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Intergenerational communication Make the most of your interactions with staff, clients, carriers, and vendors By Nancy Doucette “Why can’t we all just get along?” Every generation has its unique qualities. That’s not news. What is new is that savvy organizations have come to realize that a one-size-fits-all approach to management, sales, marketing, or education for that matter, misses the mark. Such organizations are developing a sharper focus to better serve each generation’s needs. For instance, each year, just before classes are scheduled to begin, Beloit College releases its Mindset List—a 20,000-foot view of what has influenced the hearts and minds of the incoming freshman class. On the surface, the list serves as a reminder to the Beloit faculty to update their examples and reference points because each new crop of students sees the world through different eyes. Beloit acknowledges, though, that the list is also a valuable reference for businesses interested in connecting with the new generation. In Portland, Oregon, Elders in Action, a private nonprofit organization, developed the Elder Friendly® Business Certification. Using specific guidelines, trained evaluators are invited by a business seeking the certification to “secret-shop” it to assess the extent to which the business meets the needs of older shoppers—the effectiveness of telephone and customer service, building layout and access. When in compliance, the business can display a window decal to inform potential customers that the business is Elder Friendly Certified. In Boston, Mission Hill has created an Elder Friendly Business District. Kansas has launched a statewide campaign. As of April 2007, 13 organizations nationwide have replicated the program. As an agency executive, you must connect with all the generations that are part of your universe—your staff, clients, prospects, carrier representatives, and vendors—who are broadly categorized as Seniors, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, or Millennials. Keith Riley, AAI, CWCA, is executive vice president of marketing for Kentucky-based Peel & Holland Financial Group. He knows first-hand about the importance of effective communication between generations. He represents the second generation in the agency. Additionally, Keith is chair of the IIABA National Young Agents Committee, which recently published Beyond the Boomers: Targeting the Incoming Generations. (A PDF of the booklet is available for no cost at www.iiaba.net.) “Agents need a reference to learn the particulars of the generations,” Keith explains, “because that’s who is going to be employed in the agency in the future. Even if an agency doesn’t employ individuals from all these generations now, this publication will help them understand the generations better, which will help attract new people to the agency. And for those agencies that already employ individuals from various generations, this will give them a better understanding. “As more of the younger people assume management responsibilities, they’re going to need to understand both older, as well as younger, generations,” he continues. “Potentially, there can be three or four generations in an agency.” Studies indicate that Boomers expect to keep working beyond the traditional retirement age. Given their general good health and their eagerness to remain productive, why not? Keith points out that Beyond the Boomers is useful reading for an agency’s entire staff because everyone in the organization needs to understand the multiple generation dynamic better. He says Beyond the Boomers can help agents better understand generations from the customer standpoint as well. “The new generation (Millennial) is coming into our marketplace, so we need to understand their personality and their buying habits—how they buy, how they research. What people expect from their insurance agent is changing.” Keith explains that experts in management, economics, and consumerism agree that business owners are going to have to adapt to change more quickly. Candidly, the insurance industry has been slow to adapt to trends, especially in the area of technology, he says. Using the iPod as an example of how rapid and pervasive a technology change can be, he wonders whether the insurance industry shouldn’t be looking at it as a means of communicating with clients. Or perhaps carriers could use podcasts to get their message out to the sales force more effectively. “We don’t need to change who we are, but we as individuals need to adapt to the changes that come to us in our business and personal environment,” he says. In its preface, Beyond the Boomers acknowledges that each of an individual’s defining characteristics—age, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.