One Size Fits All, or Does It?

By Hayden Jones
Managing Consultant

I am not a big guy. Whenever I see “one size fits all,” I have to wonder who the “all” are because those things don’t fit me. Remember when you could buy a hat that was sized and didn’t have a belt buckle or a plastic snappy thing in the back to “adjust the size”? In those days, I could get a hat to fit, but now, no way. Today, if I’m not careful, I get a hat that makes me look like Dark Helmet from the movie “Space Balls.”

Clients ask me to share best practices with them so that they might become more effective and efficient. They want one-size-fits-all best practices, and, frankly, no such thing exists.
Each company I work with has differences that set them apart from other companies. What may be a best practice for Company A may be a disaster for Company B. How can two life companies or two property and casualty companies be so different? Here are a few differences that will have a hand in determining whether a single practice will be effective in a company.

Cultural Differences

The company culture may be the most powerful influence on a best practice. Companies vary dramatically in how they measure success, manage their employees, set expectations, and conduct business. A practice that works well and is accepted and supported by the employees of one company may be viewed as too harsh and uncaring by another company.

Distribution Differences and Preferences

A best practice that works well in a company with captive agents may create difficulties when used in a brokerage company or a direct writing company. In a captive company, there’s no strong need to attract the broker to sell your products. Direct writers bypass traditional distribution channels and seek to attract the customers without an intermediary.
Very often, even companies that have similar distribution systems have difficulty in using a common practice. Big companies with a captive agent force will develop a practice that is quite effective, but could be all wrong for a small regional company.

System Differences

Many of today’s best practice processes are strongly influenced by a company’s IT system. One company’s system built 20 or 30 years ago is not going to align with another company’s best practices where the systems are of modern architecture and contain databases, data marts, workflow, rules engines, integration hooks, and other speed-of-light features. Trying to identify a single best practice that focuses on processing is not practical.

Customer Differences and Expectations

Company A’s customers might accept a Web-based interactive system or an automated call center that permits the customer to complete transactions without having to talk with a person. But that best practice might flop for a company selling Medicare supplement coverage to elderly customers who want to do business the old-fashioned way—by talking with a real person.

These are only four potential differences that make it difficult to select one best practice; there are many more. And now you ask, “How do I find or develop a best practice for my company?”

Think about buying a suit. You first find your size and select a color. The suit you selected is similar to thousands of others. The suit, however, doesn’t fit, so you get a tailor to customize it by taking in or letting out the waist, hemming the slacks, taking in or letting out the jacket, shortening the sleeves, and so on. When the tailoring is complete, the suit is similar to many others, but it has been modified to meet your differences.