Hot Topic: How Do We Feel About Outsourcing?

At the 10th annual Peak Performance Insurance Ski Conference, which took place in Snowmass, Colorado, January 19-22, one of the key topics discussed was on outsourcing and how it's nececesary to stay competitive. Patrick Armstrong, Director of Business Development, and Steve Hood, Director of Client Development, of Resource Pro, began the session asking Peak attendees what comes to their minds when they hear the word “outsourcing.”

Source: Source: Annie George | Published on January 27, 2011

The comments ran the gamut, as you can well see by their choice of words: "Jobs". “Frustration”. “No control". "Doesn’t necessarily mean it overseas”. “Challenging at the beginning but in the long run well worth it.” “Efficient.” "Cost savings." “Frees up time.”

Pat and Steve went on to explain how Resource Pro, an outsourcing company, was founded because of the need for companies in our industry to get out from under the paperwork, and streamline routine back office processing functions (data entry, policy checking, endorsements checking). This allowed them to free up their staff’s time to foster customer relationships and concentrate on service, to get producers selling more, to improve employee productivity and eliminate backlogs. Today this is even more important as the soft market has imposed even more challenges, along with the fact that consumers expect more interactivity and added value.

Along the same lines, several months back I interviewed Sharon Emek, CEO and founder of WAHVE, Work At Home Vintage Employees, a domestic remote staffing company for insurance agents and brokers that employs skilled insurance industry retirees in the United States. Not only does WAHVE get retirees back to work to supplement their income but it also provides high-quality services that enable agencies and brokers to significantly improve their profitability as they are hiring people with tremendous experience at lower pay scales and without having to pay benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans. In addition, the retirees work at home so overhead expenses are lowered.

What do you think about outsourcing, whether here at home or abroad? And are you outsourcing any of your company’s operations? Let us know.