out insight from frontline staff and fellow managers on practical ways to boost productivity for individual employees and your agency as a whole. Test your team members recommendations, tweak them if needed, and then implement them broadly. TRAIN & EDUCATE YOUR TEAM Leaders should provide employees tools that make them more productive. A solid management system is a must-have, of course. But make sure your people don t overlook features within the system to streamline prospect communication, customer relationships, carrier marketing and a host of other functions. 7

8 CONNECT WITH CARRIERS Make sure your staff use all available agency-carrier connectivity offerings. Using real-time for service and rating saves agency employees up to an hour per day. Policy download yields daily time-savings of nearly an hour and a half per department employee for Personal Lines and nearly an hour for Commercial Lines 2. Other download offerings deliver similar results. Contact IVANS Insurance Solutions to find out about interface opportunities with your carriers. MOVE TO THE CLOUD & OFFER SELF-SERVICE Enhance your gains with cloud-based technology and online customer data access. Doing away with local servers offers greater system flexibility and eliminates hours of staff time devoted to updates and maintenance. Online 24/7 access to their policy information pleases customers, lightens staff admin loads and reduces unnecessary workday interruptions that research shows could consume a couple of hours a day per worker. Leverage these improvements by clearly defining and communicating workflows, expectations, goals and standards, as well as what success looks like. Employees will be more productive if they know what s expected of them. Use your management system to share carrier and other information with employees agencywide. ONLINE ACCESS TO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DATA ALSO DRIVES PRODUCTIVITY GAINS. THE ABILITY FOR SERVICE STAFF TO WORK FROM HOME VIA THE CLOUD, WHEN NEEDED, SUPPORTS WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND ALLOWS BUSINESS TO GO ON, REGARDLESS OF WEATHER, OFFICE POWER FAILURE OR OTHER ISSUES. 2 Real Time/Download Campaign 2013 Agency & Brokerage Technology Survey Final Report 8

9 TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS 9 4 PRODUCER PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCERS Helping producers achieve productivity gains is also important. Even better, it s possible. Here again, anytime, anywhere access plays a significant role. New mobile technology affords producers all of the benefits associated with management system access within an office, without having the producer tethered to a desk. This flexibility allows them to be more productive and to respond to clients and prospects more quickly and in the manner those current and prospective customers want and expect. Everyone knows that being on the road for instance, spending time behind the wheel going from one appointment to another can be a real productivity-buster. Why not fill the void productively, listening to audio books on insurance- or business-related subjects? Tools and apps, such as OneNote and Evernote, also can make it easier for producers to manage work and life, and handle the barrage of incoming communication, regardless of where they might be. Workflow consistency also can drive enhanced producer productivity. By clearly defining producer and service staff roles and responsibilities, for instance, agencies can eliminate redundancy and optimize each person s time. This is true regardless of how much or how little administrative work producers take on. By designing and implementing formal workflows and sticking to them your agency can max out your productivity gains. Sometimes, workflow redesign might involve adding or shifting staff. Some agencies employ an assistant a liaison, of sorts to help producers stay organized and on task. All producers copy this individual on prospect s and other correspondence, and the assistant makes sure everything is documented and properly attached to the prospect s record in the system. The assistant helps producers with everything from getting information ready to market to handling follow-ups. The big productivity gain here is that producers can zero in on selling and CSRs can focus on delivering post-sale service. DAYTON KILGUS Producer, Metz Stoller My biggest productivity-related challenge and it s one I suspect other producers face is simply the wide variety of sources of stuff I receive. , paper on my desk, voic , texts, Facebook messages, in person, you name it. It s incredibly difficult to manage the diverse set of communication inputs, if you will, and the sheer volume of requests. It can be overwhelming. To help get some of this under control, I recently started to implement David Allen s Getting Things Done time-management methodology and have had initial success. Outlook and Evernote are the two systems I use to track everything. By tagging s or tasks the road, I can quickly find items I need to address when I have a free moment, and I don t spend five minutes finding something to do in the five minutes I have available. It keeps me from wasting time trying to remember what it is I need to do.

