Imagine your teams working smoothly without supervision. Self-managed teams could be just what your small business needs.
Back in the 60s was when self-managed teams started. This business model is all about putting groups together to manage many different tasks. Ideally, the group should be cross-trained in a variety of job skills. They can be created to take care of specific tasks or time-sensitive projects.
Apart from allowing you or your managers to delegate tasks and have things run smoothly without having to watch over people 80% of the time, one of the great things about self-managed teams is that they can motivate employees to take charge. Empowering your employees leads to a higher level of engagement and participation, which is precisely what you need to keep things moving.
An older business model, where people are told to take care of certain things or perform specific actions, can generate resentment. On the other hand, getting people involved in the decision-making process around customer service can cause them to take ownership and thrive, allowing your business to succeed, also.
Highly engaged employees are far more productive. This model can help increase productivity by 15 to 20% and bring down costs. This practice could positively impact innovation since engaged employees tend to be less stressed and more creative.
Defining whether or not this practice works for your independent insurance agency, requires you to take a step back and analyze your current processes. Since more people will be involved, your decision-making processes can become longer. That might not work for things that require an immediate response, but there are other processes for which this works very well.
The most important thing you need to put together a self-managed team is hiring the right people and then take time to train them, setting expectations. What areas of your independent insurance agency do you think would benefit from this approach?
Affordable American Insurance is a business development and consulting member association that can set you up for success in starting your own business as an independent insurance agency owner. Are you ready to get started? Join AAI today.