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... quality problems encompasses everything from complaints by one or two employees to episodes in which entire facilities are shut down and evacuated until the events are investigated and problems corrected. Complaints are often of a subjective, non-specific nature and are associated with periods of occupancy. These symptoms often disappear when the employee leaves the workplace. They include headache, dizziness, nausea, tiredness, lack of concentration, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. In approximately 500 indoor air quality investigations in the last decade, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that the primary sources of indoor air quality problems are: inadequate ventilation, 52%; contamination from inside the building, 16%; contamination from outside the building, 10%; microbial contamination, 5%; contamination from building fabric, 4%; and unknown sources, 13% . TYPES OF BUILDING PROBLEMS Employee complaints can be caused by two types of building problems: sick or tight building syndrome and building-related illnesses. Sick Building Syndrome is a condition associated with complaints of discomfort including headache; nausea; dizziness; dermatitis; eye, nose, throat, and respiratory irritation; coughing; difficulty concentrating; sensitivity to odors; muscle pain; and fatigue. The specific causes of the symptoms are often not known but sometimes are attributed to the effects of a combination of substances or individual susceptibility to low concentrations of contaminants. The symptoms are associated with periods of occupancy and often disappear after the worker leaves the worksite. Building-Related Illnesses are those for which there is a clinically defined illness of known etiology. They include infections ...

... to today's companies. As the workforce ages and changes, we're going to have less available talent than ever. Given future economic uncertainty, more and more of the available talent will opt out to work for themselves. All Articles by Don Phin Comments (0 ) Leadership: It Doesn'T Fit Anymore! This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Manes 6/19/2015 12:00:00 AM Every year sometime after Thanksgiving, my clothes shrink. My newest suit coat no longer buttons, and the pleats of the pants pull tight. This is confusing, because in my mind's eye, I'm still the lean, mean, fighting machine who completed Army basic training in 1971. The truth is that my clothes are the same size, but the body the fabric must cover has grown and reshaped. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. x No Thanks Loading.. ...

... Jeff Ranf 9/2 /2014 12:00:00 AM Service seems to be a catch-all word for whatever seems to be lacking in our agencies. Most of us have identified service areas as most important.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Leadership: It Doesn'T Fit Anymore! This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Manes 6/19/2015 12:00:00 AM Every year sometime after Thanksgiving, my clothes shrink. My newest suit coat no longer buttons, and the pleats of the pants pull tight. This is confusing, because in my mind's eye, I'm still the lean, mean, fighting machine who completed Army basic training in 1971. The truth is that my clothes are the same size, but the body the fabric must cover has grown and reshaped. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) 1 2 3 x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. x No Thanks Loading.. ...

... Processing CSR does it so the Contact CSR is not taken away from taking care of the clients. PUT IT IN WRITING Each employee's sales goals-whether they be new business development for producers or rounding goals for CSR's-should be specified in their respective job descriptions and performance standards. Each employee should review those goals, revise them appropriately with management, and sign off on them. Of course, management must first provide the automation, training, and markets to facilitate achieving those goals. Performance review time recognizes achievement, not effort. Goals achieved or exceeded means a great raise. Missing goals leads to a poor to medium raise. TRENDS AND HISTORY These are sensible tools to help the sales effort and integrate automation to track the sales process and monitor success. Technology will continue to change, but the underlying fabric of success still relies on naming the goals and getting to them in the straightest line possible. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. Net result. More revenue for your agency! Clients & Prospects will research you, your co-workers and your agency here. The most comprehensive online insurance industry reference library for - Personal Lines Professionals Commercial Lines Professionals Life/Health & Benefits Professionals Online newsletters and content that you can use for your clients and social media efforts. Ability to ...

... to your website/blog, social sites, etc. 5. Email Marketing - without a doubt, this form of communication remains the most effective way to engage and energize your marketing efforts. You can support email marketing with phone marketing, text marketing and fax marketing (state and federal regulations permitting), but this is a key fundamental to your agency's success. The complexities abound - deliverability, gathering email addresses, spam filters, content and so on, but if you cannot figure out how to make this effort a cornerstone of your marketing and communications, you are going to find the going pretty tough indeed. You may want to read a fairly comprehensive article I wrote on Email Marketing here . So, in summary, these 5 modern fundamentals, if properly employed and are the fabric of your daily playbook, then you will find it much easier to hit those birdies and pars and post those great scores for yourself (individually) and for the agency as a team effort. Without these sound fundamentals, things become pretty difficult, taking the joy out of the game and negatively impacting those rewards. : -) Adrian Holloway is president & CEO of INSOMIS Corp, parent company of CompleteMarkets.com, Insurance Marketing & Management Services, and TransformerMarketing.com. Adrian is the named inventor of multiple technology patents and has been published online and in industry journals such as Rough Notes Magazine. Adrian and his talented team are committed to providing value and support to all insurance industry professionals. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons ...

