3 Steps to Improve Your Own User Experience
Our industry spends a lot of time discussing the customer experience, and rightfully so. But what about our own experiences as users?
I’m convinced that if insurance professionals mindfully commit to improving their own user experience throughout the quoting-and-binding process, the industry itself would be transformed.
But so often we push aside our long-term goals as we attend to what’s pressing. So let me present three simple steps toward guaranteed improvement of your user experience.
- Start today. Think critically about the current user experience with your systems and processes. Use time during your commute to the office or on the way back from visiting a client to ponder this question:
“If I/we could free up time spent on ?????, what would go better today?”
- Keep going. As you work toward a better user experience, you’ll hit speed bumps and encounter roadblocks on the journey. Don’t let them become detours. Look ahead to see if you can spot these obstacles in advance — and then look beyond them as you approach them. Try asking:
“What part of our [fill in the blank] workflow actually works against us — and how can we improve?”
- Cross the finish line. It takes persistence to push past every obstacle and decisiveness at each fork in the road. But the guiding goal is to improve systems and processes — for yourself, your agency colleagues and your business partners. That may sound self-focused, but it’s really customer-focused. When your agency is performing at maximum efficiency, you are in the best possible position to serve your customers. Try asking:
“How can I collaborate with my team to bring about positive change for us all?”
Underlying these three steps is a fundamental question you must constantly ask and discuss:
“Is our technology a burden that we have to work to keep up with — or is it a business solution that works to keep up with us?”
How can you improve your user experience? It’s time to get started.
Related: 3 Steps to Launching New Technology