06 Oct Getting in Better E&O Shape
This is the time each year when most businesses are diligently working on their budgets and plans for the following year. They are determining their new business and retention goals as well as trying to project their expenses. Obviously, generating a profit is the major objective and rightfully so. Continued growth is one of the keys to a strong future.
That continued growth should also include enhancements and improvements in the E&O culture of your firm. In most of my 30-plus years in corporate America, the need for my division to be better tomorrow than we are today was drilled into my head. Continued improvement.
While this catchphrase applies to many aspects of a business, achieving it in the world of E&O loss prevention should also be a goal. Since “agencies don’t make mistakes, people do,” achieving a heightened corporate E&O culture realistically involves each person doing their part and improving their focus.
Some issues to consider:
- Training. Employee training is probably one of the biggest issues that will determine an agency’s future success. Many are predicting that customers will be expecting more from their insurance firms over the next three to five years. To provide that level of knowledge requires agencies to increase their commitment to ensuring their staff have the necessary technical training as well as training on a wide array of soft skills issues.
- Efficiency. Providing a solid customer service experience has shown to play a role in deterring problems from becoming E&O claims. As you are probably aware, Chick-fil-A is noted as one of the best fast-food restaurants. While they do have a great product, much of their success is attributed to the manner in which they treat customers. Even saying a simple “thank you” to customers has earned them high praise. Many of the E&O Plus agencies I am honored to work with are dedicating tremendous time and resources to evaluating their processes and how it contributes to or detracts from a positive customer experience. Without question, this will provide solid benefit moving forward.
- Stronger focus on audit results. Without question, E&O Plus agencies have a strong focus on procedures – and these procedures typically well documented. The area where there is opportunity for improvement is when these audits are performed and what is done with the results. Ideally, the audits should be performed at least quarterly. By handling auditing in this manner, an agency can better see if improvements are occurring based on action plans previously enacted. The other issue deals with what an agency is doing with the audit results. The audit results should be communicated to the immediate supervisor / manager, who then would analyze the results to determine what is working and what is not. Individual meetings with the respective staff should be conducted to thank them for their solid results or to determine what steps are necessary to improve the results moving forward. I am also strongly of the belief that management should get a synopsis of the agency’s results by division.
- New hires. Look to ensure new staff members get a good taste of your E&O culture. They need to know your firm has high standards and expectations, and that you take E&O loss prevention very seriously. The December 1 E&O Plus webinar is going to focus on providing new hires with a wide array of the key components and issues that are the centerpiece of the E&O Plus program.
2021 will be upon us soon, and hopefully every agency is looking to be in better E&O shape in the coming year.