Agency Team Building

Agency Team Building Why is it Important? The internal workings of the agency require that the employees interact effectively on a day to day basis. Cooperation and communication among the staff is necessary for the individuals to accomplish their job as well as for the agency to grow and to prosper. No individual within the agency can work in a vacuum. The exchange of information regarding changes in the marketplace, new policy provisions, new underwriting guidelines, and the communication of agency procedures is essential in order to perform your job. As you gain information it is very important that you communicate new information to your co-workers. Internal Communication The exchange of information within the agency occurs in numerous ways. One of the most common is an informal method of conversation among employees where one employee may become aware of some important information and relates that information through general conversation to another employee. Although this can be an effective method of communication between two people, it does not serve the purpose of passing the information on to all that may need to know. In order to make sure that information is properly communicated to all who need to know a more formal method should be used. Communication between departments is critical to the effective service of the insureds. In many cases the departments within an agency do not effectively communicate with one another. Commercial accounts have the potential to become personal accounts. Many times personal accounts also have the potential to become commercial accounts. If your agency also handles Life and Health insurance through a separate department, regular communication should take place with this department as well. Opportunities exist which will benefit the agency as well as the insured, but only if there is cooperation between departments. If an opportunity exists with another department take the initiative and tell the other department. Remember, full account management means cross selling between all departments. If you think improvements can be made in this area, bring it up at your next departmental staff meeting.

Agency Meetings Regularly scheduled meetings, both for departments, as well as for the entire agency, provides the most effective way to communicate important information to all those who need to know. This method provides an opportunity to not only pass new information to those who will use it the most, but also provides the opportunity to discuss all of the applications of this new knowledge. How will it impact the way the agency does business? What will be the effect on the customers? Will the information require a change in the way you do business? All of these questions and more should be addressed during the agency meetings. If new procedures are required to meet the needs of the change or new information they should be discussed during the meeting. All those in attendance should have the opportunity to ask questions and receive clarification if the information is not understood. This forum also provides the attendees the chance to discuss and exchange their ideas as to how the department or agency can better function given the information being presented. Individual opinions may lead to a decision to try something unique and better suited to the individual operations of the agency. Departmental Meeting Agenda (scheduled monthly) Review of discussions from prior meeting. ! ! ! !

Questions/discussion from prior meeting’s topics. Discussion of any problems from actions taken from prior meetings. Update on current status of agency/department goals and objectives. Future goals and objectives.

New Items for discussion ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Market conditions Changes in agency marketing direction. (new programs, etc.) Changes in carriers programs, underwriting, rules. New markets or opportunities. New Business issues (new sales in process) Upcoming new accounts, (type, size, work required) Marketing issues affecting new business activity. Renewals to be handled (90 to 120 days in the future) Potential account problems (market, competition, pricing) Strategy by account. (who will handle and how to be handled) Personnel issues. Scheduling (vacations, education, leaves, etc.) Personnel awards/recognition.

General Agency Meeting Agenda (scheduled quarterly or semi-annually) ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Current status of agency’s performance vs. objectives. New business sales. Renewals, premium and retention. Business and market conditions affecting the agency. General Insurance and economic conditions. New opportunities or changes in programs and markets. New or changed agency marketing strategies. Agency procedures Changes or additions to current procedures. Discussion of current procedures. Personnel issues. Additions, deletions, changes. Personnel awards/recognition. How Does Communication Impact Team Work?

The definition of team work according to Webster is as follows: Work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole. In other words several people working together to accomplish a task with no one person necessarily being more important to the task than the others involved. Communication is the cornerstone of team work. In order for people to work together they must let each other know what they are doing, how they are doing it, and pass this information on to the entire team. Meetings, and formal communication provide the means for this information to be passed from one manager, supervisor, or employee to a group of employees allowing them the knowledge needed to complete the work involved. Participation with the team is the responsibility of all those involved. Any one person who decides not to hold up their part of the work will have a negative impact on all those involved. Everyone is a necessary link in the chain. In agency customer service this may involve a number of people. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The Agency Principal/Manager who oversees all operations. The Producer who originally writes the account. The Department Manager/Supervisor who manages the overall process. A Marketing Representative who markets the account. The Customer Service Representative who services the account. A Processor who sets up the account on the computer. An Accounting Representative who manages the ongoing billing. A Claims Representative who handles losses.

Think about how your agency is structured. Who has the responsibility for the tasks listed above? Do you have regular communication with those people in order to accomplish the work that needs to be done? Could you work together more effectively to meet the needs of the insured and the agency? Your agency may have separate individuals who handle each of these functions, or as is commonly the case, the Customer Service Representative may handle several of these functions. Regardless of how your agency is staffed interaction between staff members in a cooperative manner is essential for the business to be handled properly. Each person has their role, and all must perform their part(s) of the process. Communication Techniques Refer to the Telephone section of this manual.