Penny Wise And Dollar Foolish: Measures To Increase Backroom Efficiency

In my consulting work with many fine agents, I've been amazed that these additional responsibilities often get absorbed into the agency's operations with little or no training and, in most cases, with no adjustment to procedures and equipment. If the agency was a major corporation, any change in the way business is done would require a comprehensive assessment of people, equipment, procedures, and workflow. But where does the average agent find the time to do all this? After all, time is money.

We tend to think that reduced revenue stems from lost commissions and contingencies. Not enough attention is given to the revenue lost by inefficiency and redundancy in procedures, poor training, cumbersome workflow, and failure to use the automated system properly. Let's look at some of the simple procedures that are costing agents lost 'backroom' revenue.

An agency often has just one printer for the entire office. Each time a person prints a document, he or she must go to a remote area to retrieve it. If the document requires letterhead paper or is a check, then two trips must be made by the originator: one to change the paper and the other to retrieve the end product. Let's not forget that everyone must be notified when the printer is temporarily loaded with non-routine paper-to prevent others in the office who may accidentally print out a routine document on check paper or letterhead.

Some people are creative in solving printer issues. Instead of changing the paper to letterhead when needed, they print all letters and memos on plain paper and then photocopy the document on letterhead. Again, wasted time and wasted paper!

Envelopes are never easy to print, so hand-written envelopes are the norm rather than the exception. What kind of message does that send your customers?

Here's another printer-related problem. In one large agency, a business manager was printing his annual plan, including payroll projections for each person and reorganizational proposals. He assumed that the printer closest to his office was hooked up to his computer. And so it was-except that it was also hooked up to the office printer at the other end of the building. It didn't take long for everyone in the office to have a copy of the salaries and reorganizational plans.

The printer should be located closest to the individuals using it the most. If only one printer is used, it should have two to three drawers for different types of documents (letterhead, ID cards, plain paper, and so on). Another option is to have two to three dedicated printers for different functions-keeping in mind that the staff must then be trained to order documents from different drawers or different printers. This is not always easy, because the printer (or drawer) sometimes has to be selected before the printed document is requested. Once the document is printed, the person must make sure the printer defaults back to plain paper for the next transaction.

Here's another solution to consider. Why not purchase a Deskjet for each of your employees? The cost is lower, these days, and this setup would save travel time to and from the printer. In most cases, these printers are fairly easy to hook up (compared with having multiple users on one or two printers). It provides the user with privacy for sensitive documents. The user can easily change the paper to match the document or envelope needed. And an added benefit is the ability to use color printing and graphics in proposals and form letters. There might be some glitches when printing ID cards on Deskjets, but there are ways around that issue. The quality of Deskjet print today is almost like that of laser printers. Although it may be a little slower, it's still far better than photocopying a letter onto letterhead or sending out handwritten envelopes. Also, users tend to proofread more effectively when the printer is easily accessible.

In interviews with CSRs, I ask, 'Which tasks take the most time?' They often respond that it takes forever to do proposals, schedules of insurance, and company reporting forms. 'Forever' can be anywhere from two hours to two days. Whenever a task routinely takes this long, it bears assessing. Other complaints stem from the need to type the same letter over and over.

The dissatisfaction with proposals and schedules of insurance were primarily caused by the CSRs' or producers' dislike for the template in their agency-management system. It details either too much information or not enough. Many CSRs design their own proposal forms in their word-processing systems. Keep in mind that this solution will not integrate policy information automatically.

The complaint about company reporting forms (or any other proprietary company forms) is that they must be typed on a typewriter to be done right. This is tedious and reinforces the need to maintain a typewriter for such tasks.

Also, when I find CSRs composing their own letters for routine mailings, the first place I look is the list of form letters available on their system. Are there too many form letters? Are there not enough form letters to meet the CSRs' needs? Are the letters so poorly written that CSRs are embarrassed to use them? Is it difficult to identify which form letter applies to specific situations?

Most agency-management systems today do, in fact, have standard templates for proposals and schedules of insurance. However, each agency can develop customized templates that will look good and integrate the appropriate policy data. Check your system's manual for instructions. Your vendor's customer service department can probably provide you with some assistance as you embark on this project.

Company forms are generally required because the carrier wants information that's not included in the standard forms. In one agency, the monthly reporting forms generated by their insureds contained more than enough information for the underwriter's needs. The problem was that nobody asked the underwriter if the insured's form would suffice. So month after month, year after year, the data was transferred from the insured's report to the company form-and all by typewriter. What a waste of valuable time, when all the agency had to do was ask! Once that was done, life was much easier. However, if the carrier still requires its own form, it might still be acceptable to reconstruct it on your word processor as an agency form.

Form letters present an interesting challenge. First, print them all out and index them in a loose-leaf notebook. Have a team of employees take turns bringing the form letters home to get the opinions of some objective non-insurance people on them. Are the letters user friendly? Is the intent of the letter clear to the reader? Is there too much insurance terminology? Are they straightforward enough? Do the letters match the image you're trying to project? It might be time to get rid of all the old letters and replace them with new, dynamic ones. Try to keep the list of form letters to a bare minimum. Too many can be just as detrimental to efficiency as too few.

This is just a sample of the issues facing many fine, successful agencies. Sometimes it's a simple matter of CSRs communicating problems to management. It's easy to overlook the backroom when an agency is enjoying a healthy profit. The issues themselves may seem simplistic compared to the broader issues facing agencies today, but please keep in mind that the far-reaching effects of inefficient procedures can include poor morale, increased turnover, inadequate service, and lost revenue.

Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish with your time or money!