Several years ago, long before COVID, a small, but growing number of progressive (in terms of workflow, not politics) agencies had adopted several variations of remote work efforts to respond to circumstances that demanded innovation to continue to properly service customers and administer insurance agency transactions and workflows.
Transaction management already has a long history of remote work efforts with policy checking, conversion, download and data input and management handled by individuals and by outside service groups far from agencies’ home bases. As are most other innovations, these actions were taken as resolutions to problems with finding enough qualified employees to accomplish these tasks in house and in cost control efforts when the processing of transactions were proven to be as (or more) accurate, better managed and faster at lower cost away from the agency than within the agency’s walls.
But the culture of most agency owners demanded that all production and customer service be managed in-house. The owners, generally in their 50’s and beyond, grew up with ego-driven perimeter offices for producers with the largest producers and the executives in the corners and the others occupying various size offices as deemed by their agency status. All office staff were in the “bull pen” with servicers near their producers or clustered in discipline departments (Personal Lines near the front of the office to handle walk-in traffic and commercial lines near the producers with processors in the periphery).
THEN COVID HAPPENED. Regardless of the reality of the threat people were dying from the complications of the disease. The alarm was raised and we went from covering our mouths with pieces of paper and fabric to the more useful N-95 masks and, when this proved insufficient to stem the tide of the disease, we closed all businesses and schools and went home.
Within a short period of time necessary businesses, including insurance agencies, were operating remotely in a hodge-podge of systems and procedures. We found that the telephone systems and Agency Management Systems were much more robust and capable than we were using. The telephone systems had the capability of remote routing and management reporting to identify what transactions (and how many) were being done by each remote worker. Surprisingly, the normal workflow of agencies continued and, in many cases, were more efficient since the work effort was on demand (transactions were given to a CSR to complete) without the disruption of normal in-office activities. The agencies that had mediocre workers found them to remain mediocre but the workers who were motivated and comprehended the way the system was meant to operate were able to work as well or better from home (with metric supervision) than at the office.
Producers found it particularly difficult to make personal connections by telephone alone, but the unusual benefit was that the customers were extremely reluctant to leave an insurance company (or an agency) relationship in the middle of a national health crisis. Finding replacement coverage when you couldn’t physically interact between customer and producer proved challenging and caused many clients to limit or curtail “shopping” during the Pandemic.
Controllable retention actually rose significantly. Of course, businesses that closed necessarily affected overall retention but there was no controlling business closures at the producer level. The combination of high controllable retention and relatively modest rate changes (since the carriers didn’t want it to appear that they were price gouging) caused insurance agencies production to actually increase during the pandemic years.
The Pandemic appears to have settled down. Herd immunity has occurred and, while Covid is still a reality, it appears to be less virulent to most people. However, many agency employees found that they preferred to remain working at home or in a modified schedule that allowed them to remain home on some days and still be fully productive. The savings in commuter costs and time, alone, has proven to be significant.
We don’t know what the end result will be. But we can already tell that more workers will remain remote or on split-schedules. Desktop computers are being replaced and supplemented by laptops and docking stations that can be accessed from home (or anywhere else) to keep a service employee connected to their clients and to their managers. Reporting is becoming more vigorous to assure that the employees are processing as many transactions remotely as they do when in the office. And, in the long term, we have clients that are looking at the advent of remote work efforts as serious cost savings to occupancy and other operating expenses while still maintaining a physical presence with employees cycling in and out of the office as needed while spending much more time working at home.
The side benefit to this change in organizational evolution is that the workforce can be expanded with working mothers and other employees more capable and desirous of working flex-hours from home and being available to remain in the professional workforce.
Please call us (800 779 2430) to discuss remote working for your agency. The transition will not be abrupt and can save you money, make your employees more productive and expand your workforce.
(PS – An example: TD Bank has a great presence in our area. They just made remote working permanent for ALL of their mortgage operations.)