Keeping People Motivated

Increased scrutiny, fueled by the financial industry’s fallout, has led to a great deal of miscommunication surrounding insurance companies and agencies. In tough economic environments, too many leaders focus on what stops them from communicating, rather than what they can share openly in order to keep people informed and engaged.

Armies of Communicators

Communication sits at the heart of an organization and is fundamental to successful leadership, motivation and performance. Senior executives within insurance companies and agencies are role models when it comes to communicating with employees and external stakeholders. They must recognize, embrace and develop this role if they are to build trust with everybody, particularly with brokers and agents who are constantly on the frontlines working directly with customers. With rates constantly fluctuating, sales calls will undoubtedly be tough. Strong communication skills help agents and brokers differentiate their service. For this reason a focus must be placed on the development of those skills.

Insurers and agents must discuss potential changes in risk appetite, coverage and pricing with their clients. Messages need to be clear, combining reasons for change with steps taken to mitigate the impact of negative issues. The challenge will be to balance the message and its timing effectively so that clients are not tempted to look elsewhere for alternative quotes.

Sustained high performance is not just about external communication. With employees, open communication and direct feedback will create transparency, remove distractions and raise performance.

How To Motivate

Leaders are limited with opportunities for their high performers in terms of career advancement, but there are other things they can do to keep people motivated.

Get creative and identify motivations for high performers beyond promotions and bonuses. For example, offering flexible working hours (not just for working mothers) and offering sabbaticals or brief periods off after a big deal, new business win or a big project.

Offer development training. Yes, programs still cost money and time, but significantly less than bonuses and recruitment costs once the high performers leave. Human resources teams can be instrumental in challenging those who cut training budgets, by helping them to focus on the future and retaining and motivating the best talent.

Tap into employees’ internal motivation. This is the motivation that really drives people and will sustain performance, it is the motivation that comes from within, the desire people have to tackle something because they really want to, rather than because they have to.

Create a Compelling Vision

Leaders and managers need to be able to influence attitudes and beliefs. Three leadership behaviors are key: creating and articulating a compelling vision, challenging people to deliver against it and supporting those who achieve the challenge and vision.

These three behaviors directly impact employees’ attitudes and beliefs and, in turn, drive their behavior and performance. For example, a broker solely trying to hit numbers for fear of losing his job will in some cases forego doing what’s right for the customer in order to accomplish that goal. But a broker who has a clear vision from senior executives regarding the company’s standing and has the confidence that there are programs in place to help hit sales goals will be more dedicated to his customers and the company.

There is so much stress and uncertainty that people don’t know where they are going, either as an organization or as an individual. Now, it’s more important than ever that leaders are highly visible, talking regularly about the vision, but also talking about the shorter-term and how the organization is realistically working towards its goals.