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DALLAS, TX, Aug. 9, 2004 –- In a follow-up to a survey of insurance agencies released in May, the Wedge Performance Institute today (Monday) warned that many customer support reps and agency staff members "suffer from a feeling of being ignored and being considered insignificant to their firms."
Larry Kangas, executive director of the Institute, the research and development affiliate of The Wedge Group, reported these key findings after analyzing survey data from more than 1,500 employees at 26 agencies in North America:
- Customer support reps feel their contribution to their agency's success and profitability is undervalued, while producers' contributions are overvalued;
- Some staff members feel as if they are held accountable for actions and results, while others are not;
- Most staff feel as if they are not included in, and are not relevant to, the agency's long-term strategic plan; and
- Many within the agency feel as if they are asked to accomplish tasks for which they have not been trained, such as cross-selling and problem resolution.
A copy of the Institute's white paper on Agency Performance Issues and Their Implications is available at www.thewedge.net/pdfs/PDS_Survey_5-04.pdf.
According to Kangas, there is a management skills gap among mid-level and senior managers that results in poor internal communications. In turn, he explained, this leads to negative staff perceptions of their own roles, and of how they believe management sees them.
"One fairly obvious reason for this is that, at many agencies, star producers are elevated into management positions without sufficient management training," Kangas said. "Being a great leader, manager, coach, and counselor is not a skill set that most of these former producers who are now managers have taken the time to strengthen."
Kangas has developed a unique diagnostic system ... More >>
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