Creating a winning insurance agency culture puts you well on your path to success. Successful leadership will inspire your team, helping them deliver excellent service and make sales. That’s not the only way that your agency culture affects clients. Your insurance agency’s culture also helps clients determine whether they want to work with you.
A good culture is a strong indication that a company also treats their clients well. Given the long-term working relationships most people have with their insurance agents, this is crucial. But how do you create a winning or positive agency culture?
Start with Core Values
One of the very first things to do when creating your agency culture is to outline your core values as an agency. These should be values that guide everything you do. Make sure that everyone on your team knows these core values, as they will play a role in your long-term goals, day-to-day tasks, and more.
Have Some Goals for Work Culture
Once you have your core values, think about what type of agency culture you need. For example, if your agents regularly interact with each other and other members of the team, you may want a more open floor plan. If most agents work in isolation and consult with clients in the building, they may want the privacy of private offices. The combination of your goals and core values will affect some of the other steps you take to have a winning agency culture.
Outline Clear Goals For Each Department and For the Organization
Once you have broad goals in place for work culture, it is time to set smaller goals for your team that will help create that culture. Do this both at the general organization level and the department or team level. To start, ensure everyone in your agency knows your long-term and short-term goals.
Then, figure out how to set tangible goals for each department or team on your staff. Maybe you want to reach out to a certain number of clients or make a certain number of upsells each month. It can be whatever makes sense for your agency.
Encourage Inclusion and Diversity
A winning company culture will always be diverse and inclusive. Anyone should feel welcome when they join your team. Don’t just say you’re inclusive; actively encourage people from all backgrounds to join your team and celebrate their differences. If you are currently only recruiting people of a similar background, see what you can do to diversify. Maybe there are other websites you can post jobs on or other places to look for new employees. Talk to whoever is in charge of your agency’s recruitment to make sure diversity plays a role.
More importantly, once you recruit diverse talent, you need to embrace those differences. Encourage all types of inclusivity, from respecting people’s pronouns to their religions and cultural traditions. This can be as simple or as complicated as you want. You could even host multi-cultural work events where people are encouraged to share foods or other aspects of their culture.
Respect Everyone and Ensure Everyone Follows Suit
One of the most important parts of embracing diversity is respecting other cultures, religions, and preferences. But that respect needs to extend to everything and everyone. Make sure that everyone on your team treats others with respect.
This is especially important when it comes to ensuring everyone feels like a valued member of your team. That, in turn, is crucial for employee retention. It also helps you encourage employees to come up with new ideas for your agency.
Allow and Even Encourage Humor
Insurance is important but it shouldn’t be boring. Encouraging humor in the workplace (when appropriate) is a great way to keep the mood light and ensure that team morale remains high. It will also liven up the mood for your clients, perhaps even helping them think of insurance as fun.
Encourage Feedback
Make it easy for your employees to contribute ideas and suggestions. Whether these are things that need to be changed or opportunities for improvement, this is a win-win situation. Your team feels valued, and you potentially get great ideas.
Have a Zero-Tolerance Policy
Humor in the workplace must always be appropriate. This is crucial in ensuring that your workplace maintains a certain level of respectability and decency. To make your team feel safe and welcome, you need a strong, zero-tolerance policy against issues such as bullying and discrimination. If something untoward happens, make it a point to get both sides of the story and hand out appropriate consequences as well as support resources.
Conclusion
Creating a winning insurance agency culture will lead to happier employees, improved interactions with clients, and perhaps even improved efficiency and innovation.