Performance management for insurance companies and brokers

KRAs by role

Each role needs goals it can actually move. An agency manager cannot sell for the agents but can recruit, activate and coach them. A telesales caller controls talk time and conversion but not lead quality. A claims processor controls turnaround and accuracy but not the number of claims. Keep four to six weighted goals per role, with at least one quality measure in every sales role.

• Agency manager: agents recruited, agents activated, first-year premium through agency, 13th-month persistency
• Bancassurance manager: premium per partner branch, active branches, persistency, complaints
• Telesales caller: conversion rate, quality audit score, renewals saved
• Underwriter: turnaround time, referral accuracy, audit findings
• Claims processor: turnaround time, settlement accuracy, customer complaints

Worked example: an agency manager's year

An agency manager has three goals for the year: agents recruited (weight 30, target 6, achieved 4), first-year premium through her agents (weight 40, target ₹20 lakh, achieved ₹22 lakh) and 13th-month persistency (weight 30, target 80 percent, achieved 72 percent). Achievement is 66.67 percent, 110 percent and 90 percent. The weighted score is 0.30 x 66.67 + 0.40 x 110 + 0.30 x 90 = 20 + 44 + 27 = 91, rounded. Premium beat the target, but recruitment and persistency pulled the score down, and that is the conversation to have.

The insurance review calendar

Sales numbers are reviewed weekly in the branch and monthly by the zone. The formal cycle should run once the financial year closes, in April or May, when March premium and persistency are known, with a quarterly cycle for telesales and field sales where incentives depend on it. Claims and underwriting teams can run an annual cycle with a mid-year check. Keep contest results apart from the rating, since a contest measures a few weeks and the rating measures a year.

Conduct as a gate, not a goal

Some insurers treat conduct as a gate: a proven mis-selling complaint or a serious audit finding caps the rating whatever the premium. Whether or not you use a gate, record complaints and audit findings against the person during the year, so the review is not the first time they hear about them. Praise badges such as Customer first balance the story by recognising sellers who turned down a sale that did not suit the customer.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Create review cycles in Performance: an annual cycle after the financial year closes and a quarterly cycle for telesales and field sales teams.
2. Add goals per employee as KPIs or KRAs with weights, making sure every sales role carries a persistency or quality goal.
3. Use a probation cycle for new sellers, with licence, early production and conduct as its goals.
4. Before zonal calibration, compare each seller's weighted progress and the cycle summary.
5. Keep complaint findings and signed review notes in the employee's documents, since review conversations happen outside the system.
6. Turn on praise badges such as Customer first and Problem solver, and share the monthly leaderboard with sales and claims teams.

Read more about performance in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions