STAFFING & PRODUCTIVITY: HOW DO YOU MEASURE UP?
by Judith Newman
Is your agency overstaffed – or understaffed?
How would you describe your agency’s performance: High, average, or low? Are you where you want to be? Are you happy with your performance or would you like to improve? Only you can answer these questions.
Productivity is extremely important in an agency. If you are the manager and you want higher productivity, there are two things you must do: First, you must generate a high level of productivity. Next, you must ensure that productivity remains high. In other words, you must see to it that people do their jobs with the skills and commitment needed to produce the best possible results with the lowest feasible outlay of money, time, and other resources.
Here are the statistics for Personal Lines departments in three agencies with whom we have consulted. Note the similarities and differences.
| Performance Agency | | | |
| Description | High | Average | Low |
| Annual Commission Income | $600,000 | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| Number of Service Employees | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Number of Hours in Work Day | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Transactions Per Emp./Year | 3,000 | 2,143 | 1,875 |
| Number of Accounts in Dept. | 3,659 | 5,042 | 6,742 |
| Accounts Per Employee | 731 | 720 | 840 |
| Revenue Per Employee | $120,000 | $85,714 | $75,000 |
| Average Commission/Account | $164 | $119 | $89 |
As you can see, the only similarity between the three is that each has $600,000 in commission income. However, you’ll notice a substantial difference between them in revenue per employee. The low performance agency is averaging $75,000 income per employee, while the high-performance agency is handling $120,000 revenue per account.
Where does your agency fit? Are you satisfied with your results?
Judith H. Newman is the president of Phaze II Consulting, Inc. (Ft. Myers, FL), a management consulting firm for the insurance industry. For more information, call 800) 638-0657, or e-mail [email protected].