The recent buzz in the insurance space is how to have a cool agency culture. I have heard of agencies who have unlimited time off, allow you to watch Netflix at work and shut down if you’re having a bad day. I value some of those things and I have personally instituted them in my small but growing business. But let’s be real. It is impossible, and a nightmare to do this once you start growing and have more people. Try watching Netflix when 20 people are on your network and are all streaming, running anti-virus, the management system and more. Not to mention watch the EPLI lawsuits rack up because I’m pretty sure no one is watching Disney movies. The bottom line is having more people requires more structure. In fact, in most agencies, as the agency grows people ask for more structure. They want rules and boundaries so everyone knows their role, what a good job looks like and how to succeed.
Now these limitation as you grow do not negatively impact culture. There are different expectations of a larger agency. You have more specialization of responsibilities. There are layers of management. There are promotions. The dynamic changes from working as a sales service team to having departments. Here are the things that we have found create a great agency culture when you are a larger agency:
- Strong passionate leadership
- Clear job descriptions
- Opportunity for incentive based pay
- Clean and modern work environment
- Access to great technology that works
- Happy team members
- Opportunity for recognition
So if you are larger and wondering if you’re missing the boat, you are not. When you have 10+ employees things are just different!
