By: WAHVE - Work at Home Vintage Experts

This article was originally published by WAHVE on April 21, 2022 here. 

Imagine an office without distractions, without the meetings-about-meetings loop, and where creativity to stretch its legs. The collective workforce surely would be more productive at home, where distractions were minimal.

That might have been the impetus for an extensive study conducted by Microsoft recently. Examining over 60,000 of their employees during a six-month period from December 2019 to June 2020, the study reveals that collaboration took a significant hit, as did communication.

The result: long-term innovation and creativity were adversely impacted. The data suggests that remote work caused a siloed effect when it came to collaboration, and employees that were once easily connected were quickly feeling isolated.

Any organization that had to implement remote work on the fly – which was a large majority of organizations – discovered the disconnect the hard way. The lack of preparedness had far too many companies scrambling to equip employees for home office work, and many were dealing with a companywide communication disconnect for the first time, even if some of their employees worked remotely in the past.

Without a strong communication process, many organizations were piecing one together while trying to conduct business.

If companies don’t address the changes brought on by remote work, that could be a problem going forward, especially since 84% of companies surveyed in 2020 anticipate broader, more permanent remote work arrangements.

Fortunately, establishing an effective communication plan is not difficult. It takes reimagining how your employees are working, and what they need from your management team in order to be their most productive.

At WAHVE, we’ve put a feedback and communication process in place that keeps employees connected to managers, different departments, and each other. Each step is essential to making employees feel like an integral, necessary part of the organization.

One-on-one Meetings

It starts with manager-to-employee conversations. Managers talk with employees every day, even if it’s to say hello. Employees and managers meet regularly to go over assignments, benchmarks, progress, and to let the employee air any concerns. This time is also used to set goals, identify issues and assign a mentor or additional training to help the employee improve, if need be.

We also encourage our employees to talk to us about personal matters – family, financial issues, and anything else that is on their minds. Especially in a remote setting, personal issues do infiltrate a worker’s day. Allowing them the space to talk can help them feel less isolated.

Employee Feedback

We also encourage employees to report problems, talk about concerns, or touch base to make sure they understand the expectations. Employees are encouraged to make suggestions for improvements, even if it isn’t in their own department. All aspects are the responsibility of everyone in the organization.

Weekly Team Meetings

Our weekly team meetings are different. We require everyone’s video to be turned on (to further connect employees to each other), and we make sure the meetings are short and have a set agenda. There is also a feedback process time set aside at the end of each meeting so that employees can bring up suggestions or complaints.

Accountability

When we receive a complaint or suggestion, it doesn’t stop there. We assign a person to investigate and take ownership of the issue. That person will report back at the weekly team meeting so that everyone is kept in the loop on progress or roadblocks. This allows for group brainstorming and sharing of ideas.

The disruption of heading home to work needn’t be a creativity killer. By changing how you interact with your employees – and how often – your organization can actually improve your companywide communications. That in turn can help teams feel more connected and employees feeling more engaged. With strong communication and support, just watch their creativity soar.

By: WAHVE Work At Home Vintage Experts

Let’s face it: working from home takes some getting used to. Depending on the type of employee, some use it as one long coffee break, or they simply don’t know when to switch off.

The majority of remote workers fall into that second camp, as statistics bear out. A recent Catalyst report shows that COVID-related work burnout was reported in 88.4 percent of survey respondents, with 60.7% of those reporting high levels of burnout.

Despite the positive benefits of remote work – feeling more innovative (63%); being more engaged in work (75%); feeling more included (93%), and; feeling more likely to remain committed to the organization – some workers are overdoing it.

More than just a few, it would seem. According to an Indeed.com survey, 52% say they have experienced or are experiencing burnout in 2021 – an increase over pre-COVID survey where just 43% felt burnout. And 67% believe burnout has worsened during the pandemic. They’re reporting working longer hours, and that, says 27% of survey respondents, is attributing to feeling burned out.

With so many of us working remotely, understanding how to prevent or alleviate burnout is critical.

Fortunately, just a few modifications in your workday – and your behavior – can bring more order to your day, and deliver a better work-life balance.

Setting Clear Work/Home Boundaries

To find that balance, you need to keep both areas of your life separate. But how do you do that when work and home are the same place? Start with creating boundaries.

Login/logout. When the computer/laptop is on, you’re working. That simple shift in thinking – and in presenting your boundaries to other people in the home – gives you a more defined mindset. When you logout, you’re now on personal time. Work cannot interfere.

Set regular hours. Set a work schedule. For instance, in by 8 am, out by 4 pm. Stick with your schedule as closely as possible. Establishing a routine creates a clear boundary between work life and personal life.

Reintroduce your “commute.” Before starting your day, go out for coffee, take a quick walk, or go for a short drive. Treat this as your psychological commute. You are leaving home, and arriving back at your work station. Create that mental separation between work and home, even if they are in the same location.

