Ten years ago it took $5 million in total agency revenues and about $30 million in Property/Casualty premiums to land on the top 100 agency list. Now an agency needs to have in excess of $10 million in revenues and $60 million in premiums to make the cut. Ten years ago the average independent agency in the country had $250,000 in total revenues with six to seven people. Today the average is close to $600,000 in revenues, also with six to seven people. To use a phrase from Bob Dylan, "the times, they are a changing."

According to Dr. Rollin Glaser, a specific formula can be followed to improve employee performance. It affects five basic areas:
Goal setting
Delegating
Training and development
Coaching and counseling
Performance appraisal interviewing
Having litigated performance issues for the past 15 years, I can tell you that Glaser is right on the money. Let me touch on what he has to say about each of these subjects.