Nearly every industry has periods each year where the demands for their services peaks. The insurance industry is quickly approaching its acutely busy renewal season, and for many organizations, an understaffed team during this time can be a recipe for disaster. 

We’ll breakdown a few of the biggest threats being understaffed poses to your business during its busiest seasons and, more importantly, what you can do about it. 

Increased employee stress levels

The insurance world is a busy world as it is. During the renewal seasons, the workload for individuals naturally rises to meet the increased volume of customer demands. Along with additional comes additional stress, even for the most well-adjusted worker. 

Combine this additional workload with an understaffed team, and even your most stellar performers become susceptible to being bogged down and overwhelmed by the stresses of their work. This can have a cascading effect throughout your organization as it strains relationships between colleagues and contributes to an unwelcoming work environment. 

Increased risk of burnout

When teams are short on staff, others have to pick up the slack and take on additional responsibilities that generally don’t fall under their position. Juggling multiple roles to compensate for understaffing can further intensify work-life stress, prolong workdays, further deteriorate productivity and morale, and ultimately lead to an increased risk of employee burnout. 

This is the perfect storm that, if left unchecked, brings all the conditions that serve as a prelude to employee turnover. And if you’re already understaffed during your busy season, turnover drastically compounds your difficulties and should be avoided at all costs. 

Lower quality work

Beyond just increased stress levels, understaffed teams are more prone to lower quality work and atypical mistakes. And during the busy season, when expectations from customers and clients are at their highest levels, this is the last thing you can afford. 

Whether it’s a dip in service quality, delayed response times, or just flat out employee error, a wide-ranging drop in customer/client satisfaction predictably accompanies an understaffed team. This can lead to negative feedback among customer bases, decreased loyalty to your brand, and, ultimately, a loss of business altogether. 

Too often, organizations fail to adequately address staffing concerns leading up to busy periods and underestimate the measurable consequences it has on their business. 

Partner with a specialized firm to remedy staffing issues 

If your insurance organization is understaffed approaching the renewal season, partnering with an experienced, specialized placement firm can be the most effective, expedient, and affordable method to equip your teams with the talent they need to succeed. 

At Martin Grant Associates, we’ve helped organizations like yours find the talent they need on the timeline they want for over 50 years. Our dedicated experience of placing property/casualty, employee benefits, and healthcare professionals in the insurance industry enables our team of recruiters to consistently make the perfect match for both client and candidate. 

Call us today to learn how we can help do it for you.