My experience tells me that almost every office suffers from some degree of backlog. Unfinished work can hinder an agency in a number of ways. For instance, every time a document is touched, the cost of processing that item increases. If backlog is significant, someone hunting for a specific item probably touches a number of pending files and documents during the search. If he or she doesn't find the target the first time around, then another search likely ensues, and costs multiply.
Other consequences of backlog are decreased employee morale, customer dissatisfaction and staff burnout that may ultimately result in higher turn-over. Also, an agency's errors-and-omissions exposures increase, along with the odds of items being overlooked or misplaced. Add up all these factors and suddenly backlog becomes a much larger issue than just tasks pending completion.
Would you like to make your agency's backlog disappear forever? It's possible, and it doesn't take a large investment of time or money. Here are several ways to permanently eliminate backlog in your agency:
–Examine all the reasons staff members leave their desks or work areas to perform tasks throughout the day. Identify which tasks are repeated most often, and for each one, find a way for someone to complete it without leaving his or her workstation. Doing so will save an average of five minutes per task.
–Whenever possible, bring activities to the workstation. If company underwriting guidelines by line of business are made available in electronic format, agency employees no longer need to locate and consult individual company manuals. The same can be done for companies' binding authority and restrictions (restricted breeds of dogs, restricted auto lists, etc.). Scan packaged endorsements so CSRs can retrieve and review them without leaving their chairs. Of course, such data may be available at companies' Web sites, but logging on to a Web site and drilling down to the appropriate page takes time. It's faster and easier to access information if it's readily available on your agency management system.
–Enable all employees to access a high-speed Internet connection to send and receive faxes without leaving their chairs. Your agency will reap significant time savings.
–Moving to a paperless environment allows anyone with access to your agency's system to quickly retrieve electronically filed data. With information needed to re-market an account at their fingertips, account managers can send submissions to alternative insurers in a fraction of the time it would take to retrieve data from paper client files.
–Scan company phone lists and other lists of frequently called numbers. Store them where staff members can easily retrieve them, and use "speed dial" whenever possible. In Outlook, create contact lists by company to facilitate e-mail correspondence. A Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system allows a caller to select a contact and dial the number with a single mouse click–for true "speed dialing"!
–Real-time billing, claims and policy-detail inquiry is a great time-saver. Although an employee can call a company's rep or visit its Web site from a workstation, real-time access reduces a three- or four-minute task to one taking only 15 or 20 seconds. Of course, your vendor and company must have real-time capability and the latest release of your agency management system software; but if they do, you'll enjoy a fast return on investment while reducing your agency's work backlog.
–Make sure people have their own printers in their work areas. Ideally, an employee should be able to retrieve documents from a paperless filing system, print them if necessary, and forward them to clients via fax or e-mail without leaving his or her chair.
Multiply each of the aforementioned activities by the number of times it is performed daily, then multiply that total by five minutes to see how much time you can save. You'll probably find that your agency can improve efficiency enough to substantially diminish, or completely eliminate, your backlog.
Although the above steps are quite simple, and some can be implemented immediately, others may take longer. With persistence, though, you'll see positive results. As the piles of pending work shrink, the service staff will feel less anxiety about items not yet processed. Policy requests will be processed more quickly, and customers may notice a more professional work environment. These changes may lead to increased policy retention and greater agency profits.
Work backlog is an old nemesis. In recent years, however, technology has provided tools to eliminate or reduce the repetition of daily tasks, improve accuracy and increase overall efficiency. Use these tools to streamline your agency's operations and send backlog packing once and for all.
Edgar J. Higgins Jr., CPCU, is the owner of Progressive Management Consulting and the Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton, N.Y. Readers may contact him at ed@edhiggins.com.
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