10 PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR PRODUCERS STREAMLINE WORKFLOWS & FOLLOW BEST PRACTICES Producers can be more productive as they find ways to better manage their work. Agree on workflows and procedures for producer interaction with service staff and maintain them, leveraging your agency management system and other technologies. You ll eliminate redundancy and get more things done more quickly and more sensibly. THE AMOUNT OF TIME PRODUCERS SPEND SELLING 53% 44% 39% USE TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK SALES GOALS & PERFORMANCE Use technology to help manage and increase your sales productivity. Make use of sales pipeline functionality that s available within your management system and use system resources to track sales goals and performance against them. 22% 2% 27% 7% 7% TRAIN UP Get training to help strengthen your up-front prospect qualification and sales processes. Use broadly available risk evaluators to ensure productive data gathering and incorporate scripts to keep your focus when making sales calls. When traveling between calls, use audiobooks to beef up your sales, time-management or other skills. GO MOBILE Make use of mobile technology to expand your productivity. In addition to the inherent flexibility mobility brings, apps are available to help you work more efficiently and effectively. For example, there are mobile apps designed specifically for producers, as well as other apps that can help you manage time, communication and other important aspects of your job. < 25% 25-50% 51-75% < 75% ACTUAL TIME SPENT IDEAL TIME SPENT Source: Real time/download campaign 2013 agency & brokerage technology survey final report AUTOMATE COMMUNICATIONS Finally, producers can enhance productivity using technology to manage communications. Tap template functionality within your management system for proposals, e-marketing and other prospect and client communication. Handle customer social media communication using tools designed to schedule and manage posts. Use templates and screen sharing to make better use of time when creating and delivering presentations. 10

11 5 SERVICE STAFF PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE STAFF A host of opportunities exist to bolster productivity among service professionals. CSRs handle a broad range of tasks, and even small changes can deliver sizeable gains. The vast majority of agencies use Personal Lines policy detail download to reduce rekeying of data, saving, on average, 81 minutes a day per employee 3. Similarly, many agencies have found positive results with Commercial Lines download. Productivity gains have increased over the years as companies improved their interface and as agencies better understood how and where to enter data in their systems. 3 Real Time/Download Campaign 2013 Agency & Brokerage Technology Survey Final Report 11

12 TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS Positive productivity gains also have come by eliminating paper in the agency, to the degree possible. Many agencies scan and digitally file documents. More and more, agencies are expanding the paperless approach to include electronic delivery of client documents, which reduces the time and expense of mailing paper copies. You can use electronic signatures to further reduce the amount of time employees need to spend processing paper. A side benefit is e-signatures can boost sales by enabling insureds and prospects to complete and return agreements on the spot from their desktop. Customer self-service is another tool agencies are using to increase service staff productivity. Offering clients the ability to access policy and billing information on their own terms, not only eliminates service work, it also responds to consumers growing desire for 24/7 access, which helps strengthen relationships, ensure high retention rates and drive revenue gains. Self-service functionality can increase staff productivity and decrease costs in Commercial Lines, as well as Personal Lines. For many agencies, issuing certificates of insurance is a major undertaking. Construction firms, for instance, can require hundreds of certificates each year. Technology makes the process of issuing accurate certificates easier and less time-consuming, which frees service staff to handle more productive tasks. Online access to management system data also drives productivity gains. The ability for service staff to work from home via the cloud, when needed, supports work-life balance and allows business to go on, regardless of weather, office power failure or other issues. To maximize the value of online access, agencies are reinventing service workflows. Doing the same thing the same way every time allows for consistent interface with producers, provides the ability to adjust workloads among staff as needed, and makes new-hire training easier and more consistent. We re in the process of reinventing workflows to ensure continuity across all of the staff. We want people doing the same thing the same way every time. For instance, we can t have some people saving items in Outlook and others using the system. It all needs to be consistent. We get productivity gains from this in a number of ways. First, it s easier for someone to pick up someone else s work if they all use the same workflow. Second, training new employees is easier. Third, it eliminates redundancy. Our producers and CSRs work together to serve our clients. If they do things differently and don t follow a standard workflow, there s bound to be duplication in what they do. Consistency helps eliminate that and helps ensure greater quality and a better customer experience. MARION HIGGINS COO, Integrated Insurance Solutions 12

