Ten Technology Tips to Enhance Your Agency’s Productivity Steve Anderson helps us start 2010 off right with 10 cool technology tools that agents should consider to streamline their work.
Improving Commercial Lines Account Marketing: A Proven and Profitable Process
There are many ways an agency can improve the processes for marketing larger commercial lines accounts and new business to carriers. Problems spots are revealed and recommendations made to help agencies take control of the renewal process in this month's feature. Reduce staff stress and backlog, establish accountability and give staff the freedom to do what they do best—provide superior client service—not push paper. Full story
Increasing Agency Productivity & Profitability Using Best Practices Processes
The best agencies today are not only focused on increasing sales, they are implementing best practices in their operations to ensure productivity is maximized. The “Best Practices Guide to Agency Business Processes and Information Management” provides CEOs and managers with critical indicators to assess current operations and offers tools for process improvement. The guide is designed to assist agencies of all sizes—from the main street community agency to the largest most complex commercial or benefits departments. Click here. Best Practices Guide to Agency Business Processes & Information Management (Revised)
The revised guide incorporates Real Time and other new workflows to help achieve a fully electronic and client focused agency. ACT, the IIABA Council for Best Practices and Nettles Consulting bring you this practical and comprehensive tool which not only guides you on what should be done, but provides you the practical steps on how to get there, including detailed property casualty and benefits workflows and reference guides for categorizing and retrieving electronic information for each type of transaction. Download the guide, review the Forward and Executive Overview to understand how to use the guide and then use it electronically so that you can take advantage of its numerous links from each subject in the Table of Contents, as well as throughout the guide. Click here for guide. (It is best to save this Word document to your desktop to avoid requests for passwords.) Enhance Your Bottom Line with Technology
More agency owners/managers will see a higher return on investment in technology systems if they help employees approach workflow in a new way. Employees must understand how to fully utilize the management system. And they need training and a defined path of work. In this article agency consultant Patricia Alexander gives practical advice on leveraging technology and workflow. Most agents won’t need to invest in yet more technology to make these changes! Full story Checklist of Profitable Opportunities to Improve Agency Workflows
Developed for ACT by Laura Nettles, President of Nettles Consulting Network, Inc., a firm specializing in helping agencies improve performance and production through workflow consulting, automation implementation, and change management. This checklist will be helpful to agents in identifying workflows and business processes that need improvement, and areas where technology can have a real payback. Backlog Should Not Be Acceptable in Your Office
This article helps an agency face the backlog problem and overcome it. click here AUGIE Survey: Agency Technology Having Big Payback for Many Agencies
This article discusses how many agencies are deriving a big payback from staying current with technology, while others are not. It suggests reasons for the dichotomy, all based on the agent responses to the AUGIE Survey. The article provides insights as to how all agencies can improve their bottom-line using technology. click here. Checklist of Commonly Underused Agency Automation Functions
Prepared for ACT by Sharon Cunningham, President of Business Management Group, a management consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry. Agents will find this checklist extremely helpful in identifying improvements and cost savings that they can achieve using the technology they have already purchased. Emerging Tools to Give Independent Agents & Brokers Better Information on Claims
This article discusses how claims download used along with real-time claims inquiry, FNOL, and loss runs can keep agents better informed, improve the service provided to clients, and add considerable efficiencies to an agency's daily operations. click here Five Steps to a Better Agency Bottom Line
This article points to five steps agents can take to improve their bottom line and enhance their agency's value, taking advantage of the many workflow and technology opportunities that are available today. The article also references the many resources ACT has available to assist them. click here Making the Agency Business More Profitable...And More Fun Sandbox Discoveries
Former ACT Chairman Ed Higgins discovered several workflow improvements while “playing around” with his technology. He shares his discoveries with the reader. click here A Technology/Process Agency Culture Drives Continuous Improvement
This article speaks to the importance of establishing a technology/process oriented culture in the agency and describes a number of technology implementations that have been made by technology oriented agencies. click here Agency Case Study Systematic Adoption of New Technologies/Business Processes | 
