Automation for Dummies

Will you follow the directions?

by Ron Webber 

We Americans are notorious for not reading instructions or taking directions. 

How many parents have attempted to assemble a child's swing set, only to end up with a bunch of pieces and parts left over. Just the assembly of a new desk or chair in the office will challenge the religion of most of us. Our aversion to reading directions is like taking a trip into unknown territory without a map.

Now we purchase a new software package and thanks to Mr. Gates, there are no written instructions for us not to read. They are all on line and on the screen.

I have a real appreciation for what it takes to write an instruction
manual. I once had to write the instructions for assembling a junior drum set for a Sears & Roebuck catalog product. The task took three months of writing and editing to get to a point that an adult or teen could easily assembly it before throwing in the towel. Writing comprehensive instructions is much tougher than you might think. You should have seen some of the configurations of drum sets that resulted from reading my assembly instructions.

Most software vendors work hard to provide genuine help and guidance in using their software. Good instructions must be written at a seventh grade level, not that we are all dummies, but we tend to have lower comprehension of written instructions. We speed read and skip over parts to get to the conclusion. 

Don't let anyone tell you automating your insurance agency is going to be an easy task. Automation requires a lot of change and change is seldom easy. Your work flow and traditional methods of handling paper and files will all change, but one simple decision on your part will determine whether automating your agency will be a nightmare or a welcome increase in efficiency and profits: Will you or won't you follow the directions?

From fast food restaurants to the microwave oven our American culture has conditioned us to want and expect instant results, but automating your agency is not like making instant coffee.

There is no instant automation. We have to follow prescribed steps to learn to use the software. Then we follow more steps to properly set up the software and still more steps to get our data entered. We can begin to reap the benefits of automation as soon as we learn to use it, but if we fail to learn the software we will fail at automating our agencies.

Working with many agencies, I have developed a standard method of teaching an agency how to automate. Recently I was asked to help put those methods in writing to be used by new Agency Advantage customers.The result of many months of writing and re-writing by several editors turned out a good comprehensive on-line training manual. But, knowing that our users like most Americans don't read instructions, we decided to take the training to a new level.

We developed training videos that are accessible in the software to demonstrate the answers to the questions that every new software user has. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it was immediately evident that our new training methods are a success, but users wanting instant automation often ignore even this easy learning method.

Many times I have been in agencies and made comments or demonstrated a procedural method and heard them say, "I didn't know it would do that" or "How did you do that?" Sometimes I just want to say, "Did you read the manual", or "Have you looked at the videos?" 

The failure rate for agencies attempting to automate with all software is 20 - 30%. Many of the successful 70 - 80% will readily admit they only use parts of the software package. They never took the time required to learn and use all the features available to them - features that often could save them time, make them more efficient and probably add to their bottom line.
The best way to learn any software is to follow the directions, use it and experiment with it. Once know and understand the basics of your agency software learn the advanced features of the software. Run reports, press keys, try new functions and you will soon be an expert at using your agency software.

Let's not forget about another source of help and learning: the software support department. Be sure you tried on your own to resolve your question and have a real issue before you call. It can sometimes be funny to be around technical support personnel and to listen to some of the questions they get asked, especially the ridiculous ones. A new software user once called and stated, "Your videos are hard to understand, sitting here staring at a black screen and listening to a voice is just not helping me." "Sir, it is a video, if you have no picture we can fix that so you can watch the video."

Automation will make you more productive. Automation will make you more profitable. Automation is the management tool you need to manage your agency and succeed - but, you have got to learn to use it! 

Until next month, keep automating those agencies; I really believe the only way that you are going to survive in the 21st Century is to automate. 

Remember, the bottom line is "Automation equals Productivity and Profitability."

Ron Webber

[top of page]