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When dissecting the how’s and why’s of your business’s operations, more often than not you arrive back at the same idea- organizational culture. Why does culture have such a significant impact on your business, and moreover, why do we talk about it so much? Why is it so important? Well, in an attempt to answer that question, we must first answer another question- what is organizational culture and, more specifically, how does it affect your insurance agency?

Your agency’s culture in and of itself has many unique attributes and qualities, but as a whole, organizational culture reveals the type of employees you have and the environment in which they work in.  If you examine any online articles or publications, you’ll immediately notice that the culture of your agency has an immense amount of influence on the success of your business. The reason for this conclusion is simple- If you have a better mold, you’ll have better performance.

How then, can you create a culture that fosters excellent performance from everyone involved?  Well, at Paradiso Insurance we believe that an agency’s culture is created through the agency’s identity, and the first hurdle to overcome in creating this identity is through the hiring of the best people possible. While this sounds easy, it is in reality the opposite.  In order to hire the right people who will create the identity that your agency is looking for, you need to implement the correct strategy during the recruiting process. In order to recruit the best, you need to be the best.  Having the right people in your agency will not only make you better, but it will also make your entire agency operate better and execute claims with far superior efficiency.

NEVER STOP LOOKING FOR BETTER

One of the most important aspects in recruiting for your agency is to never stop looking for the best candidates.  In order to accomplish this, you always have to keep an open mind at all times throughout the process. Additionally, another facet of creating the right culture within your agency is to ensure that your employees fully understand and comprehend what your agency believes and stands for in terms of values, morals, and ethical decision making. This is your agency’s identity, and more importantly, is what separates you from the millions of other agencies across the nation.

THE TEAM

The third aspect of creating the right culture occurs through the molding of a perfect group of employees into one unified team. In an agency, teamwork is everything, and through working in cooperation with one another on projects and other agency needs, everyone strives for the end goal and forgets about individual credit.  When a well-oiled team works fluidly, you’ll realize that teamwork is not only the best way to operate successfully, but it’s the only way to operate successfully.  When everyone is on board and feeding off of one other, together they can accomplish any task.

If the people in your agency do not form into team, it’s only a matter of time before conflict arises and halts any type of progress. They will become ineffective, thus becoming irrelevant and a detriment to your agency.  The only way that teams will form and work effectively is by hiring the right people who understand the agency’s identity and work toward the common goal.

When all is said and done, one of the most crucial aspects in creating the right culture for your agency is customer service.  Outstanding customer services starts at the top with the right leadership, and through this, not only will your agency’s culture breed success, but your agency’s persona within the community will increasingly become more positive every day.  As an agency owner, you are responsible for creating the right type of culture for your agency.  Looking in the mirror is probably the most important initial step that you can take in fostering the right agency culture, because remember- everything starts and ends with you.