Change – the 6 letter word that should be a four letter word in most agencies. Change can send the toughest account manager in a tizzy before you even get the words out. As an industry our job is to minimize risk. When change enters the picture most team members go right to the worst case scenarios of risk, fear, uncertainty and doubt. Trust me, in my experience I have seen almost everything, but when we announce change in an agency within 30 seconds agency team members have built up the craziest stories on how the risk is too grave to proceed. The initial reaction is to pump the breaks but we need to understand we are working to get to the level of response.
Why Is Change So Feared In Agencies?
We manage risk every day all day. Our jobs are very detailed, delicate and a slight mistake can create an E&O nightmare. Great account managers love routine, control and repetitive results. All-star producers want change on their terms (ever change a producer’s compensation structure? Or install a prospecting strategy you want to hold them accountable to?) Change is feared for one main reason:
We all mainly fear failure. In insurance making a mistake is the equivalent of losing the Super Bowl. When things change we inevitably will be clumsy, make errors and feel the discomfort of learning new ways.
The fear of failure stops most great plans from being executed, the idea we may stumble and creates chaos. We have to embrace the idea that controlled change can help enhance our workplaces and work life, once we go through the challenge.
The Dreaded Comfort Zone
The comfort zone – as we get older we build up these big old walls that stop us from solving some of life’s biggest challenges because it may cause us short term pain. Being an insurance consultant I have heard the following absolutely breathtaking things:
- I will never, ever go to two monitors.
- If I have to change to the new system (after 3 years of being able to adapt to it) I’ll quit.
- I simply won’t account round or even present opportunities to producers, that’s not my job.
- I don’t have time to go to training or be better.
- Prospecting doesn’t work (not that this person tried it)
- It’s too hard for me to get here early enough to be to work on time.
Yes, the comfort zone. It’s fine for putting on your jammies when you get home but there is no place for it in the workplace. My biggest pet peeve in agencies is when I hear “NO!” before I hear “Let me try it for 30 days and regroup”. How can you know it won’t be a good change until you try? Here is the good news, you can almost always go back!
2 Types of Changes in Agencies
85% of the changes in agencies can be broken into 2 categories. People and technology.
People
Changing of people draw out emotion. This could be changing someone’s roll, promoting someone one, creating a new position or having to move on from an employee that isn’t working out. When we change a person’s role in an agency expect emotion; everyone will have an opinion. In small businesses the team is like a second family (with all love and dysfunction!) They tend to protect each other, fight with each other and can easily even become jealous of each other. With people changes we have to remember that growth of an agency will require and, quite often, demand changes of people.
While people is a topic so is outsourcing. Many agencies today are looking at the opportunity with service centers or using outsourced servicing. This change can be difficult for people to adopt as they generally think:
- Is my job in jeopardy?
- My favorite task is the one that is being passed on
- With extra time am I going to be asked sell?
- They can’t do as good as a job as us (even though we have been short staffed for a year and I can’t keep up)
- I don’t trust them
These are all real fears! They are completely understandable. However, 99% of the time these solutions are being investigated to help free YOU up! To help you spend more time with clients! To find people to help keep the agency current and on time with clients. They aren’t there to save a dollar, they are there to free you up to assist. However, the fear of why this could be happening overtakes us and sometimes we can sabotage the program.
Technology
Unfortunately, the insurance space is not known for its cutting edge systems. When we change or add technology we have to slow down to speed up. You could speed through something with the old technology that you know rarely works so changing makes you inefficient (temporarily). With all of the chatter around automation maybe at times we can fear clicking a wrong button so we can want to control everything like the great and powerful Oz. Too bad we are generally always a bit behind on our work! Technology also can bring in a new layer of accountability, which many of us shy away from wherever possible. With greater tools we feel they may be used as weapons but in reality if we embrace them they can be used to improve the agency, help growth and provide more opportunity.
Be A Change Tigger
We love a good Eeyore and Tigger story We can all take a page from them. Are you walking around saying “Oh brother, another change?” or you are bouncing around at the opportunity change can bring? Remember change has a life cycle:
- Initial Announcement
- FUD (fear uncertainty & doubt)
- Collusion (finding someone to agree with your FUD)
- Launch – where we toe dip change and try to underwrite all the challenges
- Initial adoption (maybe it’s not that bad?)
- Corrections and Improvements
- Regular every day life (this is how we do it now)
Work to respond and react to change and you will soon come to see it’s not that bad!
