Improving engagement of life insurance agents: An action research

• Main Author: Santiago, Chamuel Michael Joseph A.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Organizational commitment; Life insurance agents; Insurance; Organizational Behavior and Theory; Performance Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6548; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/13554/viewcontent/Santiago__Chamuel_Michael_Joseph_A2_Redacted.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

In this action research, we focused on addressing the issue of low level of engagement of life insurance agents in a unit of Power Life Insurance Corporation. Engagement is the degree to which a person commits to an entity or object in his/her organization and how hard he/she works and how long he/she stays as a result of that commitment (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004). Manifestations of low engagement were absenteeism, low motivation to participate in company activities, disconnection with seniors and peers, poor sense of team culture, and low sense of pride. The research objectives are 1) to promote positive experiences for agents, 2) to improve agents’ overall motivation and increase participation in company activities, and 3) to decrease agents’ intention to leave the team. The goal is to improve the overall performance by having engaged agents. Data triangulation was done to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Data was collected through first-person and second-person inquiry. An engagement survey and records were used as supplementary data sources. We used the Corporate Leadership Council’s Model of Engagement, proactive approaches to work engagement, the PEARL Model and the Employee Experience Design Loop as practical and theoretical bases of actions. Furthermore, we used Hiatt’s ADKAR model to facilitate change. Two cycles were completed. The first cycle focused on developing and implementing a team-based incentive. Likewise, the second cycle was about developing and implementing activities to promote positive agent experience. We found out that using a team-based incentive leads to free riding, and only slight improvements in participation and overall experiences of agents. On the other hand, using a bottom-up approach and designing positive agent experiences proved beneficial to engagement. Lastly, we also present a new employee experience-engagement model as a proposal for a starting point for further research. Keywords: engagement, employee experience, performance, retention, insurance industry.