... insurance carriers have faced charges that women were discriminated against in receiving agency appointments or promotions. Settlements of such class actions have run in the millions of dollars. Some Examples St. Mary Honor Center v. Hicks (27) concerned a discharged minority halfway-house employee. He contended that he was a minority who was demoted and discharged, and replaced by a non-minority, which the Court said established a prima facie case of discrimination. The employer gave reasons, which the district court ruled false. However, the lower court also found there was insufficient evidence to show the real reason was discrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower Court's decision-but also said that a prima facie case by the employee, coupled with disbelief of the reasons given by the employer (particularly if they seemed to be fabrications), could in certain situations be sufficient to prove a cause of action for discrimination, but this circumstance did not compel a judgment for the plaintiff. Another example of how a dismissal can lead to a discrimination judgment can be found in Harris v. Hughes Aircraft (28) . The plaintiff was a minority accountant. In 1987, his supervisor began to downgrade his performance and also instructed him not to participate in outside minority groups or list them in his self-evaluations. Evidence showed that he had been repeatedly passed over for promotion, while white workers with less experience moved up. He was laid off in 1989, despite evidence that his department's work had increased. He received an award of $140,000 in compensatory damages and $975,000 in punitive damages. In the ...

... of the other six. I don't know whether effective leaders are born or made, but too many agency managers with executive titles confuse their authority with the ability to lead. By virtue of their position of authority, managers set the standards for their agencies through their words, deeds, and actions. Those who hypocritically speak of the virtues of honesty, integrity, and fair dealings while behaving otherwise do great damage to their agencies. In addition to setting high standards, effective leaders are the drummers who set the cadence for their agencies' march toward prosperity by proactively seeking ways to improve their agencies' market share, methods of doing business, and profitability. They know where they want to go and how to get there. 2. FAILURE TO MANAGE PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY This sin eats at the fabric of a business like a disease. If allowed to go untreated, it can cause irreparable damage. Astute agency managers understand that they can't make people perform in a given manner. Rather, they create an environment where others can achieve their goals and carefully select people whose personal goals align with those of their agencies. They not only provide a pleasant physical atmosphere and efficient tools, but attempt to satisfy their employees' psychological needs. For most people, these include the need for a sense of belonging, appreciation, and respect. Effective managers do more than mouth platitudes such as, People are our most valuable asset. They let their staff members know they're valuable by inviting them to participate in decisions that affect them. They coach rather than kick their employees in the flanks like stubborn mules ...

... to your website/blog, social sites, etc. 5. Email Marketing - without a doubt, this form of communication remains the most effective way to engage and energize your marketing efforts. You can support email marketing with phone marketing, text marketing and fax marketing (state and federal regulations permitting), but this is a key fundamental to your agency's success. The complexities abound - deliverability, gathering email addresses, spam filters, content and so on, but if you cannot figure out how to make this effort a cornerstone of your marketing and communications, you are going to find the going pretty tough indeed. You may want to read a fairly comprehensive article I wrote on Email Marketing here . So, in summary, these 5 modern fundamentals, if properly employed and are the fabric of your daily playbook, then you will find it much easier to hit those birdies and pars and post those great scores for yourself (individually) and for the agency as a team effort. Without these sound fundamentals, things become pretty difficult, taking the joy out of the game and negatively impacting those rewards. : -) Adrian Holloway is president & CEO of INSOMIS Corp, parent company of CompleteMarkets.com, Insurance Marketing & Management Services, and TransformerMarketing.com. Adrian is the named inventor of multiple technology patents and has been published online and in industry journals such as Rough Notes Magazine. Adrian and his talented team are committed to providing value and support to all insurance industry professionals. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons ...

... AND SEE HOW YOU'RE DOING by John Graham All marketers are liars. Because we're all marketers of one thing or another, we're all liars. To give proper credit, Seth Godin, the provocative business pundit, started it with his book, All Marketers are Liars. As the syllogism makes perfectly clear, he was 100% on the mark. This isn't an indictment of P&G , BofA, Chrysler, Goldman Sachs, McDonalds, or any other organization, big or small. There are probably more liars on LinkedIn, Facebook, and any of the other social media, where tens of millions of self-marketers have a feast day making claims that wouldn't stand up before a sixth grade class. As a recent USA Today noted, some 70% of self-marketers admit to doing some "fabricating" with their countless unsupportable claims, as they do their best to "sell" their product. This, of course, doesn't take into account the desperately doctored job applications, resumes and college applications, but it does include at least a few U.S Presidents and a rather long list of Members of Congress. Even though Godin was on to something significant, he changed the title (but not another word) of the latest edition of his book. It's now, All Marketers Tell Stories. We're all marketers and we tell some whoppers that make us feel better about ourselves, give us an advantage, or enhance our image. At the same time, the Internet gives us opportunities ad nauseam to "tell stories." However, this is neither a defect nor the downfall of ...

... . More employees were added, and the office space doubled. Then things slowed, and some months later there was an actual plateau. Finally volume began to slide. I couldn't figure out what was going on, ' said the president. Everything was so good for so long. Every month set a new record. Then it all began to change. At first, the owner thought it was a minor glitch on the screen. We had been doing so well, I thought we were just slowing down a bit. When the downward slide continued, he called in a marketing consultant. The analysis revealed that the success of the business was due mainly to the owner's excellent networking over many years as a credit and collections manager for a large company. His contacts fueled his success, but the fabric began to unravel as some of these helpful associates took new jobs and their replacements used vendors they knew. Others retired, a number of businesses merged, and several excellent accounts closed their doors. What happened was clear: The collection company ran out of what can be called goodwill capital. It used up its long-time relationships. Once those relationships were gone, the company was bankrupt' and didn't know it. The marketing consultant also discovered that because of the immediate influx of business at the beginning and quick growth, the company had never marketed itself. Frankly, we didn't even think about it, ' said the president. Besides, we didn't need it. We had more business than we could handle for a long time. An insurance group had a slightly different scenario, but the results ...