Benefits advisors are burned out: How AI-based tools can help

First the pandemic, then the great resignation followed by the ‘quiet quitting’ phenomenon, and now an impending recession… It is a ‘Retention Crisis’osauraus’ for insurance carriers. Macroeconomics aside, the insurance industry is notoriously known for having one of the fiercest attrition rates. And in difficult times it is important for employers to engage and retain their best talent.

Carriers employ thousands of on-field agents, who are the touch points delivering customer experience. With a hybrid work environment becoming the norm and customer expectations changing, insurance carriers should look closely at an agent’s work life, their challenges and find ways to enable and empower them to perform optimally.

Advisors are stressed

An advisor’s day hardly ever goes according to plan. Meetings get canceled, deadlines are missed and required documentation gets put on the back burner. And when the day is done, it becomes obvious that there was a better way all along. This can be stressful and affect not only the productivity of the advisor but also their mental health and ultimately how long they stay at their post.

To add to this, customer expectations are changing, and agents must adapt how they engage with prospects to reach desired outcomes. Agents also struggle with using carrier technology systems which most often involve multiple devices to toggle between to get the job done. In addition to the stress of long conversion cycles, these kinds of operational issues can impact an agent’s performance.

But these setbacks aren’t due to a lack of talent or effort by the advisor, but rather a lack of timely insights to act upon.

Advisors simply want to sell but most are only able to sell for about 30% of their time. The remaining 70% is consumed by preparing reports, inputting data into their systems and attending meetings – much of which can be streamlined by the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

Reinvigorating the disengaged

Advisor demographics are changing. Millennials and Gen Z now comprise about 46% of the full-time U.S. labor force and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gen Z alone is projected to account for 30% of the workforce by 2030. But according to Deloitte, approximately 45% of both Gen Z and millennials feel burned out due to the intensity and demands of their working environments. That’s a large percentage of the working population.

As organizations look to correct this widespread burnout, they must consider what these generations value and expect from their employers and what’s top of the list for this population is an employer who cares about their wellbeing both physically and emotionally.

Efficient processes and systems can help promote this and eliminate burnout by streamlining workflow and providing a more collaborative and digitally connected work environment. The modern day workforce expects access to information to be easy and fast and they want efficiency in their interaction with colleagues and customers.

Related: How a new wave of benefits consultants are shaping the industry’s future

To retain advisors, organizations need to provide a nurturing work environment, enable a workflow that alleviates day-to-day work life stresses and an opportunity for employees to grow in their careers.

How can AI help?

We’ve seen artificial intelligence’s helpful impact in sectors such as entertainment and retail, where Netflix predicts what else you’ll be interested in viewing and Amazon suggests future purchases. No differently, AI can create efficiencies as well as boost morale and productivity for advisors and sales teams, making day-to-day operations less chaotic and more informed – and in the long run, improve retention rates.

According to a Forrester report on Sales Efficiencies and Effectiveness, 54% of sellers are willing to spend their own money on technology to help them do their jobs. This is a wake-up call for insurance carriers to revisit the tools and technology they have in place for their sales force. Using AI and ML technologies can significantly assist with advisor’s confidence, mental health and overall job satisfaction by streamlining:

1. Repeatable tasks: AI can automate all those activities that are necessary but drains an advisor’s time. Activities, notes, and summaries can be tracked, and a prospective customer can be routed to the most appropriate advisor to improve the chances of conversion.
2. Processes and playbooks: Various processes can be converted into playbooks through AI and ML, standardizing and creating easy workflows. So, advisors get insight into what they need to do next for a successful engagement. Imagine tips on best practices, or a winning behavior by another successful advisor that worked recently.
3. Strategy: Data arms advisors with the best knowledge available on the types of products they sell and can nudge them towards taking the right action at the right time.
4. Ongoing assisting and coaching: AI-based tools can play the role of an assistant and coach by recommending next steps, best-fit products, or actions towards fulfilling customer expectations.

Cutting the noise and focusing on growth

Armed with intelligent actionable insights, and with repeatable, painstaking activity taken off of their plates, advisors can focus on their core competence thereby improving the quality of engagement with customers and subsequently their job satisfaction. This leads to optimized employee and customer experiences and results in best actions and invigorated teams.

As an employer, it becomes a necessity to create such an enabling environment for your workforce. They will be happier, focus on new learning and growth opportunities in their roles and achieve a better sense of purpose. Venkat Malladi is co-founder and CTO of Vymo.