—is important. For its part, the Young Agents Committee decided to focus on one characteristic—age—in this publication. But reading between the lines, Beyond the Boomers is providing broader communication tools. Something to talk about Emily Huling, CIC, CMC, founded Selling Strategies 14 years ago. In a nutshell, she says her focus is to create top-performing sales and customer service organizations in the insurance industry. She says she’s receiving a growing number of phone calls from clients and prospective clients who tell her there’s a communication crisis brewing in their organization. “Everybody is looking for better, stronger, more productive, more efficient relationships,” she notes. When she’s working with clients who wish to improve communication within their organization, Emily begins with her position statement on the communication issue. “It’s not just about age differences,” she emphasizes. “Of course we’re a product of the generation in which we were raised. Those are our influences. “In addition to that, we are who we are because of our gender, birth order, number of siblings, religion, culture, ethnicity—and don’t forget to consider personality style.” That’s quite a list. And, she notes, that’s precisely why effective communication is so hard. “There are so many variables to consider.” In her work with insurance organizations—retail agencies, MGAs, and carriers—Emily encourages leaders and managers to dissuade staff people from hiding behind age, gender, etc. These characteristics should not be used as excuses not to perform. They should not be pointed to as a reason to be inconsistent. They should not give people permission to not be a team player or a top performer. “Communication is organizational,” she says. “It has to come from the top.” With that in mind, Emily says: “You have to equip people to sell. You have to equip people to service.” One technique is to leverage the generations. “A fundamental sales rule,” she explains, “is to match age where possible. People like to deal with others who are within 10 years of their own age.” But don’t forget to factor in the communication styles of the people involved: driver, expressive, analytical, and amiable. Understanding these styles will help individuals understand how they communicate with others and fine-tune their communication skills. “However, when you’re putting together a team, age diversity is preferable,” Emily continues. “You want a seasoned CSR with a young producer, and vice versa. There are sure to be conflicts and frustration but it gets back to management and leadership. Is the producer being held accountable? Is there clarity of what the job is? Is the person suited for the job? Are the producer and the CSR getting the proper education and training outside the organization, in addition to the on-the-job training?” Say what you mean “I’m not sure from an expectation standpoint that business owners have really considered what it is they expect from people in different positions,” observes Pegi Flahault, CPCU, ARM, of Trillium Advisors, LLC. She draws on 40 years of industry experience on both the agency and carrier side for her speaking events and presentations. “Once you decide what’s acceptable with respect to attendance, personal appearance, and quality of work, you must express these things so that people can clearly understand what your expectations are. Then they can accept them, reject them, or negotiate them,” Pegi says. She recommends that job descriptions define expectations, measurement techniques, benefits of meeting expectations, and the penalties for not. Additionally, she suggests that reviews—the sit-down, formal type—be done every six months, especially with new hires. “Be specific in your comments,” Pegi says. “People want to know what they did well, what they didn’t do well, and what specifically they have to do to improve.” Case in point: One of the agency owners who Pegi knows told her about one of the CSRs in his organization who had a tough time meeting deadlines. Naturally, that proved to be a problem, especially when she was working on a proposal for a producer who was getting ready to go out on a sales call. The CSR had always gotten a raise as part of her review despite the fact that her review reflected that she needed “improvement in meeting priorities.” But no one was specific as to how to accomplish that and she didn’t “get it.” Her communication style said to her: “Everybody needs some improvement. But they never gave me specifics, they never told me what exactly I needed to do better. I got a raise so I must be doing OK.” Proper hiring can go a long way toward building a strong business, Pegi notes. However, “there is no magic wand. It’s important for the insurance industry to recognize that things have changed. The industry has to find a better way of doing business to take advantage of the energy, enthusiasm and intelligence that young people—new talent in general—have to offer. “And after you’ve done a proper job of hiring, take the time to talk to the individual to find out what motivates them. Not everyone is motivated by money. For individuals with young families, money becomes less of a motivator. They want flextime. For Seniors and Boomers, time, more so than money, also becomes the motivator.” Pegi says this approach can be used on a broader scale as well. “Find out what’s important to people in your organization and then try to figure out how to make it work, keeping in mind that everyone still has to get their work done. “I believe people—no matter what generation—honestly want to do a good job. So when they are given an opportunity to participate in making their jobs easier and more enjoyable, they are eager to do so. This will create an atmosphere of on-going improvement. When people like what they do, it shows. Happy employees equal happy customers.” * For more information: |
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