Schedule breaks. Working in an office is filled with breaks – chats with coworkers, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, even exercise breaks. When working remotely, schedule breaks throughout your day. Put them on your calendar and don’t allow anything to get in the way. Walk, stretch, get out of your workspace and do something that isn’t work-related. Two small breaks along with your lunch break can reset your balance.

Limit work-related communications to work hours. Work-related emails, texts, and calls should be restricted to work hours. Establish with your employer and colleagues when you’re available – put your availability in your signature. Anything that comes in after quitting time can wait.

The same goes for personal chores. The more that invade your work life, the longer your workday becomes and the more blurred the line between work and personal becomes. Limit errands to your breaks, and don’t allow family or partners to interrupt with personal issues. Save them for your breaks.

Log out at the end of your shift. Turn the machine down. Log off. Put away papers and stow the laptop. No matter how big or small your remote workspace is, putting work aside physically will help you put it away mentally, as well.

Ask for help. Your manager cannot know you’re overworked unless you say so. If you feel you’re unable to keep up with the amount of work coming in, schedule a conversation. Let your manager know what you can handle reasonably.

Ask for their support, and work with them to devise a more manageable workload.

Stay social. Believe it or not, plenty of burnout occurs when people feel isolated from coworkers and their employers. Stay connected to your coworkers. If you can’t meet in person, meet virtually. Have virtual happy hours, celebrate birthdays and milestones, or host a virtual game night. Reconnecting with your workmates can be energizing.

Moving Forward Confidently

Also, don’t forget to take time off. Use those mental health days, sick days, and vacation days to get away from work and recharge.

Burnout can be crippling and demoralizing. Combatting it with a plan that separates work from home, and puts limits on your availability, can protect both your work hours and your personal time.

By: Connie George, CPCU, ARM, AU, AIM Wahve Placement Specialist

Remember when power-napping at work was a trend? Or when gym balance balls suddenly cropped up in workplaces to help improve posture? And who can forget when Stephen R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People hit the shelves in 1989 and that’s all everyone talked about? This year, an inconspicuous workplace trend has emerged, and it’s one you may take for granted: working from home with pets.

Dog adoptions and sales have skyrocketed this year. It began in March with a sudden surge in demand, and by mid-summer, many shelters, breeders, rescues and pet stores reported more demand than could be filled. As we continue to settle into our work-from-home lives, many of us are now reaping the benefits of spending more time with our furry companions.

Pet lovers have long intuitively felt the benefits and joys that dogs and cats bring – and there’s science behind these benefits. Scientists believe that the source of humans’ positive reaction to pets stems from oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates bonding, relaxation and trust – and eases stress.

Working from home with a pet can also reduce anxiety, loneliness and depression, which is especially important now, as more people suffer from mental health issues and businesses struggle to provide support.

Beyond mental benefits, studies also show that pet owners are more likely to stay physically active, and tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Here’s another surprising benefit. According to The Health and Mood Busting Benefits of Pets, studies have shown that pet owners over 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets. What company wouldn’t be in favor of better health and fewer doctor visits for their employees?

The verdict is in: being at home with pets can make working from home more enjoyable and productive – and that’s the way it should be. Our pets wake us up in the morning, sit at our feet as we sip our morning coffee, and they settle into sun-soaked naps as we join Zoom calls. They give us more unconditional love than we could ever deserve – and are right there with wagging tails through good days and bad.

So, the next time your dog barks during a conference call, you’ll have to forgive his minor transgression and remember all that he does for your health and well-being.  Spending all day with your pet may just be the most underrated benefit of working from home.

By Chris Boggs | CPCU, ARM, ALCM, LPCS, AAI, APA, CWCA, CRIS, AINS, is IIABA's Executive Director Risk Management and Education

Focus is key! From an errors and omissions (E&O) perspective, agents cannot lose focus during this disrupted work setup. Working from home does not change the fact that all procedures and processes that apply in the home office also apply at the "home" office.

From now until we are released from our lockdown and able to return to normalcy, we must remember that every action or inaction has consequences - good or bad. There are a few simple rules or guidelines agencies and agents should follow during this unprecedented moment in time to avoid or lessen the effects of an errors and omissions claim. 

Rule #1: Document! Document! Document!

Franklin D. Roosevelt may be the most famous cheerleader of all time (other than Toni Basil). It’s true. As a student at Harvard he was a cheerleader for home football games. Some years later, he led the country through World War II, using his fireside chats to calm America’s tensions and fears. He was still a cheerleader. Given the tensions and even insecurity some feel as we live through our current pandemic panic, we need a cheerleader and simply a leader to keep us calm and to keep us focused. Roosevelt was a forward thinker; he actually wrote a cheer to help agents remember Rule #1 for working from home. Are you Ready? OK! Document day; Document night; Document left; Document right; Document, document, document! Yea, document! OK, so maybe this isn’t a Roosevelt original, in fact it’s a pure fabrication – but the point is no less relevant. Even when working in a non-traditional space, remember to document every conversation, text, email, yell, whatever. When it involves a client, document it.

