Pushing past paper

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: The need to lower costs and improve business processes is driving insurance organisations to demand more from their technology investments. Earlier, companies spent billions on technology without ever considering the implementation implications. Some companies are taking a new stance—“if we can’t measure it, we don’t do it”—and are evolving to a model that evaluates productivity, streamlines work processes and leverages investments, rather than spending on technology that goes unused.

In the paper-laden insurance business, workers spend up to 30% of their time looking for information in documents. It is a competitive advantage to make that time more productive and less costly. The paper trail continues to grow as industry regulations change the way employees conduct business. To become more productive and reduce overhead costs associated with copying, printing and filing, firms must bridge the gap between the paper and digital worlds—not to get rid of paper entirely, but to understand how to use, manage and store information.

Once the critical value of the document is understood, it is important to review the current workflow of the organisation. Insurance organisations of all sizes should consider the following:

* Are employees and producers spending valuable time authoring, editing and printing documents that become outdated within a few weeks?

* Can employees access the documents they need at the exact time they need them?

* Are obsolete documents taking up space in a warehouse or offices?

By understanding where knowledge exists and how it is transferred, the organisation can identify inefficiencies before implementing technology, ensuring a return on investment.

Although monitoring document content and managing document output is not typically part of an insurance agent’s job description, it is imperative that companies address these concerns to remain competitive. Evaluating an organisation’s business processes not only uncovers the data needed to reduce costs, it adds cultural analysis to improve the flow of information and in turn, increases productivity.

In addition to improving the current workflow, insurance firms can impact the bottomline by communicating effectively with customers. Since 90% of customer communication is through documents, their content and distribution is vital to the way the company wins and keeps customers.