A winning approach: communication, appreciation and support in the work environment clearly are important to agency employees.

As a management consultant, I visit many agency offices each year and interview most of the employees. Generally, they are open and constructive ha their comments, telling me their perceptions of the agency's strengths or suggesting improvements. One frequent theme is employee frustration or stress in the work environment. In some agencies, the dissatisfaction is so great that it leads to regular turnover. With the tight agency job market, replacing an employee typically adds the cost of a recruiting fee. But it also costs the company in lower productivity, training time and a negative reputation.

In a few agencies, however, employees say they are happy with their work environment and never want to work elsewhere. In these cases, the agencies are paying salaries and benefits comparable to competitors, so money isn't the factor. The workloads, computer systems and customers are typical of peers in their size range, so there is no difference in the work required or the business approach. What does set these agencies apart is management's attitude toward and treatment of employees. Here are some of the areas that differentiate the happy from the unhappy.

Sharing Information. As an agency grows, maintaining good communication can be difficult. In large agencies, communication often deteriorates and employees say they receive little information. Managers in agencies with happy employees are very willing to share information. These employees know what changes are planned, and they are included in conversations to implement those changes. They know how the companies are performing and what challenges they face. Each of these agencies has more than one location, yet employees say communication is good throughout the company. When meetings are held, they are well planned and informative and managers have frequent one-on-one meetings with employees.

Listening and Responding. Many agency employees tell me they are frustrated because they have brought problems to their managers with no result. Often, simple changes, such as replacing copiers or upgrading computers, are not addressed. As a result, employees are frustrated.

But employees in the happier agencies say managers are interested in their comments and respond to them as quickly as possible. Everyone has good, functioning equipment, excellent software support and a comfortable workspace. Employees receive regular training and full reimbursement for insurance designations. When personnel problems arise, managers address them early, rather than allow poor performance to percolate. Again and again, employees describe their management as willing to do what they can to make them happy and productive in their jobs.

Recognizing Good Efforts. Account managers and customer service representatives tell me that it's nice to receive a "thank you" once in awhile. When a new account is sold, the sales people are jubilant, but often neglect to recognize the service people who helped them make the sale. In these happier agencies, managers and producers say "thank you" often and recognize the efforts of individual employees in helping them sell and retain accounts. They encourage teamwork. So, people pitch in at busy times, and there are few backlogs. Producers do not interfere with customer service reps who are helping on another producer's book, and the reps don't resent it when co-workers' accomplishments are acknowledged. The employees say morale is very good and people get along well.

Innovative, Willing to Change. Automation in many agencies is not fully implemented because producers or managers won't use the system. Consequently, productivity benefits are never realized. In the happier agencies, managers are committed to implementing imaging technology and even eliminating paper files. As a result, producers are learning to do work without their files and finding it acceptable. The service and administrative staffs are working more efficiently and are able to handle more work because everything is literally at their desktops.

This winning management approach is so simple to recognize, but often so difficult to implement. Producers are working harder than ever to retain accounts, and managers are dealing with a variety of customer and carrier issues. Under so much stress, it's easier to focus on the employees' shortcomings, rather than their accomplishments. Busy managers often delay communication or put off dealing with a performance or resource problem to handle the crisis du jour. Yet, communication, appreciation and support are clearly important to employees. Meeting these needs is key to maintaining a positive work environment and good employee retention.

Sharon Cunningham, a Best's Review columnist, is president of Business Management Group, a management consulting firm in Hartford, Conn. She can be reached at [e-mail].