The Synergy Of Success

THE SYNERGY OF SUCCESS

by Annie Knox

In today’s competitive environment, how can your agency harness the synergy of success? Annie Knox explains that the success or failure of an organization in creating synergy and reaping the maximum benefit from all its resources depends directly on how the company implements a few basic core values: Communication, respect, feeling valued, trust, and clarity.

Every agency knows the basic business practices, such as good sales and service, that are needed to grow and maintain a successful firm.

As our industry has evolved, most agencies also appreciate the need for using automation effectively to reduce redundancies and labor-intensive practices that are inherent in working with paper files. Many strive to work more efficiently and effectively, but only achieve limited success. Some agencies operate differently and capture something more that makes success come more readily — a synergy that makes the whole agency team truly greater than the sum of its individuals. These agencies maximize the utilization of their people and reduce or eliminate time wasted in conflicting philosophies, indecision, uncertainty, and failure to set priorities. How do they do it? In today’s competitive environment, how can your agency harness the synergy of success?

The success or failure of an organization in creating synergy and reaping the maximum benefit from all its resources depends directly on how the company implements a few basic core values: Communication, respect, feeling valued, trust, and clarity.

COMMUNICATION

Synergy starts with communication. Everyone can recognize good communication when they experience it. When day-to-day communication is good, it’s natural and effortless. Everyone is clear about methods and procedures, goals, and timelines.

In today’s workplace, communication can suffer for a number of reasons. Management might wait too long to share information about organizational changes. In agencies that lack a vehicle for organized communication people must rely on their own manuals, contacts, and intelligence to know what’s going on. For example, producers might not recognize their responsibility to pass on information about accounts. Both sales and service people can be guilty of hoarding knowledge so that they can remain the only expert. Sensitive issues can become even more inflamed by using e-mail or a memo to communicate.

Agencies with synergy have a process and commitment to share information about new work tools, markets, client issues, etc. They know that an informed team is a competent team — one that’s motivated and best prepared to service the clients. These agencies also expect and encourage informal communication and expect their staff to keep each other updated. An agency in tune with its people will always choose, almost intuitively, the communication mode best suited for the information being conveyed — from a quick e-mail to communicate an account update, to a face-to-face interaction for more sensitive or personal issues.

RESPECT

Almost every agency has had one — the maverick who flouts all of the rules, and consistently disregards procedures. These individuals let their egos rule, rather than respect established procedures, boundaries, and timelines of the team. They routinely make commitments outside of standard procedures without consulting or communicating with the rest of the team. The team then is saddled with fulfilling these extra obligations without regard for other work or timelines. Although unexpected or extraordinary circumstances can warrant instant decisions, these become standard operating procedure rather than the exception for these individuals, leading to frequent and unnecessary disruption.

A synergistic agency dedicates itself to creating an environment in which this type of self-serving behavior will not take root. Closely aligned with its communication style is a respect for its people, which translates into a staff that’s motivated to act with integrity. Team members, no matter what position they hold, care about each other, their workloads, timelines, and responsibilities. They understand the impact that they all have on each other and consciously work together to minimize unnecessary burdens or disruptions. When exceptions need to be made, the manager explains the reason clearly so that everyone understands the necessity of working longer hours or meeting unusually

short deadlines.

FEELING VALUED

In one agency I visited, the service employees told me “everyone is expendable.” They felt underappreciated, unduly pressured, and in constant fear of being fired. This led to widespread job dissatisfaction and high turnover. In turn, this created dissatisfaction among clients that lowered the agency’s retention rate. Even when circumstances are less dramatic than this, CSRs often feel that their contributions are undervalued, and go without appropriate recognition.

Agencies with synergy understand that mutual support among staff members sustains success. Producers and other higher profile people share the spotlight and emphasize the team effort put forth to bring about success. Both management and peers express appreciation to others on an ongoing basis. When people come up with innovations, put in long hours, finish big projects, or save an account they are acknowledged for their commitment to the organization’s goals. Recognizing and valuing staff members’ contributions motivates them to put forth extraordinary efforts. Some agencies have developed incentive compensation for non-producer positions to further recognize and motivate their employees.

TRUST

Lack of trust is a common issue that interferes with maximizing productivity. Work is often funneled to only one individual because that others trust that person to do

the job. There might be a true difference in skill level, or simply a perception that isn’t based on fact. This results in one person being overburdened while others are under utilized.

Some employees refuse to delegate work and keep their own notes and files, leaving the rest of the agency in the dark about what’s occurring with an account. Paper files are often pulled to verify policy information because the staff doesn’t trust the information in the system to be accurate.

An agency that’s empowered by the synergy of its core values of communication and respect will work to provide any support necessary to instill trust and confidence in the competence of its staff, the accuracy of the system, and the reliability of the procedures. If it’s determined that there’s a valid reason not to trust an employee, a process, or a system, all concerned parties will discuss this situation and then develop and implement an action plan.

To ingrain further an attitude of trust, offer employees training and career-pathing to ensure that everyone will reach minimum standards, and then strive continually to achieve a greater level of competence.

CLARITY

When there’s a lack of clarity, employees struggle to make decisions on their own about how to proceed. They must make assumptions about the right business practices, instead of knowing for sure what the agency prefers that they do. This can result in dedicated service people spending too much time and labor on small, unprofitable accounts because they’re following their instincts to provide good service. Common examples include unlimited follow up for nonpayment notices; reinstating the same accounts over and over again; and quoting new accounts, no matter how difficult or time consuming. These are examples of decisions made by employees who believe that they must extend themselves for customers that the agency might actually prefer to lose. Owners send mixed signals when they stress quality customer service on the one hand, but fail to clarify the specifics of this service.

An agency driven by the synergy of the core values described above will place a premium on achieving clarity in all of its actions. This emphasis on clarity will produce a workplace with a value system that’s consistently demonstrated to and

understood by all of its people, a communication style that’s crystal clear in its application, and standard operating procedures that are well documented and always up-to-date.

In this environment, employees focus on clear priorities and have guidelines for how much time and effort to put forth for common requests. Knowing what to spend your time on and how to proceed decreases time wasted in indecision, and helps the agency operate in a more consistent, effective, and profitable fashion.

CONCLUSION

Communication, respect, feeling valued, trust, and clarity: They all add up to not just doing the right things, but creating the right environment in which your agency’s staff can thrive. Sharing information openly fosters trust in management and a sense of teamwork. Getting everyone to invest in the success of your agency multiplies its strength exponentially.

Upholding these basic values, which are the underpinnings of dedication, motivation, and the willingness to go the extra mile, will provide the foundation that creates the synergy for your agency’s success.