Agencies Can Thrive In Information Age

Some agencies, to this day, are still deploying antiquatedassembly-line approaches from the Industrial Age in todaysInformation Age.

Considering an ever-competitive industry continuing to moveagencies towards being all-products/all-services providers, theyrefacing the distinct possibility of not keeping up with, let aloneahead of the competition.

Many agencies talk about providing customer service. Yet for allthe talk about getting and keeping clients, how much has servicereally improved? Unfortunately, the answer is not much at someagencies.

Customer service isnt about talk. Its about actions that keepclients satisfied. Its about pleasing people. Its about greatservice replacing lip service. And, along the way, it can lead toclients spreading the good word about an agencys offerings andtop-notch service.

Exceptional service results in client loyalty. Once an agencyhas such loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising, a golden future isvirtually assured.

But none of this is going to happen if agencies dont lookwithin. Whats often needed are specific actions that will establishan emotional bond between clients and their agency, boostingcustomer confidence. While on the surface it might sound simple,theres most definitely an art to pleasing customers and garneringnew ones.

In the Industrial Age, the key to success was based upon theability to control all aspects of work. Problem solving was thesole domain of management.

In todays Information Age, work is accomplished–or shouldbe–through a series of linked processes where client service,flexibility and cost containment have replaced volume as the highwatermark for success.

For up-to-date agencies, the tools of e-business and theInternet have dramatically altered how work is viewed and whatstaff and clients expect.

Last year, at the annual conference of the Independent InsuranceAgents and Brokers of America in Honolulu, the Agents Council ForTechnology released a report citing major technological trends thatwill significantly affect how agents do business.

Among the trends revealed in the report, “A Vision Of The FutureFor Agency Technology, Including The Essential Next Steps ForIndependent Agents,” was the importance of:

Prospects and customers being able to do business with agencieselectronically.

Real-time interaction.

Single-step processing.

Personalized marketing and service.

Within the ACT report, specific steps are recommended forindependent agents so they can position themselves to profit fromthese emerging technological trends. They include the need foragency owners to establish a culture that views technology as astrategic opportunity and an integral part of running anagency.

Technology should be implemented to respond to a defined need inthe agency, such as improving a particular business process orworkflow, according to the ACT report. That resonates with theoverall message that our organization has long been delivering tomembers of the insurance community.

Specifically, many agencies must carefully study their businessplan (to this day, some dont even have one), and actually implementthe plan rather than let it gather dust on their shelf.

The plan must be–and this is key–flexible enough to adapt toconstant change. This in turn will lead some agencies to therealization that, with the help of technology and redesign asneeded, theyll be able to operate much more effectively.

Often, the scenario that will unfold will depict a need torestructure. This will sometimes mean the installation or redesignof computer systems so that they are future oriented and focusdirectly on the customer.

It will also often mean changing from an old assembly-lineapproach–where tasks are handed from one person to another–to workstations where jobs are more efficient and customer-focused,creating more productive, and usually more contented,employees.

It also means mixing people with technology to create amodernized agency environment, asking for staff input every step ofthe way. An agencys staff can be amazingly analytical when askedfor feedback. Often, the staff has productive and cost-saving ideasthat the agency principal never thought about.

All this said, its not enough to have technological solutions ifthe critical changes needed by agencies are not aligned to supportits initiatives. There are three elements needed–processes,systems, and people–to create a high-performance agency.

Processes. These are linked activities designedto add value on behalf of clients. Whats needed within this areaincludes value-added analysis, the reworking and possibleredesigning of jobs, and the decision points required–all targetedon the goal of meeting client needs and expectations.

Systems. This refers to the infrastructure formaintaining the overall agency operation. Required within this areaare a review of policies and procedures, and operating within anopen versus closed environment.

People. The individuals comprising your agencystaff are the very lifeblood of your business, and they influenceand are influenced by both systems and processes in various, oftenunpredictable ways. When any changes are made to the system orprocesses, the agency needs to be concerned with issues that affectpeople who represent the agency.

Therefore, its mandatory to forever keep in mind that people canonly produce if they have the requisite skills, resources andmotivation to do so. It follows that agencies need to assess corecompetencies, skill requirements, job design, and the trainingneeded to provide the necessary resources to get the job done. Alsoremember that even in the most automated environment, people stilldo the work.

The old ways dont work anymore. Those agencies that didnt learnthat, and somehow didnt find time to enter the Information Age,arent around anymore. Theres no reason whatsoever to join them inoblivion.

What all agency principals must do is look within and, as deemednecessary, restructure and update automation and processes quickly,shifting all agency operations to focus directly on the client.

This should all be accomplished within a business plan that isflexible enough to adapt to change, and which, if properly thoughtout, will allow you and your agency to see today with the eyes oftomorrow.

John A. Uzzi is president of Roy W. Walters &Associates, a nationwide management consulting organization servingthe insurance and financial services industry, headquartered inParamus, N.J. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 23,2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in theserial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this articleas an independent work may be held by the author.