Progressive Direct Sales Representative (DSR) - Turnover Reduction - Cross-functional Process Improvement.

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Progressive Direct Sales Representative (DSR)

Turnover Reduction

Cross-functional Process Improvement

                                                                        

                                                

Turnover Reduction

Introduction

At Progressive Insurance, Direct Sales Representatives (Inside Sales Representatives) are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to give consumers who call us a Progressive quote and the rates of up to three other insurers. This job involves much more than merely offering price information, it involves counseling and educating consumers about Progressive’s products and services, as well as promoting the products and services, explaining how they can meet consumers’ needs and selling policies.  This position is considered entry level at Progressive, and offers extensive training which leads to employees becoming licensed to sell insurance, and becoming functional at handling a variety of customer sales situations.  Entry level or not, this position does require selling abilities and interests.  Incentives are paid based on sales performance.  This type of environment and job duty is not for everyone.  Turnover for the Direct Sales Representative position (in the Mentor, OH location) is higher than the entire company average, and this paper will look at why.

Nature of the Problem

Process improvements are necessary for the Direct Sales Representative (DSR) position with the goal of reducing turnover.  Employee turnover is a top concerns for managers in almost all call center environments whether the focus is on sales or service.  Effective employee retention begins with the initial candidate screening, interviewing, and hiring process.  Providing details of the job requirements, environment, and measurements of performance are critical to ensure that new call center personnel know what they are getting into with the new job.  Beyond the screening, factors related to training, management, and incentive compensation also impact turnover in a call center environment.

The first six months for the company and the new employee are critical.  Here are the primary reasons employees resign within their first six months of employment:

  • The new employee did not fully understand what the job involved.  Most likely,

management did not properly communicate what the employee’s job responsibilities were when the job was offered.  The new employee may feel like they accepted a different job than they are being trained to do (Defined as Job Fit).

  • The new employee feels as if they have been “thrown to the wolves” and was not properly trained.  Effective training is not a cost, but rather an investment in the future of the company.
  • In a sales environment, a lack of success in making the sale can quickly lead to frustration and burn out.
  • No opportunity for advancement.

Management must understand that employee turnover and recruitment cost far more than proper hiring and training aimed at increasing employee retention.  Putting the right employee in the right job results in a happier, more caring and motivated employee more likely to develop skills necessary to do the job well, more receptive to learning and less likely to seek employment elsewhere.

Quality training without quality selection of employees (and visa versa) will result in lost revenue and time spent on employee recruitment.  This will also result in extremely low employee retention.  There is only one thing worse than a trained employee who quits, and that is an untrained employee who stays.  At Progressive in Direct Sales, the training needs to also convey the importance of achieving sales goals to maintain good status.  This is unique to a sales environment, and is critical to the retention of DSR’s

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In the last two years, Progressive has been faced with competition for high achieving sales representatives from a firm called CMI, in Solon, OH.  CMI is an insurance brokerage that uses similar techniques to Progressive in that it provides customers with insurance rate quotes on three company’s insurance.  The reason for the competition stems from the incentive program offered by CMI.  The sales representative from CMI are paid an incentive for every sale, which leads to much greater opportunity for financial reward for representatives who have strong sales skills and interests.  As you will see, a noteworthy portion of the ...

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