Summer 2010, No. 84
Managing in the Dark
Imagine trying to manage a business without knowing how much you’ve
sold, how much it cost you to manage the business, or even whether
the business was profitable.
Today, almost all voluntary executives understand that their
voluntary efforts represent a unique business. It has different
distribution requirements, different dynamics, and different costs
than the traditional employer-paid business. In recognition of
that reality, more group companies, to one degree or another,
are placing responsibility for the success of their voluntary
initiatives under a dedicated executive.
While this makes business sense, it’s hard to understand
that, too often, these executives lack the basic management tools
taken for granted in other business lines. A significant portion
of group voluntary executives cannot measure:
• Their in-force business. Their administrative systems
cannot segregate beyond product type. In other words, employee-paid
and employer-paid business cannot be examined separately.
• Their business costs. Because units are organized functionally,
costs cannot be measured for the voluntary portion of their business.
• Their profits. And, as a result, these executives have
no accurate measure of the profitability of their business.
It’s time to provide voluntary leaders with the basic
management tools we take for granted in the rest of our businesses.
For more information on ways to effectively measure voluntary
results, contact one of our consultants at (860) 676-9633.
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