Making it easier to bring new team
members up to speed on technical and soft skills
Rather than one employee shouldering the workload for an entire onboarding,
we can use subject matter experts to train on individual workflows or processes in their area of expertise.
By Kelsie Hoehne, CISR
Think back to when you were first hired into the insurance industry. How were you trained? For the lucky among us, we experienced a thorough training program, but you may remember being welcomed as a producer and immediately being asked to “sit and watch” a colleague in order to learn, especially if our insurance agency origin story began at a small to mid-sized company.
A thorough and effective training program is a critical component for any growing agency. Agency principals understand the demands that come with bringing a new hire up to speed on everything about the company, including the technical components—such as expertise in the agency’s management system!
Sometimes, the simple “watch and learn” method seems easiest; however, downsides come with this. To fill these gaps, you may find yourself, as an agency principal or other leader, taking on the bulk of the training, if your agency has limited training-specific roles or resources. Facilitating training sessions can prove challenging, especially when you have your own job to balance.
Identifying and leveraging internal subject matter experts (SMEs) has been a successful solution at our mid-sized agency and may be a feasible option for yours.
Why agencies should leverage subject matter experts to train new hires
There are five primary reasons our agency leverages subject matter experts to help conduct our training:
- Efficiency. Leveraging SMEs for training helps to disperse the time investment. Rather than one employee shouldering the workload for an entire onboarding, we can use subject matter experts to train on individual workflows or processes in their area of expertise. For example, at our agency, transportation team members regularly use Indio, as there is frequent data exchange with clients regarding drivers and fleet information. Pulling an Indio expert from this department will save time and ensure trainees are learning from the best.
- Professional development opportunities. As seasoned employees continue in their pursuit of professional development, many express interest in taking on a leadership role or additional responsibilities. Because subject matter experts act in a mentoring capacity, they are able to build those skillsets.
Our training team—consisting of three employees who manage and facilitate quality assurance and training—provides training to all SMEs on applying learning theory concepts, best practices and expectations for the role. This also allows those serving as subject matter experts to understand if training, mentoring and/or a leadership track is actually a fit for their interests and abilities.
Training meetings with SMEs are held by department. Discussion topics include potential obstacles and applying learning theories, e.g., if you are training someone and pick up, through body language, that they are not engaged, what tools can you use to bring them back in?
SMEs are also given opportunities to share their experiences and are expected to join calls an hour a week during the training period. - Culture. Choosing your subject matter experts is of utmost importance, as these employees are brand ambassadors for your agency. We are careful to select employees who are not only qualified to speak on a topic, coverage, system or process, but also those who are a cultural fit for the role. These individuals are chosen because they exhibit the cultural standards of our agency in combination with industry expertise.
As an example, a staff member may be an expert technically but doesn’t express passion for the job, or perhaps is not great at complying with data requirements. We have to analyze all of these factors. In this way, our cultural expectations are infused throughout the new hire’s training and onboarding experience. - Collective genius. No one person can be an expert in all areas. At many agencies, subject matter experts come about organically. For example, a common thing to hear is, “You should ask Jane about that; she has a ton of farm accounts,” or “I would ask Jim about that; he works in that system every day.”
Due to the nature of the accounts someone is working on, or due to their past experiences, every agency has resident experts who understand the nuances of their particular role. The framework of using subject matter experts allows us to draw on the collective knowledge of the many instead of asking the few to be experts in all areas.
We build our “collective genius” by setting a roster of SMEs by topic and department. Finding these SMEs begins with tapping leadership from that department for recommendations of who is an interested expert that possesses a cultural fit for this training role.
Our roster gets very specific. We say, “This person is good at X process or technology.” This enables us to home in on the very best experts in a variety of subjects instead of just a handful who are decent at most processes. - Employee engagement. This training structure has directly and positively impacted our agency’s overall employee engagement on two fronts: those employees acting as SMEs and those employees being taught by SMEs. Because they are actively engaged in the learning and development of that employee, subject matter experts become key stakeholders in the success of the oncoming employee.
In addition, the oncoming employees are more engaged in their learning and development because they are exposed to a variety of different styles and approaches, rather than the limited perspective of only one trainer or mentor.
Since our SME program implementation, we have seen increases of employee engagement scores, such as:
- “This organization provides as much ongoing training as I need.” 2022 score, 79% agreement; 2024 score, 87% agreement
- “This organization encourages me to develop professionally and acquire new skills.” 2002 score, 87% agreement; 2024 score, 91% agreement
- “This organization helps me pursue a career path that aligns with my skills and interests.” 2022 score, 81% agreement; 2024 score, 83% agreement.
We gather engagement data through an annual survey of all employees and the “best place to work” survey. Data found through these inform innovations and improvements across the agency, including to our onboarding training process. We also survey new employees at 90 days.
Incorporating subject matter experts into your training structure can help alleviate the lift of the training workload, while also greatly benefiting your new hires. By using this strategy, your agency can enhance the efficiency of both technical and soft skill development and cultivate your company’s culture throughout the new hire’s educational experience.
The author
Kelsie Hoehne, CISR, works with the quality assurance and agency training team at TRICOR Insurance, the October 2021 Rough Notes Agency of the Month. With a background in both sales and service, she works closely with teams across divisions to curate learning and development plans for employees that are new, current, or joining TRICOR through an acquisition. Hoehne, who has a passion for building operational efficiencies and curating a culture of continuous learning, is a member and Content Committee member of Applied Client Network, which coordinates content for the Rough Notes “TechKnowFile” column.
