Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with insurers dedicated totransforming how they do business through the implementation oftechnology.

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I’ve collaborated with large insurers, regional insurers andstartups. Although the size of the insurer has varied, principlesthey have employed to ensure transformation success have not.

And these principles apply to all segments of the insuranceindustry, including carriers, agents, brokers and claimsprofessionals.

Here are five key observations from the implementations thatI’ve worked on and the maneuvers these insurers employed to drivesuccess:

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(Photo: iStock)

1. Articulate your mandate — again and again andagain

I once worked with a large insurer on one of the most complexinitiatives. As a former change-management consultant, I found itimpressive that before the vendor-evaluation process started, thechief information officer and his team communicated their vision toall levels of the organization in one succinct statement.

As the team transitioned to implementation, this vision was abeacon reminding all project members of what they should be drivingtoward. Whether gathering requirements, planning releases orgathering user feedback, all activities kept the executive mandatein mind, from evaluation through implementation.

Working toward one goal ensured consistency of direction acrossteams, improving the probability of success in achieving thebusiness goal they were all striving for.

Later, in a conversation with that same CIO, he revealed thatthe key to their success was repeating the mandate to ensure itbecame innate knowledge within the organization.

To keep the message top-of-mind in an organization, use companytown halls, CEO updates, webcasts, annual reports and newslettersas opportunities to refresh employees and stakeholders on theexecutive mandate, and why the company is on this transformationjourney.

(Photo: iStock)

2. Create one team

Early in my career, I worked as a change-management consultantacross various industries.

Regardless of the industry I was working in, I foundorganizations tended to divide project teams into separatetechnical and business units. Rather than create units, successfultransformation projects combine the business and technical peopleinto one team.

Keep in mind, everyone is working toward achieving one businessmandate. To reinforce the “one team” approach, successfultransformation projects situate the team in one location. Technicalpeople take the same training as the business people, theycelebrate their group identity by creating a team name, and theyrally around a set of core team values.

When assembling one team, successful transformation projectsstaff with the best and brightest their organization has to offer.Rather than have these resources flip-flop between their regularjobs and the transformation initiative, they ensure the resourcesare 100 percent dedicated to the most critical points of thetransformation journey. They understand that the transformationinitiative is their organization’s future and require the rightpeople to focus solely on the project at the most importanttime.

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3. Build the new factory

At a recent user conference, one CIO presented a transformationproject detailing how the insurer refused to rebuild the oldfactory or current system and instead focused on the new system asthe factory of the future.

If transformation is your goal, don’t carry over old businessprocesses and rules that were limiting in the past.

Successful transformation projects use the new system as the newbest practice for doing business in the future. When team membersbegin slipping back into old processes, successful transformationprojects challenge these team members with questions like “Is thathow you want to do business in the future?” or “How does thissupport our executive mandate or business vision?”

Successful transformation projects separate the business-processeducation from the system training, with the understanding that anew system will come with a new set of best-practice businessprocesses that could cause confusion among hardcore users.

A regional Canadian insurer I worked with made the brilliantdecision to first educate its user community on the new businessprocess before launching training on the new system. This allowedan easier transition to the new system because the new businessprocesses were inherently supported by the new system.

(Photo: iStock)

4. Stick to'out-of-the-box'

After purchasing vendor software, you become part of thecommunity that helped to drive the best practices of thatsoftware.

Many insurers say that the majority of industry processes arethe same across the industry and across insurers. Instead of tryingto reconfigure a core process that really is the same across theindustry, leverage the commonality and out-of-the-box content toaccelerate your transformation project and drive it into thefuture.

Successful transformation projects spend their project dollarsand time by nuancing content that differentiates them from theircommunity and, more importantly, their competition.

(Photo: iStock)

5. Generate excitement for theinitiative

Change can be scary, but in today’s work environment it’s thenorm.

Successful transformation projects convert fear into excitementby advertising the project. Whether through CEO updates, town hallsor other events, sell the importance of the transformation projectand the team supporting it.

One insurer I worked with creatively orchestrated “showcase”demonstrations of the system on a quarterly basis to employees. Thebrief demonstrations targeted crucial pain points and showcased theway the new software would resolve the issue. They also knew it wasimportant to gather feedback, not just from the showcase events butalso from focus groups and the field. When an organization has aninfluential field presence, successful transformation projectsadvertise the project to the field by conducting regular roadshowsand ensuring that the community’s feedback is incorporated into thesolution.

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Laura Drabik is vice president of business transformation atFoster City, California-based Guidewire SoftwareInc.