The holiday season is well underway and insurance sales tend to grind to a halt this time of year. January is traditionally a slow month for the insurance industry. Sure, you can use this time to chill; or, you can use it to freeze out the competition.
Build a workplace culture conducive to camaraderie and creativity to set your 2022 sales force on fire.
Set the tone for 2022
January is a great month to retreat from the trenches and really consider the big picture. What you do with this downtime will influence workplace culture and could raise (or low) your team’s vibration. Once the New Year’s Eve party hats are tucked away and the last load of Christmas wrap is in the trash, many suffer a serious holiday hangover. It’s common to feel sluggish for the first half of the month. An established business will plan to see the dismal results on first-quarter financial reports.
Following are 5 ideas to enhance the workplace experience in the upcoming year:
1. Plan a January company retreat. Look, people are partied out by the time the New Year rolls around. Your company retreat doesn’t have to be an extension of your company party; but it doesn’t have to be all work and no play either. The key word here is “MOTIVATION.” The goal is to motivate every individual to perform at his or her personal best. It’s not always about sales, sales, sales. Sometimes it’s about building people up and bringing them together to meet life’s challenges head on with a plan. Remember:
- Find a refreshing venue. Get out of the office. Encourage people to physically move before every breakout session.
- Serve healthy, delicious brain food. The holiday season is a veritable feeding frenzy. We want people to think during this valuable time (not snooze and wobble).
- People need something to hold on to; present them with tangible take-a-ways to remind them of your retreat throughout the year.
- Include team-building exercises that are fun, but challenging.
- Get out the old massive writing tablet, easel and colorful markers so you can scribble down brilliant bits of information that pop up during lively discussions (no technology, we want brainstorming to feel raw and rooted).
- Schedule important training sessions. January is a great time to get training sessions out of the way and new skills in play.
- Decide on a theme for the year that will drive your company culture. The theme should reflect corporate values you want to instill in your sales force – one that will be reflected in their client and community relationships. If you want buy-in, include as many employees as possible, narrow it down to a few great ideas and let employees vote. Keep it simple. Keep it relevant. Keep it fun; but, keep it real.
- Create a fitness challenge. Physical exercise gets the blood pumping and that sends more oxygen to the brain. Let your employees know you care about their health and success. Develop a reward system to last the entire year.
- Brainstorm! Plan a goal-setting session with at least 15 minutes for brainstorming. This is where that great big tablet and markers will come in handy. Encourage employees to blurt out ideas, information, and dreams for the company. Here you want to hear about successes, failures and time or money-saving measures that will benefit the entire corporate culture.
Management sets the tone for a successful year by encouraging people to move, learn, share, create and trust.
0 Comments