Now that remote work has become the norm, office managers are looking for strategies for balancing productivity and well-being in remote employees. This is especially true for the insurance industry, whose high turnover rate prompts managers to find new ways to keep their workers happy, healthy, and engaged. 

If you need creative suggestions, here are some tips for supporting remote employees in insurance companies.

Tips for Supporting Remote Teams

Small insurance agencies love having remote teams — it allows them to scale their business without sacrificing valuable office space. But it’s also vital for office managers to help workers maintain a healthy work-life balance. The following tips can boost employee engagement and minimize burnout.

Promote Good Remote Work Habits

Telecommuting takes discipline. Only some workers have a home office to go to during the workday, and this can blur the lines between their professional and personal space. Company managers should take the time to help employees learn essential work habits to help them thrive in a remote environment. These tips might include:

• Set up a designated work area where you’ll work every day
• Never use this work area for personal business
• Dress professionally — even if you’re working remotely
• Take frequent breaks
• Maintain regular work hours and try not to exceed them

Every worker is different, so only some of these suggestions will apply to everyone. But these essential tips can help workers establish clear boundaries between their personal and professional lives and enjoy a greater sense of well-being.

Stick to a Set Schedule

Setting clear boundaries between work and personal time is vital when working from home. Employers can promote these boundaries by establishing regular, daily “office hours,” even for those who work from home. All official team meetings and standard deadlines should fall within these hours.

What about those who work in other time zones? The same principle applies, though some adjustments can be made to accommodate workers from different parts of the country. For example, you might set definitive hours at your main office while permitting workers to set their own hours in their individual time zones.

Effective scheduling will demand two-way cooperation. Workers in other time zones will have to accept that some deadlines may fall outside their ordinary working hours (though with careful planning, they can still meet deadlines early enough not to have to work past these hours). 

Likewise, managers can respect their employees by avoiding scheduling meetings at times that fall outside their remote workers’ daily work hours.

Leverage the Right Technology

Many companies relied on video conferencing tools like Zoom during the pandemic to stay in touch and collaborate. But there are many other tools that remote teams can leverage to boost productivity and communication. Depending on your needs, you might investigate the following:

• Project management tools (e.g., ClickUp, Monday.com, Asana, Trello)
• Time tracker apps (for hourly workers)
• Communication tools (e.g., Slack)
• A digital calendar
• Google Drive (for sharing documents and team collaboration)

Some companies also use learning tools such as Udemy or LinkedIn Learning to offer their employees options for professional development. These resources can help your teams stay on task and keep them focused even when away from the office.

(Re)define Productivity

Removed from the office, remote workers can easily slide into distraction mode or become disengaged from their work. In this environment, it’s no longer enough to measure productivity based on employee work hours.

Instead, managers can help employees stay engaged by setting clear, achievable goals and following up on them regularly. It’s essential that these goals connect back to the company mission; this allows remote teams to understand how their day-to-day responsibilities contribute to the larger common good.

Emphasize Virtual Community

“Remote” doesn’t have to mean “isolated.” Supporting remote employees in insurance companies requires that managers foster a sense of belonging. This task can be challenging, but the right tools can help you nurture relationships between employees and a stronger connection to the company. 

For example, you might consider the following:

• Having weekly trivia games on a “chitchat” communications channel
• Hosting virtual events for holiday parties or other celebrations
• Celebrating birthdays remotely
• Encouraging team members to reach out to one another during work hours
• Creating a virtual mentorship program

The last tip may be particularly beneficial for new hires. It can be challenging to integrate into company culture when you have yet to set foot in the office. But having a virtual mentor can help new employees acclimate to the company rather than feel alienated by their remote status.

Check In Regularly

What’s the best way to determine how your remote teams are doing? Ask. Small insurance agencies have an advantage here, as the leader has a small number of team members to check in with regularly.

If you’re managing a larger agency, you might consider checking in with team leaders or department heads and encouraging them to do the same with their teams. Some office managers even rely on regular employee engagement surveys to assess their employees’ performance. They can then make adjustments accordingly.

These check-ins can also be a great time to reiterate professional goals or provide input on a larger project. At the very least, your remote team members will feel heard and cared for, which can go a long way toward promoting personal and professional satisfaction.

Nurture a Culture of Self-Care

In addition to promoting good productivity habits, office managers and other leaders should create and maintain a culture of self-care. Workers may need to be reminded to care for themselves, their families, and their jobs’ requirements.

