Education/Training

EDUCATION/TRAINING

A professional work force should be the goal of any organization, especially the insurance agency, which is engaged in a highly competitive business. The agency needs to be sure that its staff is trained to do the superlative job necessary for success.

Agency management is also responsible for seeing that the staff is offered the opportunity to grow and develop to the benefit of the individual and the organization. In order to help employees to their full potential, both education and training are necessary. For the purposes of this section, education will be defined as 'the process of learning general principles and concepts to enable individuals to better understand the need for job skills. 'Training will be considered ' the process of learning specific job-related skills that can be directly applied to present or future job activities. '

This section offers a general overview of what a training program should encompass, followed by specific material on CSR and producer training; included are training schedules for both positions that should help you implement your own training programs.

The first step in setting up your 'Employee Skill/Training Matrix' is to research your sources of education and training. Determine what in-house facilities you can provide and then look at the outside sources. You'll find training resources or an agency on the following pages.

The training that you give and make available for your employees ultimately reflects the type and quality of service that you can provide for your clients. With this in mind, be sure that every employee is involved in a program that will be beneficial and challenging.

In order to be truly beneficial and complete, training must be done in segments. First comes training for technical skills, which should center on the day-to-day, practical activities of the job.

Because an insurance agency is a service organization, the second training phase should be in human relations. The basis of this training is the development of communication skills.

The third phase of training is in conceptual areas-explaining the whys and wherefores of the jobs and placing them within the larger framework of the total organization.

Finally, you want to give your employees helpful hints on being successful in their work activities. You will want to base this training on this thought from a report for the American Management Association by researcher Dale Tarnowski: 'Success is knowing that you have done your job to the best of your ability-not better than someone else might or could have done, but the very best you could do. '

The key to training is that you have a plan. The matrix allows you to graphically plot out a skill time frame for each employee. Each person will probably only be involved with one project at one time. You will probably want to involve a number of different people in a project at one time. This will allow for a trade off of ideas among the participants.

Do not be afraid to offer in-house seminars. Insurance company personnel are always willing to come in and educate agency employees in order to better their working relationship. A program which is usually successful is to have an early breakfast meeting for your staff and invite a company underwriter to speak to them on a particular subject.

If you decide to do an in-house program, be sure to follow the proper steps:

Tell, Show, Do, Check. People learn best from examples. Make the sessions interesting and incorporate real life examples from your agency's experience whenever possible.

When you decide on in-house training, always remember:

If you go outside for training, be sure you know your budget constraints. Advertising available outside training and then backing off because you cannot afford to send your people is self-defeating. Working within a budget is part of the planning stage of your training program.

Training is an ongoing program which should have some people involved at all times. Always remember that the better your employees perform, the better your agency performs.

Employee :

Year:

Skill Area:

Training Area:

You will find that throughout IMMS Life Plus and P&C Plus, materials are offered to train your CSRs on various aspects of agency operations, including:

• Procedures, which offer information and forms that help your CSRs learn standardized claims, billing, binding, and so on.
• Sales Campaigns, offering specific product knowledge that your CSRs can study, and selling scripts they can use to X-date and round out accounts.
• The Sales Center, outlining a structure you may choose to establish that requires your CSRs to actively solicit new business and set appointments for producers to sell. Materials here help them to learn these new duties.

Once again, a well-defined job description is the key to getting your CSRs to perform at their best and making sure they are happy with their jobs. Start with the Job Descriptions, and make sure each CSR has one that's customized for that position.

In some agencies, CSRs handle paperwork-claims reports, billing, binders, and so on. In others, they keep track of producer's appointments with clients, or work actively to solicit X-dates from clients and prospects and set producer appointments. And in an increasing number of agencies, CSRs are getting more involved in the actual selling process, offering Auto or Homeowners quotes, making simple Life insurance sales, and so on-these individuals are often called CSAs, or customer service agents.

So, what should your CSRs accomplish? Whatever goals you decide you want to be a function of that position, which are clearly outlined in their descriptions. Begin with the materials included in the IMMS information banks, which offer your CSRs product knowledge; procedure materials; and information on telemarketing, X-dating, cross-selling, and so on. Look to the 'Sales Campaigns' section in your Sales and Marketing manual for product knowledge, the 'Procedures' section of this manual for standardized procedures, and the 'Sales Center/Telemarketing' section in your Sales and Marketing manual for information on X-dating, cross-selling, and other sales techniques.

The next step might be to look into accreditation programs such as AAI (Accredited Adviser in Insurance), and to offer such a program to your CSRs, agency-paid. Quiz your CSRs on their career goals and offer them, as an employee perk, the education they need to further themselves and the goals and bottom line of your agency!

On the following page, you'll find a CSR training schedule that schedules time for the CSR to become acquainted with agency procedures and learn and review all the duties he or she will need to perform.

Case Study

DAY 1

A. Orientation--2 hours

DAY 2

A. Review of Terminology--2 hours