Insurance tech advancements are making everyday processes faster and more efficient, and customers are demanding more digital interactions than ever before. Despite the benefits and increasing customer demand for insurance tech, your team may be hesitant to adopt new technology.

This hesitancy is understandable. Change is difficult, and introducing a new process or system to an individual’s workflow can be frustrating. But, the benefits of integrating insurance tech into your agency far outweigh the challenges of overcoming change.

Here are a few ways we’ve seen agencies work to be more receptive to new technology and system updates.

1. Preempt new tech with training

The best way to help your team adapt to new tech is to provide ample training. When agencies transition to our Partner Platform agency management system suite, we start with a Project Plan outlining what’s to come over the next few weeks of transition. That plan always begins with training. We provide staff-wide training, followed by targeted sessions for individual employees or groups before and after the system goes live.

Beyond initial training, you should also have ongoing support via easy to locate and understand documentation and from an internal or external mentor. In our Partner Platform agencies, we aim to have a point-person in the agency who can answer questions. However, we know there will be issues that only we, the tech partner, can answer and are always available with hands-on support. Plus, we provide online guides and videos agencies can access 24/7 to get a refresher on certain aspects of the system.

2. Be transparent and empathetic

One of the worst things you can do is spring new technology on your team without explanation or warning. Instead, get your team involved in the process. Have staff members evaluate potential new systems and tools and ask for their feedback. Once you have new tech to introduce, talk about how to integrate it into each team member’s workflows. Getting buy-in from your staff in these ways makes a big difference.

Along with transparency, demonstrate empathy for your team. Acknowledge the transition process and its challenges. Assure them it’s okay if things slow down while they’re learning. Encourage them to see change as an opportunity rather than a challenge, inspiring a growth mindset that will make them more open to new things in the future.

Luke Purnell

Luke Purnell joined SIS in 2012 and has held roles in business development, sales, account management and implementation.

As SIS’ Director of Implementation and Account Management, Luke provides agencies with a point of contact during their transition to the Partner Platform. In addition to client outreach, Luke plays a key role in software demos, providing up to date content for training support and ensures continuous improvement throughout the client transition experience.