Rule #2: Keep the Schedule You Had at the Office

No, this isn’t limited to “open” and “close” times; this refers to regularly scheduled staff and team meetings. Not being in the same room is no excuse for ending activities necessary for the successful operation of the agency. Basically, if it was important for the agency and the teams leading up to the disbursement, it still is.

“We have our normal commercial lines staff meeting on Mondays at 10. We go over new and renewal business, lost accounts, cancellations, claims, accounts with issues, industry news and current events and any issues that popped up that need to be addressed,” reports one agent. “We also have individual team meetings for personal lines and employee benefits.”

Another agent tells us, “Zoom is our new contact method for client meetings and for meetings with staff. We have ‘Town Hall’ meetings every Friday afternoon with all employees; producer meetings every Monday morning; the commercial lines, personal lines and employee benefits teams have staff meetings once per week; and the Leadership team has probably had Zoom meetings 10 times over the past three weeks.” E&O Exposures: Increased When Working from Home? PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY. Keeping everyone connected and informed is paramount when everyone is in the office. But when there is no office “atmosphere,” keeping everyone connected and informed is even more important.

A cornerstone of these meetings should be policies and procedures. Pick one errors and omissions topic and remind every person on the call of the office procedure relevant to that topic. This conversation does not have to take more than three or four minutes. One topic, one reminder - this keeps the staff on course. 

Rule #3: Keep "Them" Close and Informed

Your clients and your carriers are living in this same altered reality in which you are living. Any sense of normalcy is welcomed.

Stay in contact with your clients and keep them informed. As their agent, your insureds will likely turn to you more now than in the past. News reports, press releases and the problem of “someone told me” will certainly spread a lot of misinformation among your customer base.

To manage and hopefully end the spread of misinformation, you need to know the correct information. Know policy language, know the carrier’s processes and plans, know the insurance regulations, and know when to say “No.” From an E&O perspective:

• Never answer a coverage question without the insured's policy in front of you. Even the most "common" policy has "uncommon" endorsement you may forget were attached.
• Not every carrier is the same; in fact, no carrier is like any other carrier. Know the underwriting guidelines and what can and can't be done for the client. Don't promise something until after you know it can be delivered. 
• Don't practice outside your licensure. As a licensed agent, your job is to procure and manage the insurance program with and for the client. You are not licensed or qualified to offer an opinion on contract wording or other legal matters. 

Remember also, you are not licensed to help complete federal forms unrelated to insurance. Direct the insured to the proper professional; don’t create an E&O problem by being too helpful.

Your underwriters need to hear from you as well. In fact, they may want to hear more from you now than in the past because they may be lonely. Kind of a weird thought, but many underwriters are used to working in an office with other humans; being alone is hard on them. Even field underwriters who normally work at home are accustomed to meeting with and talking with agents face to face on a regular basis.

Keep the underwriters informed when something new is learned about a client. Talk with them about unusual situations or unusual requests made by the insured. You and your underwriter may be able to find creative solutions that best serve your client and the carrier. You also want to know what the carriers are thinking and planning in regard to renewals. Are there new endorsements coming that may limit coverage? Find out during these “keeping in touch” calls, it may help avoid an E&O situation.

Many insureds are concerned about money as a result of state-mandated lockdowns. Commercial lines clients may essentially be out of business, personal lines clients may be out of a job; the result is the same for both clients - fear. The fear of having to choose among feeding their family, paying the bills or paying insurance premiums. When this question arises, this is a conversation that involves both your insured and your insurance carrier. Everyone must be informed.

When the specter of policy cancellation appears, address it directly and appropriately. 

• Know if your state has enacted any temporary measures regarding cancellation for non-payment. Current information is available here.
• If a regulation is in place, advise your client of the regulation and give them a copy of the wording. 
• Advise your insured to never cancel any policy and document the conversation. 
• If the insured insists on cancelling any policy, make use of a cancellation notification letter. 

Rule #4: Recognize Potential Weaknesses

“One of my E&O concerns is our new producers and what they are telling prospects and customers. Are they writing the correct coverages on new and renewal accounts? We do have mentors for each of the new producers and we hope nothing is falling through the cracks,” reports one agent.

This agent’s concern is probably the same as many other agents, what are the new, less experienced employees doing? Are coverages being written correctly? Are questions being answered correctly? Do they know and understand the agency procedures well enough to properly protect the client and us?

