3 tips from brokers who’ve tackled systems upgrades

Many benefits attach to evolving your technology strategy and investing in digital solutions – including better connectivity, a more modern user experiences, and advanced capabilities.

Having the right management system is business-critical, and yet many brokers delay launching new technologies despite the benefits. That’s because change management is hard, largely because people don’t like change. But it goes beyond that. Large projects are scary, especially when your team is already challenged with manual, time-consuming processes. And yet those challenges exist precisely because of the need for new technology.

It’s easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of a process when launching new solutions. But treating the introduction of a new system solely as an IT project is a precursor to failure. Instead, look at them as business projects that require participation from the entire team, to one degree or another.

Managing a team’s emotions and promoting buy-in throughout the process is critical and takes significant effort. Which is why so many brokerages stick with outdated management systems or don’t invest in new technologies.

But what if you could get advice from peers who’ve already gone through the process successfully? Sometimes all we need is to hear from someone who’s already done the hard work.

So, we approached brokers who’ve recently led teams through the process of introducing new tech solutions. Each knew the change would be tough and disruptive, but they also knew their businesses could no longer scale using their existing systems.

We asked how those transitions went. Here’s what they said:

Train, train, train

Begin the process knowing it will take time to learn the system. Use the resources available to your team to become familiar with the new interface and workflows.

“At first, the whole process is overwhelming, but we had [our trainer] walk us through. We had Applied University, as well as our pre-launch date training that we had the team go through. Then we did our post-activation training,” explained Stephanie Tanner, director of administration at Tanner Insurance.

“And then where it really clicked was optimization training. When we went through that training, we knew what we were talking about. We knew what questions to ask.”

Don’t wait

Make the leap and invest in a new solution. Work with your technology provider to make a solid plan that covers all bases.

“Our biggest business challenge was the architecture of our back office,” notes Jack Mazakian of Advocis Broker Services Inc. “We had created a proprietary back-office program, which was great when we first began. However, it would never be able to sustain future growth.

“Since we hadn’t been investing in new technology, it took us longer and longer to digest new business, and we had difficulty achieving our potential growth.”

After finding a solution that would scale with the organization, as well as working to put a migration plan in place, staff understood “it’s a win-win scenario for our organization,” Mazakian says. “[Now] our data is dependable. We’re serving clients better and faster.”

Remember the why

Things will not always go as planned. But don’t get frustrated. Embrace the challenging times and remember why you’re making the change.

“People resist change,” says Tendai Moyo of Hugh Wood Canada. “But with technology, it’s not optional. It’s a necessity to improve the client experience. We gave everyone time to prepare: We just kept talking about the benefits of a new system.”

For example, Moyo explains, “I feel secure knowing that we are protecting our clients’ information, that we’re keeping it private. If anyone manages to get ahold of our laptops, they won’t be able to access any information.”

She adds, “Finally, they were on board and understood why change was taking place.”

A tech provider’s take

Looking back on the hundreds of management system migrations over the years, the best piece of advice I can give brokers thinking about launching new digital strategies is: Don’t delay.

While the process looks difficult — scary, even — organizations are actually more challenged by the inefficiencies stemming from using outdated systems.

These include time-consuming manual processes, and reduced connectivity to other applications used by both insurers and insureds. Staying with legacy systems leads to outdated or counterintuitive user experiences and many other problems.

Steve Whitelaw is senior vice president and general manager at Applied Systems Canada. This article is excerpted from one appearing in the August-September 2024 print edition of Canadian Underwriter. Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/gorodenkoff