2001 Best Practices Study

A NALYSIS OF A GENCIES WITH R EVENUES G REATER T HAN $10,000,000

B EST B USINESS P RACTICES A NALYSIS

C USTOMER S ERVICE AND S ATISFACTION For the largest agencies, a commitment to customer service and satisfaction typically begins with the recognition that their success will be tied directly to the quality of their customer service and the satisfaction level of their customers. The central theme of many of these firms’ mission and vision statements emphasize their commitment to serve the interest of the customer and how they will do so. For a number of these firms, successful customer service begins with employee hiring and seeking to find employees having a natural desire to serve. A commitment to customer service is constantly preached and incorporated into training programs where many of these agencies encourage their employees not to think in terms of an objective of selling insurance, but an objective of solving problems for the customers. Internal processes and procedures are frequently developed with the customer and their needs in mind. Several firms noted that they attempt to create an environment where the employees are empowered and given the latitude to respond to customer’s needs and to meet those needs as quickly as possible. Finally, many of these firms have identified customer service metrics that are used to gauge the firm’s performance and measure the individual performance of producers and service staff. This includes account retention rates and customer satisfaction as measured by surveys that are periodically performed.

“When we are interviewing employees, we let them know up front that we will do anything for the clients that is not illegal.” “Our focus is not to sell insurance, but to build relationships and to solve problems and meet needs.” “Our ability to deliver outstanding customer service begins with our ability to hire outstanding employees having a natural desire to serve.”

H IRING , D EVELOPING , AND R EWARDING E MPLOYEES

“We set high standards. The last positions we attempted to fill, we looked at 64 resumes, interviewed 20 people and eventually hired only four of them.” “We’re not perfect at hiring employees, but once we figure out who’s good and they’ve been with us more than a year, we very seldom lose anyone. We work at being a place where people want to work.”

These firms recognize that the most valuable assets that they have are their employees. In recognition of this fact, these firms typically devote a significant amount of energy to recruiting, particularly in light of the shortage of available producers and technical and support staff talent. These firms have established stringent hiring practices that involve in-depth skills and aptitude testing, reviews of past employment history and multiple interviews. Many of these firms reported that a key business practice was to set high standards and not to compromise when it came to hiring employees. Once hired, many of these firms have established orientation and training programs that address not only the technical insurance knowledge that they will need, but also training on

124