According to a Harvard Business School research paper, the finance and insurance industry saw 79% of its workforce go virtual in 2020 amidst the pandemic. (Photo: Girts Ragelis/Shutterstock)For the insurance industry, 2020 proved to be as much a panacea as it was a disruptor. In rapid succession, the industry went from business as usual to having 79% of its workforce (including those in financial services) go virtual, according to a Harvard Business School research paper. In that one move, the insurance industry was forced to adopt and adapt to technology at a head-spinning pace.
Yet the bonus in all that change is this — better productivity, happier employees. An OWL Labs report shows that remote workers stay on the job 13% longer than onsite workers. Remote workers also show more job satisfaction: remote workers report being happier in their jobs 29% more often than their onsite counterparts, according to the same OWL Labs report.
Now that vaccinations are rolling out and people are being immunized against COVID-19, organizations are starting to consider what their work model will be going forward. Will agencies and insurers return to the office, or will business as usual now include some form of a virtual workforce?
For organizations that have had a smooth transition to a virtual work environment, the choice to remain remote isn’t a tough one. However, even if your remote operations started on shaky ground, your agency or organization can put measures in place now that can build success into your operations.
The (remote) team culture
The success of your operations depends directly on how well-connected and cohesive your employees are. Yet, how do you keep employees engaged and collaborating when they’re miles apart?
Successful teams require strong communication. Especially in a remote environment, your organization should be increasing communication among all employees, managers, and teams. Use video conferencing, with cameras on, so that your team not only feels connected but can connect visually to their coworkers.
Don’t just meet to meet, either. Use your video time to set goals for teams. Check-in with individual employees to set weekly and monthly benchmarks and talk with them regularly on how they’re progressing. Actively managing your teams and employees is the best way to establish a strong culture and make everyone feel like they are part of the culture.
Have fun as a company, too. Create team activities to keep everyone engaged. Birthdays, milestones, and achievements should be celebrated. Have a virtual happy hour just for socializing and bonding or an online game night.
Refocus your management
Just as you’ve had to redirect how you engage your employees, you should be refocusing how you manage them. The old way of managing employees is to require them to be in the office 9-to-5. However, with families and partners now sharing the same space for work, school and childcare, your employee’s best hours may be before or after the traditional workday.
Try introducing a model we use at Work At Home Vintage Experts (WAHVE) — reimagine your operations. Does your employee need to be working within those set eight hours? Does an eight-hour day even make sense? Reimagine what the workday will look like and restructure your performance measures. Instead of looking at time spent working, look at outcomes achieved. Reward employees not for sitting at the computer all day but for meeting goals and exceeding expectations with the time they have.
That requires equal doses of trust and accountability. Your employees are already trusted members of your workforce. Show them that trust by allowing them to set their own schedules. The accountability part is easy — have they achieved the benchmarks set for them? Are they getting things done on schedule? Are customers satisfied?
Keep customers first
In fact, customers could be better served by employees who are giving their best effort at hours that better suit their productivity. Underwriters can work at 8 pm and still serve customers, for example.
That focus on customers is critical to keep in mind when you are working remotely. Are calls being taken in a timely manner? Do your employees have the equipment and support needed to serve customers remotely? What will it take to ensure that your employees can adequately address customer communications?
And are your employees coordinating with each other? One of the most overlooked areas is the coordination among departments. Look at how each customer call or communication is handled. Devise a process that routes the customer’s request to the appropriate department quickly. Also, make sure there’s follow-up on that request. One point person can be the liaison for your customer, making that customer feel taken care of.
Build/refine the feedback loop
Make sure to have that same kind of process to make sure your employees feel taken care of, as well. Review how employees get job feedback. How are you delivering it? We suggest a video call. Email can feel impersonal, especially if the feedback is on the negative side.
When your employee receives performance-related feedback, keep in touch. Set goals for that employee, or assign additional training or mentoring. Make sure that it isn’t just a report on their performance — give them the support they need to improve. The feedback process should be used to help your employees overcome issues, not get mired in them.
Likewise, your employee should have a process through which they can give you feedback. You can’t know about problems if there is no open channel for employees to give you that information. Establish a clearly defined feedback loop — email, online suggestion box, even in weekly meetings — so that employees can report something concerning.
Once a complaint or suggestion is received, have a response plan in place. Assign one person to that issue, and ask for weekly updates, preferably during employee meetings, so that everyone can be kept abreast of progress or roadblocks.
Communicate often
It bears repeating; communication is the key ingredient to a successful remote work culture. Make sure to meet virtually with each employee and again with your workforce. Weekly team meetings should be short, to the point, and designed to allow feedback at the end of each meeting. Invite those suggestions and complaints — they make your company and your workforce stronger.
Make sure your employees are doing well not only on the job but at home. What home office pressures are they experiencing? Any family concerns that could be impacting their well-being? We suggest you adopt a more flexible time-off schedule for your employees, especially during the pandemic. Mental health is as important as physical health. If they need a break, they take a break.
That goes for how long they work each day. It’s too easy for employees working from home to work longer hours. Discourage it. Have them avoid sending work-related texts after normal business hours. If they’re working irregular hours, have them send it in an email instead. Encourage your employees to switch off their devices and leave work behind when it’s personal time.
Remote for the long term
As more insurance agencies and organizations consider continuing remote work, whether full-time or some hybrid of in-house and remote, it makes sense to strengthen operations to accommodate remote work. In fact, building a strong remote business model could actually strengthen your in-house operations, as well.
That intent toward a truly cohesive culture empowers employees to succeed. By focusing on how to build a supportive environment for your workforce, just watch your employees shine.
Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is the founder and CEO of Work At Home Vintage Experts (WAHVE). WAHVE is an innovative contract talent solution that matches retiring, experienced insurance, accounting and human resource career professionals with a company’s talent needs. WAHVE bridges the gap between an employer’s need for highly skilled professional talent and seasoned professionals desiring to extend their career working from home. From screening to placement, WAHVE is a comprehensive solution to qualifying, hiring, and managing experienced remote talent.
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