These are valid concerns. One drawback of working from home is the loss of “quick confirmation.” Generally, employees have the ability to quickly check their understanding of the policy language, an underwriting guideline or anything else with someone in the office; all they have to do is walk to someone’s desk and ask for help.

Well, unless there is an open-line Bat Phone there is no one to ask and get an answer from quickly. Emails, instant messages and/or phone calls have to be made to get the answer. Some agents feel like the insured is unwilling to wait for an answer and will just “wing it” and hope they are correct, or that if they are wrong, nothing will happen to highlight the error.

Make sure every employee understands this is NOT OK. It is never acceptable to “wing it,” and the current situation does NOT change that fact.

Train every employee, not just the new employees, that it is acceptable for them to explain to the client that they don’t know the answer or that they want to confirm the answer. Rarely is the insured unwilling to wait for a correct answer. “Mr. Insured, that is a great question. Let me confirm the answer and call you right back. I would rather give you the correct answer the first time.”

Then, do what you promised. Get the answer as quickly as possible and call the insured back as soon as possible. The insured will be satisfied and you will be able to sleep well. (Oh yeah, don’t forget to document the conversation and follow up in writing with the insured.)

Last Rule: Don't Forget Your Upbringing

As my kids got old enough to go out with friends and on their own, I would always say, “Remember who you are; whose you are; and who you represent.” My goal was to impress upon them that their actions affected more than just them.

Every employee’s actions affect the agency – positively or negatively. It is necessary to remind your employees, often, that what they do matters; not only does it matter to them, it matters to everyone in the office.

Train them, retrain them, and train them some more on E&O avoidance. Make it part of the fabric of the agency. Make it important. When it is important to the leadership, it is important to everyone.

Now that they are “out on their own,” in some respects, training will show. That statement should bring you comfort, not scare you. If it scares you, let’s talk. 

Learn more about Big "I" agency risk management here. 

By: WAHVE Work at Home Vintage Experts 

This article was originally featured in our July Wisconsin Independent Agent Magazine. Click here to read the full issue. 

Today’s employees Zoom, Skype, Jabber, FaceTime, GoToMeetings and chat in Google Hangouts and Webexes. When they’re not videoconferencing, they’re emailing, collaborating in Microsoft Teams, and instant chatting on Slack. They’ve already got the tech tools they need to make it easy and more convenient to work remotely, but do you have the right management tools in place to keep your remote employees engaged?

There’s no doubt that hiring remote employees can benefit your insurance business by bringing in critical skills that you don’t have or can’t easily find. Remote workers can be a boon to recruiting, productivity, business continuity, and improved customer service. But relying on a traditional management style to keep a dispersed workforce motivated and moving forward won’t cut it.

So, what are the best ways to keep employees you rarely see motivated? 

Build a Virtual Water Cooler

The cornerstone to keeping remote employees engaged is proactive communication. When you can’t simply stop by an employee’s desk to chat, grab a cup of coffee, or 

physically sit with them in a conference room, it’s important to make a concentrated effort to make time for casual conversation. It’s not enough to schedule a few

one-hour meetings per week. Communication with remote employees should be fluid, spontaneous and regular. Create a virtual water cooler by continually chatting with people to find out what they did during the weekend, how their family is doing, and what their plans are for time away from work. 

Establish Some “WAHVY Gravy”

When employees are out of sight, it can be easy to unintentionally exclude them, making them feel isolated. And when people feel isolated and not a part of the work

community, productivity suffers.

Go beyond relying on virtual meetings to establish community. If you have an intranet, create a space where people can share news, tips, or pictures of their pets. Many companies dedicate specific Slack channels to support socializing.  Others use virtual coffee breaks, book clubs, TED talks, or online learning courses that everyone participates in to encourage a deeper sense of community.

Another strategy is to incorporate a few minutes for team members to share something personal at the end of meetings. At WAHVE, we call this “WAHVY gravy.” We ask people to share something that’s important to them – whether it be pictures of their artwork, hobbies, or stories about recent vacations. Another idea is to ask employees to share an “ah ha” or an “appreciation” – something they recently learned or someone they’d like to acknowledge. The important thing is to make it fun and personal. This changes how people interact with each other at a human level and builds interest and empathy for one another.

Don’t Forget Face Time

Despite all of the fancy tech tools, there’s still no substitute for face time. When you’re managing a remote team, no matter the size, it’s important to bring the entire team together when you can. Doing this shows on site and remote workers how much you appreciate them, and it builds connection. At WAHVE, we bring our staff together

bi-annually, and we find that these events are invaluable to help the team bond, strengthen our culture, and share goals and future direction with everyone physically present.  

According to an analysis by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics, remote work has grown 44% over the last five years and 91% over the past 10 years. It’s a trend that will likely continue to rise, so there’s no time like the present to adapt your management style to support remote workers, and in turn, the success of your business.