Customer Service Focus
Take time to prioritize
Prioritizing is a kind of risk management
By Deborah Thomas, CIC, AAI
There you are, working diligently on a request for changes to the property coverage of one of the agency’s longest-term and most active customers. That request—along with several others from yesterday’s e-mails and phone calls—first has to be entered into your agency’s management system, then either into the company’s online system or onto the accepted change request form (hopefully!) generated by that system, and finally e-mailed and/or faxed to the insurer or broker. You give silent thanks for the automation that sets up the diary entry receipt of the corresponding endorsements because that saves you another step. However, you are forced to carefully review most entries before hitting any “save,” “yes,” or “send” keys because you’ve been interrupted several times by coworkers and by customers asking for assistance or information. Your CSR training whispers to you each time, “Document, document,” thus prompting that oft-heard CSR self-query: “Where was I?”
What else is on your “just do it today” list? How about the new business submissions awaiting review and action; do you have all the necessary info? You know that the one with the unusual twist will require at least a couple of e-mails, backed up by phone tag with underwriters. Can the workers compensation be placed with that new company the boss has been asking you to use? Where is that specialty form that needs to be signed with every submission?
Then there’s the one that came to you just yesterday, an excellent opportunity for a large account the producer has worked long and hard to get, but time is short and competition strong. Getting it to the best market first is crucial. You plan to start on it right after you finish this one last endorsement request. Can you rate it online and thus have time to get the proposal done, or will you submit it to the insurer and beg for a rush quote?
Speaking of proposals, that all-important renewal, proudly finished just the day before yesterday, was dropped on your desk by an agency principal this morning, with handwritten changes all over it and the ubiquitous “ASAP” sticky note on top.
Your calendar reminds you that there’s an afternoon renewal meeting with two producers. During your lunch hour, you’ll have to get the needed materials together. You hope to keep this meeting to the agreed hour, but since one producer typically runs late and tends to get off track, you fear that won’t be possible.
Also noted on today’s “to do” tasks is helping to train a new CSR for an hour sometime during the afternoon. So, what next? That last endorsement request must be input into the insurer’s system—but wait, there’s another phone call to answer first.
Does all of this sound familiar? How do you keep up? How do you decide what’s next in the ever-changing landscape of a typical day? How do you move from a reactive work style to a productive work style? Despite all you’ve learned about working smarter, not harder, the rules work only as long as there are no exceptions. As any CISR knows all too well, there are always exceptions. No matter how well laid the plan, there are times when you just feel overwhelmed.
Breathe deeply
First and foremost, breathe. Take a couple of deep, slow breaths. You will think better and respond smarter. Then finish the last thing you were working on. Here are some tips and suggestions for prioritizing and time management.
• If it is not already clear to you, find out what your employer deems your most important duty and do that. Speak to your immediate supervisor, be it a department manager or the agency principal, and ask how he or she would have you prioritize your work. If priority setting is not a part of your agency’s workflow procedures, ask that it be added. If you find it helpful, then others will also.
• By all means, know your agency’s new and renewal business binding authority for each of your markets and follow it religiously. Use whatever approved method works best for you to remind yourself which items must be done by what date. Never deviate from it. Be certain you know and follow the agency’s rules when it comes to binding, approving, adding, or subtracting all kinds of coverage. Time constraints imposed by contract are paramount, so that work must be at the top of any pile, calendar, group, list, etc.
• Along those same lines, if you have any claims processing responsibilities, know exactly how to report each type of claim for each of your insurers. Claims handling demands your immediate, thorough attention. It is a specialty, and if your agency does not have a specific department to handle claims, they must take precedence on your to-do list. This is not an area for flexibility.
• Divide and conquer. Ask for help. At the end of each day, take some time to organize what absolutely, positively has to get done the next day. Realistically determine how much time you will need to accomplish those tasks, then ascertain what you (and only you) can get done, and which things you will need assistance to accomplish. Write out your to-do list in order of priority and then send an e-mail, make a phone call, and let your supervisor and coworkers know that you need their help the following day. Be specific about the type and amount of help you need.
• Combine and conquer. Consolidate your to-do list for the next day. Group the items that can be accomplished via one phone call, while working on one company’s online site, or while e-mailing to one underwriter. For instance, notate all the work that can be done while online with XYZ Company, whether it be endorsements, checking on claims, rating new business, or finding needed answers in their billing and underwriting guidelines. It’s possible that your agency management system’s built-in diary process can be helpful in this regard. Can you sort items according to transaction type, company or broker?
• Quiet time. With one uninterrupted hour, you have the time to review, revise, plan and accomplish those tasks that need your undivided time and efforts. If this is not already a part of your organization’s workflow plan, ask if it can be implemented. Perhaps it can be structured so that each CSR has this time two or three days a week. Even more than an hour may be needed, but not each day. The point is to have a time savings account, if you will, and from this account you can withdraw the time you need to do your job better. During this predetermined time, you get no phone calls, and no interruptions of any kind, even from your coworkers.
Use the time to actually read all those memos from the companies, that article in Rough Notes, the latest update from your state’s rating entity. There is so much important and useful information coming to you every day that you can’t take time to read at the moment. Put it in a folder to read during your quiet time. Look at this dedicated time as a chance to practice your own “risk management”—loss prevention in the form of paying attention to important issues. Also, on days that you are asked to help a coworker who is “in the weeds,” this is the perfect time to pitch in and assist.
• When you plan ahead for the year, for the month, for the week, or for the day, allow for the unexpected. Think of it as your time management insurance policy. Strictly structured schedules are the indispensable framework, but that framework must have built-in flexibility, or it will eventually collapse.
Now, take a couple of deep, slow breaths and take the time to page through this magazine before you begin anything else! *
The author
Deborah Thomas, CIC, AAI, has more than 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry, starting as a file clerk for a mutual insurance company. She has worked for independent agencies in several states as a commercial lines CSR, account manager, and producer. Deborah currently works for a North Carolina insurance agency. For information on the CIC or CISR designation programs, call (800) 633-2165 or go to www.TheNationalAlliance.com.