26 Apr Do Producers Know What Is Expected of Them?
In my travels to many of the great E&O Plus agencies, I typically sit down with some agency staff: the internal support staff, the producers, and agency management.
As we talk through the issues that play a key role in the E&O culture of the agency, it is common to find that there are various procedures and practices that producers are not following. This can involve initiatives such as the effective use of exposure analysis checklists, the documentation of producer/client discussions, a standard proposal template, etc. These, plus others, are extremely important for an agency to make some significant strides in reducing its E&O exposure.
Typically year after year, producers are involved in many E&O claims. When a client takes some form of legal action against an agency, the client often alleges the producer failed in their duties to the client. This is certainly not meant as a knock against producers. In some respects, it shows how important the producer is in the agency’s success. It always points to how important producers are in avoiding E&O claims. To hopefully address this, it is advisable for agency procedures, where appropriate, to note the specific role of the producer.
I recently encountered a situation where the agency support staff were very frustrated with the production side of the house (how rare that is!). The agency had adopted a new procedure, and it appeared that the support staff members were doing their part, but the process fell apart when it got to the producers. Sometimes, this can be due to the producer not wanting to perform the task or not understanding the task, etc. When management was asked how they communicated the new procedures to the staff, it was clear that the support staff had received their training. Still, after further questioning, it was then clear that communication of the new procedure to the producers was never conducted. The producers were never trained on the new procedure. It is hard to hold someone responsible for following a procedure if they are unaware of it.
This could be an isolated situation and by no means am I giving producers a “Get out of Jail Free” card. Many great agencies I interact with are great because everyone knows the procedures and how their role is key to the overall success of the procedure and the agency as a whole.
When agencies have established procedures, everyone must be aware of those procedures and be expected to follow them. This includes producers. Requesting that staff sign off stating that they know the procedure and agree to follow it is not uncommon.
Just because they might be a successful producer does not give them the excuse not to follow the procedure. Producers have an extremely important role, but they are not bigger than the overall agency.