Making Sense of Shifting Priorities

By Ben DiSylvester
Chairman

The recently published Nolan survey findings for the Life and Annuity industry reveal what organizations are focusing on in all segments of the financial services industry. The survey responses from senior-level executives clearly indicate a shift from an internal, operational focus to an external, market-driven one. Among other things, many financial service organizations—whether insurance companies, health care organizations, or banks—are seeking to gain a competitive advantage through better products and services.

While this is a market-driven focus, over time, success will depend on how well the internal organization is aligned to deliver on these new strategies. Just putting the new products or services out there will not work very well if the customer is treated in the “old” product or services way. Companies shifting to retirement income services, for example, must understand how to service customers who are actually retired and need to tap their accumulated assets to pay the monthly bills, as well as those who are still in the wealth accumulation stage. Health insurers need to balance good outcomes with benefit costs. Banks have a myriad of products and services to compete in the marketplace but are dealing with fragmented organization structures, which often forces their customers to deal with multiple people in multiple locations to get things done.