Culture shock: Investing in workplace culture in independent agencies
In a business like insurance that depends on people, happy, engaged team members are an agency’s greatest asset.
Culture is everything.
In our experience, a good company culture is driven by its high-achieving, high-value employees. And as any recent article or news story about the ways of work clearly illustrates, business leaders and team members around the country are becoming increasingly aware of the value workplace culture can have on employee retention, overall happiness, engagement and business growth.
In fact, nearly half of decision-makers and leaders surveyed by the Arbinger Institute said that culture drives improvements in areas critical to growth such as employee productivity, retention and engagement as culture improves, according to a 2023 research report.
In a business dependent on people, like insurance, happy and engaged team members are an agency’s greatest asset. Insurance agencies thrive on positive customer interactions. The reality is team members are working with complex products that consumers often do not fully understand and are usually in a state of inconvenience (or crisis) when they have to use it. Customers stay when they have a strong relationship with agency representatives they can trust to provide them with superior products and service to meet their needs. Company culture is at the crux of that relationship; cultivating engaged, inspired, motivated and happy team members who make happy customers.
The state of company culture in independent agencies
Independent agencies were not immune to the countless workforce changes from hybrid office models to Zoom calls that workers across varying industries experienced over the last few years. With these changes becoming part of a new normal, cultivating a healthy company culture is invaluable. There was a time when an insurance agency only had to be the most convenient option in their town.
Today, consumers and prospective talent have a multitude of agencies and options at their fingertips. Agency leaders who are ignoring or leaving their culture to nurture itself may struggle to grow, or even maintain, their businesses in today’s competitive environment.
And it’s not just changes in how we work that are affecting company culture for agencies; mergers and acquisitions throughout independent agencies are also taking a toll on culture. Agency employees who are integrated with other organizations after a merger can experience a rash of culture changes. If not properly addressed, changes like these could drive great team members and/or good business out the door. If agency leaders are not investing in culture, it will be evident to your teams and your clients. Many will leave to seek out an organization that values and supports company culture.
Defining culture in your agency
Before investing in agency culture, agency leaders must first define their vision for it — ideally with input from employees — and explain how they plan to measure it. Leaders who take an attitude that is summed up by the words, “if no one is complaining, everything is fine” are missing a valuable opportunity to grow their business.
A good way to go about defining your company culture is to start with one-on-one conversations as well as team meetings, to pinpoint shared values, passions and goals. Then, leadership can look to how those findings align with the agency’s business plan and how they can make improvements. While these metrics may not be as clear cut as a balance sheet, taking good care of workplace culture will also contribute to your bottom line.
Committing to an investment in independent agency culture
Achieving a strong company culture requires a top-down, ongoing investment in any business. As an insurance agency grows and changes, so must its approach to culture. Consider the following when thinking about culture investments in your independent agencies:
- No one-size-fits-all solution exists: Bouncing ideas off or learning from fellow insurance agency leaders about how they are approaching culture can be useful, but it is important to remember that culture is unique to each agency. Culture consists of the people, their shared values and what they bring to the environment every day. An investment in agency culture should be intentional and mirror the people of the entire organization.
- Focus on your core values: When considering an investment in an agency’s culture, core values can be a great place to start. Understand who makes up the agency, both team members and clients, what matters to them and what the agency should convey to the public. Evaluating an agency’s core values can help identify areas where investments will have the most impact.
- Keep an open dialogue: Because a company culture is always evolving, agency leadership should maintain an open dialogue around culture that includes every team member. Investments in culture require buy-in from the entire organization to be effective. Insurance agency leadership should maintain ongoing conversations around culture and seek out team member input.
As the workforce continues to evolve, so will the needs of independent agencies and their cultures. The world will continue to change at a record pace with technological advancements and younger generations staking their claim in independent agencies, but people and trust will remain at the core of the industry, grounded largely in independent agency culture. As agents look to improve their organization’s culture, they would do well to start from within. They may be surprised by what they uncover when clients and team members are given the opportunity to provide feedback.
Ian Exelbert is the president of the Western region for SIAA, where he’s dedicated to the creation, growth, and evolution of the local independent agency. He can be reached at ian.exelbert@siaa.com.
David L. Rice Jr. is president of Michigan Agency Partners, an SIAA Master Agency. He remains committed to the success of independent insurance agencies.