SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.–Changing an agency's work culture can improve both efficiency and earnings, but making those revisions is not easy and requires thoughtful planning beforehand, a management consultant said.

Raymond P. Spies, president and founder of Development Associates USA, LLC, based in Eau Claire, Wis., explained the dynamics and benefits behind changing an agency's culture during the 82nd annual meeting of the American Association of Managing General Agents.

Mr. Spies' observations came during one of a series of AAMGA University classes yesterday, titled “Keepers of the Culture.”

The importance of changing a management's culture is not just about altering skills. It is about altering the company's direction and positioning it where the owner wants it to be, said Mr. Spies.

He asked attendees which company they would like to see–a company of high turnover, low morale and lower than expected revenues, or a company with low turnover, high morale and rising revenues.

The answer was obvious, he said, indicating the latter. Interestingly, he continued, this illustration described the same company about four or five years after it decided to change its culture.

Bettering a culture is not about changing the attitude of management, he explained. It is about infusing a sense of purpose, direction and professionalism into all who work there.

As an example, he talked about one hotel chain that trains its employees with a 16-hour orientation meeting. Three hours is spent on procedures, the rest is spent explaining the history and culture of the chain and the attitude the hotel expects its employees to project to its guests.

This underscores the fact that when service stinks, the fault is not with the employees, he said. The problem is with a management that has not done its job to train properly and project the kind of image it aspires to.

Mr. Spies observed that there are “written and unwritten rules” about how a company projects its image, including the use of little white lies that can snowball into larger problems later on and sloppy office management that creates an atmosphere of ambivalence and apathy.

Another management issue is empowering employees to think on their own and not rely on management to come up with answers, he said.

When employees are trained to make decisions and come up with solutions, it means management can entrust operations to them and build a more efficient operation, Mr. Spies explained.

Changing the culture raises the level of expectation and performance, he said. It instills a sense of pride in the company and improves retentions, not only of employees but also customers. For general agents, an efficient operation also means their carrier partners have more faith in their ability to do the job.

However, he noted, “unless there is a specific purpose or reason, [changing the culture] does not make any sense.”

A lot of time needs to be taken considering the cultural change that should be made and why, Mr. Spies noted. The major questions to be asked are what is the vision and what will be the end result.

“The only thing you have to be careful about with 'vision' is that it is what you want it to be,” Mr. Spies explained.

Cultural change, he continued, is a very real emotional battle. The manager needs to keep the focus on the result. “I never said it would be easy,” advised Mr. Spies.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.