Training CSRs to Ease Customers' Pain

In many cases, that is when customer-service reps (CSRs) at insurance agencies interact with customers.

"Many times, when these CSRs are dealing with customers, it's because they've had some kind of loss," says Kathleen Lawler, education director at Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY), a statewide insurance professional trade group with 1,900 members.

Training Matters

Having quality customer service skills can certainly help in those situations, but is important every day in a customer oriented business like selling insurance, she says.

That's why DeWitt, N.Y.-based IIABNY has developed a new CSR training program.

"It's a training and development solution," Lawler says of IIABNY Essentials for CSRs.

The program starts with an initial "Knowledge Check" that analyzes customer service employees to determine their business skills and technical aptitude for personal and commercial insurance lines.

Build to Order

The online assessment allows employers to create customized training to best suit the employee's needs. Lawler says. Some employees may need the training offered through the Essentials program. Others may need technical insurance training before advancing to Essentials training.

"We take the guesswork out of it for the agency manager," she says. "We're really taking it right back to square one and taking the guesswork out of it."

Once the skills assessment is done, there are six modules of the Essentials program that can be used. The modules offered cover a variety of topics including verbal communication, phone etiquette, errors and omissions, loss prevention, customer management, business writing and negotiation skills.

The modules were developed over an 18-month process that began with IIABNY members voicing the need for some sort of training program and including surveying members as to what skills training was most needed. Lawler says.

"It's unlike any other customer-service representative training program," she says. Not only is it customizable, but it was crafted specifically for the insurance industry.

Beyond Expectations

After developing the modules, IIABNY launched a pilot program to test them across the state last year.

"The response to the Knowledge Check has exceeded our expectations," Lawler notes, adding that means IIABNY hit on an important service that was needed.

Knowledge Check is available only to IIABNY members, but the Essentials program is available to non-members for a higher cost, Lawler notes.

The program is geared toward new employees with the goal of creating jobs ready customer-service reps, but can be beneficial to those already working in the field as well, she says.

IIABNY will offer Essentials training sessions starting on Feb. 26 and will hold sessions around the state throughout the year.