You can promote healthy self-care habits by encouraging your employees to:

• Take regular work breaks
• Eat healthily
• Exercise
• Devote regular time to friends or family
• Set long-term personal goals
• Limit screen time outside of the workday
• Approve the use of sick time for a “mental health day”

This is also an opportunity for leaders to be vulnerable and share their self-care habits. For example, you might discuss your hobbies and what they mean to you or express how refreshed you feel after spending time with your spouse or children.

Cultivating these habits can help employees combat stress and develop a better work-life balance.

Provide Access to Employee Wellness Programs

Employers can also promote self-care more directly through employee wellness programs. For example, some workplaces offer health and wellness programs that can be covered through the employee health plan. These programs can include:

• Nutrition and weight loss programs
• Programs that help employees stop smoking
• Diabetes management programs
• Exercise and sports medicine programs
• Preventive health screenings

Perhaps most importantly, employee wellness programs can provide employees with confidential access to mental health services. This ensures employees have access to the services they need for their overall well-being without involving the company directly.

Offer Options for Professional Development

During the so-called “Great Resignation,” many employees abandoned their jobs in search of something better — or at least newer. Many employees felt trapped in what amounted to a dead-end job with no clear path to advancement.

Employers from all industries can improve employee satisfaction among their teams by offering professional development programs to their workers. 

These programs don’t have to originate from your company; many online learning platforms (such as Khan Academy, Udemy, and Skillshare) provide ready-made content that can improve your employees’ outlook and expand their skills. Insurance companies might also encourage their workers to attend webinars that offer insights into the direction of their industry.

These benefits are inexpensive and can help your employees develop a sense of momentum and purpose within the insurance industry. Additionally, the skills that they develop will pay dividends for your company, bringing in added knowledge and experience.

Show Gratitude

Just as it’s easy for your employees to feel disconnected from their company, sometimes managers can feel disconnected from their employees. But it’s important that companies and their managers pause to say thank you to their team members.

This means more than simply nominating someone for “employee of the month.” Many businesses are honoring their workers with a public thank you or even featuring them on their web pages or social media channels. You might highlight a team member by name and thank them for their specific contributions.

Even if you don’t go that far, it’s essential that you individually recognize the part each team member plays in fulfilling the company’s mission. Bonus tip: an employee who receives a handwritten thank-you card in the mailbox may feel even more connected to the company.

Tips for Supporting Hybrid Teams

Most of these tips have focused on supporting remote employees in insurance practices, but not all remote workers are equal. While some employees may work exclusively from home, others have adopted a hybrid approach — working from home for part of the week while still coming into the office for a day or two.

Most (if not all) of the tips above can apply equally to hybrid workers. Still, managers in a hybrid environment will also need to think differently about balancing productivity and satisfaction in an environment where employees come and go on a rotating basis. Here are some tips that can help.

Incentivize In-Office Days

There are a lot of benefits to meeting in person, at least for a portion of the week. Collaborating can run more smoothly around a conference table than on a Zoom call. And when new employees are hired, they have a much easier time integrating into the workplace when they can come to the office at least some of the time.

Food is one of the simplest ways to encourage employees to come to the office. A free meal once weekly can get the team back together again. This will naturally promote greater collaboration between workers and departments but can also build much-needed community and camaraderie in your workforce.

Designate an Office “Synchronizer”

In-office work days have little to no benefit unless a significant portion of your team shows up at the same time. This takes planning. Consider designating an office “synchronizer,” someone whose sole role is to help departments coordinate their schedules so that their in-office days occur simultaneously.

Larger organizations might assign this responsibility to department heads, who can synchronize their team’s in-office days to conduct team meetings. This ensures that in-person days are productive and not merely an obligation for hybrid workers to fulfill.

Build Unity Through Shared Events

It’s essential to recognize that remote work disproportionately benefits knowledge workers. Depending on the nature of your insurance business, you may have administrative personnel or claims adjusters who cannot perform their duties entirely from home.

You can build unity across your organization through shared events. This might be as simple as hosting an office party, but it also helps if you can organize your staff around a larger purpose. For example, participating in a charity event or food drive can bring your teams closer together and give you some positive publicity in your community.

Supporting Remote Employees in Insurance Agencies: The Road Ahead

What does the future hold for the American workforce? Remote and hybrid work options are here to stay, with some companies discovering that these options can help them attract and retain a strong talent pool. Employees appreciate the flexibility that comes from remote work, which can boost productivity in some cases. 

But caring for remote teams will require managers to adopt new skills and cultivate their emotional intelligence to watch for signs of stress and burnout. By implementing the tips above, you’ll be better equipped to keep your remote teams happy, healthy, and engaged.