Branch managers, sales directors and regional sales managers are important liaisons between insurance advisors and their insurance agencies’ head offices. And many of the advisors surveyed for this year’s Insurance Advisors’ Report Card gave much praise to managers who go above and beyond that call of duty.
That’s why advisors with Mississauga, Ont.-based RBC Life Insurance Co., Woodbridge, Ont.-based Hub Financial Inc., Mississauga-based IDC Worldsource Insurance Network Inc. (IDC WIN) and Toronto-based PPI Advisory rated their firms higher by half a point or more in the “your branch manager/MGA’s sales director or sales manager” category year-over-year.
Specifically, Hub advisors said their managers – known as broker development specialists (BDS) – are knowledgeable leaders who collaborate with advisors to solve the issues they face.
“It’s a strategic partnership for me, having access to a person who delivers strategic solutions,” says a Hub advisor in Ontario. “[My managers] represent what we’re trying to accomplish, and they act as [my] advocates with insurance companies.”
Terri Botosan (formerly DiFlorio), Hub’s president, attributes this improvement to the fact the managing general agency’s (MGA’s) sales management team, led by Chris DiSalle, executive vice president and chief sales officer, has ramped up training for BDSes.
“Over the past two years, [DiSalle] has travelled this country tirelessly from one end to the other,” Botosan says. “His primary mandate has been to teach [BDSes] how to support brokers – what they need, how to deliver it and where to look for solutions.”
Furthermore, these managers keep advisors accountable and create a community for independent advisors, Botosan says: “Being an insurance advisor is a lonely business if you’re an independent advisor. I think the sense of team that comes with that relationship is important.”
Establishing a team environment through hands-on leadership also is essential to IDC WIN’s mandate, says Ron Madzia, the MGA’s president: “When I ask an [advisor], ‘What do you think about when you think of IDC WIN?’, I hope advisors would say that they get out in the field and spend time with us.”
Specifically, Madzia refers to the MGA’s business-development officers (BDOs), who receive training “at least twice a year across the country.” IDC WIN advisors report to their business-development officers, who connect with advisors at least six times a year and conduct annual reviews.
IDC WIN advisors lauded their managers for their presence and for being able to step in and provide guidance whenever it’s needed. Says an IDC WIN advisor in Alberta: “[My BDO] is always there, regardless of what issue I might have. I know I can pick up the phone and call him.”
In addition to providing advisors with solid support, managers also were lauded for their strong technical expertise and ability to impart important and useful information to advisors.
Says an RBC Life advisor in Alberta: “[My manager provides] good coaching on how to run my business properly and advance my career at RBC Life.”
Adds a PPI Advisory advisor in Quebec: “[My manager] has great understanding of the market. She’s also a great listener and tech-savvy.”
“The key is having someone who isn’t there just to take [insurance] applications,” says Jim Burton, PPI Advisory’s chairman and CEO, “but, rather, is genuinely interested in making a difference by helping agents increase their practices.”
Although some firms were lauded for creating an environment in which managers go the extra mile for advisors, other firms were criticized for having managers who focus too much on production numbers or don’t act as professionally as they should.
Advisors with Waterloo, Ont.-based Sun Life Financial (Canada) Inc. and London, Ont.-based Freedom 55 Financial rated their firms’ performance lower by half a point or more year-over-year in the branch manager category for these reasons.
“[Branch managers] do nothing for the advisors. It’s all about sales and head office,” says a Freedom 55 advisor in Atlantic Canada.
“I don’t feel [my branch manager] is doing what he’s supposed to,” adds a colleague on the Prairies. “He’s hiding from issues more than dealing with them head on.”
Meanwhile, Sun Life advisors were dissatisfied with the lack of professionalism in the way branch managers treat advisors.
“There’s no unity and no consistency. [Branch managers] play favourites,” says a Sun Life advisor in British Columbia.
A colleague in Ontario adds: “They could be more objective and not show nepotism.”
Vicken Kazazian, senior vice president of Sun Life’s career sales force, says there are mechanisms in place to address conflicting issues objectively: “Occasionally, when [advisors] don’t feel that the manager is neutral on a topic, they could raise it with their regional vice president.”
Advisors with Winnipeg-based Great-West Life Assurance Co. (GWL) gave their firm a below-average performance rating (7.8) in the category because they don’t have much access to management.
Hugh Moncrieff, senior vice president of GWL’s Gold Key distribution network, says that approximately five years ago, the firm changed its management structure from a traditional branch-management format to regional sales management. This means that advisors now work with regional managers “as required.”
But for some advisors, the new model is ineffective. Says a GWL advisor in Atlantic Canada: “There’s no one locally. We’re all reporting to head office now, and this will cause problems.”
Adds a colleague on the Prairies: “[GWL] killed the [branch manager] role a couple of years ago, and now I have to answer to a regional manager in another province.”
GWL is aware of advisors’ complaints, Moncrieff says: “It’s been a good move, but I acknowledge that some advisors certainly prefer the way it used to be.”
As a result of advisors’ feedback, he adds, GWL has added more regional directors in Ontario, Western Canada and Atlantic Canada within the past year.
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