Workflow Truths: Fix the Foundation Before You Automate
In the rush to adopt AI, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. For many insurance brokerages, the promise of smarter tools and time-saving automation is appealing, especially when day-to-day operations are stretched thin. But here’s the thing: you can’t automate chaos.
Before layering in AI or any new tech, you need to get clear on what you’re actually solving. And that means starting with your workflows. If your workflows aren’t clear or consistent, AI won’t help; it’ll just move faster in the wrong direction.
Fall in Love with the Problem
Fall in Love with the Problem
We often hear: "Fall in love with the problem, not the solution." It’s a cliché because it’s true. If you don’t fully understand what’s broken, you won’t know what to fix, and any automation you add will likely just speed up the mess.
For brokerages, this might mean rethinking how clients are onboarded, how internal handoffs work, or how renewals are tracked. Often, the real pain isn’t the volume of work, it’s the hidden friction in how it’s organized (or not).
Ask yourself:
- Are steps under our control being repeated unnecessarily?
- Are people unclear on what to do next?
- Are tasks falling through the cracks?
From onboarding to renewals, clarity is the starting point. Without it, automation can make things worse. In most cases, QuickFacts has observed that brokerages do not have clear and up-to-date internal processes because of workforce shortage and/or lack of resources.
The Scorecard Has No Pictures
The Scorecard Has No Pictures
There’s a saying in sports: the scorecard has no pictures. In other words, it doesn’t matter how pretty your swing looks; what matters is the result. The same is true for workflows. A clean, well-documented process doesn’t need to be flashy. It needs to work.
At a brokerage, “working” means the same steps happen consistently, no matter who’s running them. If a producer’s out sick, their follow-ups shouldn’t vanish. If a new team member joins, they shouldn’t have to ask five people how to send a policy change request.
When you know your steps, you can ask the right questions.
What matters:
- Everyone follows the same steps
- The process is easy to teach
- You can see where things slow down
Once you understand the steps, you can:
- Remove unnecessary ones
- Automate repetitive tasks
- Keep the ones that require a human touch
Laying the Groundwork for AI
Laying the Groundwork for AI
The power of AI in insurance lies in its ability to assist, not replace. It can surface insights, reduce repetitive work, and help brokers spend more time with clients. But it can’t fix broken processes. If your team is unclear on what should happen next, AI won’t magically decide for you. It’ll just move faster in the wrong direction.
That’s where the foundation matters. You don’t need to build a perfect workflow before using tech, but you do need to understand your current one. The good, the bad, and the messy.
Where QuickFacts Fits In
Where QuickFacts Fits In
QuickFacts’ Workflows product is designed to bring order and visibility to everyday brokerage operations. It helps you document, manage, and evolve your workflows, without relying on memory or micromanagement. Whether it’s onboarding new clients, handling renewals, or managing change requests, we help brokerages create systems that work across teams and scale with the business.
But the tool isn’t the solution on its own. It’s part of a broader approach that starts with clarity and grows through iteration.
Next up in the series: How to map your workflows and spot real opportunities for AI. Not the shiny ones, the useful ones.
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