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Profitable Underwriting John Gilleland, Phone 830-934-2628 Leadership for Decision Makers in the P&C
Industry
(Knowledge Management for Insurance
Professionals)
Author's note: Segments of this article were first printed in the CPCU Society's TQ Interest Group's March 2004 newsletter. Show Me What They Mean OK, OK, I agree knowledge should be managed as an income producing resource for businesses. Unfortunately too many authors are writing too many generalizations about significant principles and guidelines. Just how should it be managed so a group of insurance professionals will be more effective and efficient? We need specifics, not vague generalizations that are likely to be misinterpreted or at least mismanaged. Here is one of many ways to see knowledge management principles' relationships in order of expedience to profitability. Yes, when tailored to fit a team's abilities and needs, this process can help teams learn and do more work more profitably. Illustration A  Knowledge Correctly Applied is Wisdom Here are some steps an agency or insurer can take to manage its knowledge to improve its sales and front-line underwriting processes. PIF counts will increase as ease of doing business improves.
Persons chosen to champion KM efforts should have great sales experience, relating directly to the agency/insurer, and should be willing and able to learn knowledge management techniques such as: o diagramming business processes to use best business practices o creating indexes of team meeting minutes to help teams know what has been stated o organizing what has been learned so it can be improved o contributing whenever a new line of business is rolled out or moved Outcomes of Knowledge Management A successful knowledge management system should:
This is how a knowledge management program will produce great results, increasing the number of submissions accepted and improving its portfolio's profitability. Growth will be good. On top of that, an effective program will also provide the organization documented processes and storage of knowledge so that it is readily available for new hires, successors for those leaving the organization, and for those users not involved on a regular basis in using the knowledge. Improving Performance from the Ground Up Here is an illustration of another way insurance professionals wanting to improve their teams' capacity to work smarter may apply knowledge management principles to achieve organizational development goals such as alignment of employee activity with employer objectives. Illustration B  Is this logical? Is this realistic? Is this complete enough to help you apply what it explains? If not, please email the author at jtg1@profitableunderwriting.com. Communicating What is Learned The following screen shot is an illustration of a team's knowledge management system's documentation using Microsoft Excel as its delivery tool. The files named in column B are linked to team procedure documents. These documents were created during Steps 1 through 3 in Illustration B. Illustration C  Using MS Excel's abilities to hyperlink documents to its pages is an inexpensive way of helping teams access information and "sing from the same sheet of music". Learning What Should be Communicated The following chart shows the groundwork that should be done so front-line workers can learn accurately and be led and trained with credibility. Such cooperation develops shared understanding and trust. This illustrates the principle taught in the saying: "You don't get the job unless you've done the job." Illustration D  What questions should be added to the groups of questions in the left column? Please let the author know by emailing suggestions to jtg1@profitableunderwriting.com. An Example of Managed Knowledge Here is an example of how knowledge was gathered, stored, and communicated as a formula, a type of logic chain:  This shows how an insurer calculates performance measurements, critiques departments' performance, and prompts improvements of its ability to influence prospects to call in for quotes. It helps the insurer drive new business to their sales people. The logic chain begins with the first question in the second column with money being spent for advertising. What is your company's chain of logic? Is it your formula for success? Does it include quality management principles to maximize your ROI? Are your people this well informed and aligned with your corporate growth strategy?
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