13 PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR SERVICE STAFF MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY Finding even small productivity improvements for service professionals can yield sizable rewards, given the volume of work they do. Technology plays a major role here. Using real-time connectivity and download communication directly from the management system to the carrier system and back can help service staff accomplish 10 to 20% more work each day. LEARN FROM YOUR PEERS It s important to maximize agency management system use. Work with your vendor and technology user group to learn how others are making the most of their systems, and then make changes in your own office. Be sure to eliminate unneeded paper handling through the use of scanning and electronic document management, e-signatures, electronic policy delivery and Activity Notes download from your carriers. GET DETAILED Strive for consistency. Create and implement workflows that reduce redundant handling of data. Then enforce their use. Pay special attention to accurate data entry. Putting information in the right place the first time eliminates time-consuming redos, ensures quality customer and report data, and reduces the likelihood of errors and omissions. Use an agency Intranet to make sure all employees have the most current information they need to do their jobs right. OFFERING CLIENTS THE ABILITY TO ACCESS POLICY AND BILLING INFORMATION ON THEIR OWN TERMS NOT ONLY ELIMINATES SERVICE WORK, IT ALSO RESPONDS TO CONSUMERS GROWING DESIRE FOR 24/7 ACCESS, WHICH HELPS STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS. PROMOTE SELF-SERVICE Encourage customers to use available system and carrier online access, to eliminate needless service work and to reduce unnecessary and costly interruptions. Then make the best use of time saved by looking for and acting on either directly or by communicating to producers opportunities to serve customers by making sure they have the best protection possible. SHARE YOUR IDEAS Finally, service professionals should use their frontline perspective to identify opportunities for increased agency productivity. Share those ideas with managers and work to get them implemented agencywide, to maximize the gains and build a stronger agency. 13

14 6 CONCLUSION THE QUEST TO WORK SMARTER IS A NEVER-ENDING PROCESS Radical changes have occurred within the last 10 to 20 years that have forever changed the way we shop, work and do business. Changes in consumer buying behaviors and expectations, generational shifts, and fierce competition from new players require new perspectives on work and workplace productivity. Independent insurance agencies can thrive by leveraging the power of connected technology to simplify and accelerate work. Agencies are doing more with less, thanks to cloud technology, mobility, better communication between agency and carrier systems, and increased adoption of third-party apps and other tools. Finding and capitalizing on opportunities to work more effectively is a neverending process. Technology advances deliver new efficiencies. Employee experience and input yields new ideas for working smarter. Continue the quest for productivity gains, working with others in your own agencies, fellow technology user groups, carriers and others in the industry who are involved in initiatives designed to help advance the industry. Your customers, your businesses and your personal success depend on it. AGENCIES ARE ABLE TO BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE WITH RELATIVE EASE THANKS TO CLOUD TECHNOLOGY, MOBILITY, BETTER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN AGENCY AND CARRIER SYSTEMS, AND INCREASED ADOPTION OF THIRD- PARTY APPS AND OTHER TOOLS. 14

15 CONTRIBUTORS This ebook was prepared by Applied Systems, Inc. About Applied Systems Applied Systems is a leading provider of software that powers the business of insurance. Applied is recognized as a pioneer in agency and brokerage management systems and data exchange between agencies, brokers, insurers and their clients. Automating the insurance lifecycle for more than 140,000 insurance professionals, 12,000 agencies and brokerages, and 450 insurers worldwide, Applied enables millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only. It is intended to give timely, but general, information on the subject matter covered herein, and the contents of this document are subject to change without notice. Prior results and case studies mentioned in this document do not guarantee a similar outcome on any particular situation in the future. You should consult with an attorney or other professional service provider with respect to how the matters discussed herein affect and relate to your own business affairs. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether express or implied. Applied Systems and its affiliates specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. Any statements made herein are not a commitment to deliver any material, code or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions, except as provided for in a separate software license agreement. The development, release, timing and availability of any products, features or functionality described herein remain at the sole discretion of Applied Systems and its affiliates. All other names of products and published works identified herein may be the trademarks or otherwise proprietary material of their respective owner. Applied Systems, Inc. 200 Applied Parkway University Park, IL For more information visit appliedsystems.com 15

16 Applied Systems, Inc. 200 Applied Parkway University Park, IL For more information visit appliedsystems.com Copyright 2015 Applied Systems