Encouraging Staff Input To Spur Profits

ENCOURAGING STAFF INPUT TO SPUR PROFITS

by John Jaques

While focusing on the 'big picture' and racing toward new business development, agency owners and senior managers often lose touch with some of the operating issues that affect profitability every day. Smoother operations and easier movement of work from the in-box to the out-box will directly enhance staff productivity — and agency profitability.

To gather ideas from the staff on improving profits, consider setting up a fun contest in the first quarter of next year. The contest will work like this:

At a staff meeting early in January, announce a contest. Every week, each staff employee must give management one to three recommendations in the following areas:

• How can we make it easier for clients or prospects to do business with our agency?
• How can we make it easier for carriers to do business with our agency?
• How can we make it easier for our employees to do business with each other?

Give a raffle tickets for every submitted recommendation. For each recommendation implemented, award five raffle tickets. Then, at another staff meeting in early April (the end of the first quarter), hold a drawing. Make first prize a color TV, second prize a $250 gift certificate to a local clothing store, and third prize a $100 restaurant certificate or similar gifts.

An agency with 15 staff positions should receive 180 to 540 time-saving or cost-saving ideas within 90 days. The chances are excellent that at least a dozen ideas will have cumulative benefits far greater than the cost of the contest, while at the same time involving the staff in the agency-management process.