Digital tools for agent recruitment and training
This is a blog in our series on salesforce management within insurance providers, in partnership with FSD Africa
Despite the proliferation of mobile insurance, self-initiated digital sales have been limited and interaction with an insurance agent, whether face-to-face or remotely through a call-centre, remains important for a client base that has limited experience or knowledge of insurance. For this reason, insurance sales for low-income or emerging customers are often agent-assisted.
Digital tools have an important role to play in improving the way in which insurers manage these sales agents, whether they are employed by the insurer, a distribution partner or are independent as part of an agent network.
Such tools can enhance agent and customer experiences and improve efficiency. They can be used to support recruitment and help train agents that may not be familiar with insurance. They are also changing the way agents are monitored and incentivized, making it easier for agents to work on a remote or roaming basis, and making operations more cost-efficient.
In addition, digital tools can equip agents to take on a wider range of functions, such as supporting in the administration of claims. This is particularly important for inclusive insurance products, where agents’ involvement throughout the insurance processes increases efficiency and improves trust and customer experience.
Finally, digital tools can take over some agent functions where they can be more efficiently carried out without in-person contact. Tools like chat-bots are becoming increasingly sophisticated and can be used to respond to routine customer queries.
This series of two blogs explores the ways in which digital tools can support salesforce management. This first blog focuses on recruitment and training and the second on incentives and monitoring. The cases included in the blogs are based on interviews with four providers on how they manage their salesforce and the digital strategies that have (and have not) worked for them. The four cases are summarized in a table at the end of this blog.
Use of digital tools for agent recruitment
In general, insurers do not directly recruit large numbers of sales agents exclusively to sell inclusive products due to cost restraints. Therefore, they most commonly leverage the agents of partner organizations, such as a microfinance institution’s existing salesforce or a bank’s existing correspondents’ network.
Nevertheless, in some cases, not all agents within that network will become insurance agents. Particularly given the higher training and support required for agents selling insurance, many insurance providers select certain agents with characteristics that make them more likely to be successful in making insurance sales. Reaching dispersed agents to assess their interest and aptitude and persuade them to sign up can be an onerous task.
Some insurance providers have leveraged digital tools, such as social media networks and messaging services, to support this effort. HDFC Ergo is an insurance company offering motor, personal accident, health, fire and cattle insurance in India. The company sells its products through Common Service Centre (CSC) agents, which are low-cost distribution centres established to allow government institutions to deliver e-governance services to the rural population. HDFC recruits new CSCs to the insurance scheme by sharing testimonial videos from top performers via the popular online messaging service, WhatsApp. These videos have been effective in attracting new CSCs to include insurance in their product offering.
Use of digital tools for agent training
Training agents to sell unfamiliar and relatively complex insurance products has long been a challenge for insurers hoping to leverage salesforces used to offering straightforward banking or mobile money products or consumer goods. Frequent refresher trainings are important but expensive to conduct in person. Alongside monitoring, training is one of the areas in which digital tools perhaps have most to offer to insurers using agent networks.
Education delivered through digital tools is less personal and may not replace initial in-person training. However, it has the advantage that it can be provided on a much more frequent basis. Financiera Confianza, the Peruvian microfinance institution of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, offers insurance products from various insurance providers in the country. Its agents report that selling insurance is a different and more difficult task in comparison to selling the institution’s other financial products. Financiera Confianza therefore uses repetition to reinforce insurance tips. Agents receive tips when they open the company’s internal app for insurance. The tips include product features including the waiting period, premium, deductibles, sales tips, and remind about the benefits of being insured. Additionally, thanks to the BBVA Microfinance Foundation Digital Training Centre called “Campus”, they can provide regular training creating specific contents on microinsurance, and perform tests that allow them to be sure of the products and processes understanding and identify new training necessities and improvements.
Digital tools are complementing and reducing the need for training by allowing agents to access information easily on the go. Pacífico, a Peruvian insurance company, has developed an app which is downloaded onto the phones of the agents of its partner bank, MiBanco. This simple, highly-visual app provides information on each product with attractive images and brief explanations of features like coverage and exclusions. It also provides easy “how to” explanations for various processes, such as submitting a claim. This is designed to help agents build confidence and have all the information they need at hand when they make sales or support clients with their insurance products. Agents can also share the images directly with clients, providing a simple visual aid to enhance their explanation. Pacífico also hopes to add short videos. Finally, the app also includes an online chat function, allowing agents to speak directly with dedicated MiBanco staff that support insurance operations, in case of any problems or queries related to the insurance products.
These changes are most effective when combined with simplifications to products and terminology. For example, Pacífico replaced all references to premium and changed them to simply “price”. This is terminology that is instantly understood by both the agent and the customer and therefore reduces the explanation needed in the app.
HDFC Ergo offers support for troubleshooting CSCs’ issues with the insurance systems and technology, by offering tech support to CSCs via an online conferencing service. On a more informal basis, some companies use Whatsapp groups to communicate with agents and share tips, information and news.
Interviews were carried out with four inclusive insurance providers for this series of blogs. The four cases are summarized below:
