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May 15, 2019

I’m on a quest to figure out the magic of changing behaviour.

In the face of transformation at Manulife, changing how we do things is absolutely critical to our success in becoming a digital, customer centric leader. Without changing our behaviour, change cannot happen.

Whether it’s quitting smoking, eating healthier or changing how we conduct business, most of us have a list of behaviors we'd like to begin, or end. Many of us succeed in making some changes in the short term, but most of us revert to our old behaviors in the long term. What, then, are effective ways to change or alter behavior on a permanent basis? For me, there has to be an upside to change and a strong sense of personal satisfaction. What about you?

The actual psychology around changing behavior is somewhat complicated. Two researchers named James O. Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente developed a way of describing it called the Stages of Change Model. It was originally developed to be used in the context of smoking cessation, however, the five stages are easily applicable to any kind of behaviour changes. The five stages are: Precontemplation (not ready), Contemplation (getting ready), Preparation (ready), Action, and Maintenance.

I encourage you to read more about the five stages here and think about how they might play into how you do business, and more. By recognizing which of the five stages of change you’re at with respect to any behavior you're trying to change, you can maintain realistic expectations and minimize your frustration. Focus on reaching the next stage rather than on the end goal, which may seem unreachable and discouraging.

What is stopping you from changing how you do business? If you think about change in a different context, you have likely changed you how you shop over the past several years with the ease and convenience of online shopping. You may have been apprehensive at first but probably can’t imagine going back to the way it used to be.

A business example that comes to mind is using eSignature. It’s different from what advisors and clients might be used to. Sometimes there’s a learning curve, but ultimately, it can save everyone time and money. In fact, advisors can influence the overall experience the client will have –no appointment needed, no need to send forms through the mail, and the risk of illegible handwriting derailing the request is eliminated.

I challenge you to jump in head first with making a change this week. For every customer interaction, ask yourself, is there an electronic solution? Can you complete what you need to without adding unnecessary time? Does the customer really need to come and see you or, can you complete what they need without the use of paper? You need to start somewhere and it makes sense to start small and to start now.

I’d be interested to hear what changes you’ve made in “how” you do business. What worked for you to overcome the challenges to getting started and to making it part of your day to day? Take a minute and send me your secrets. I’d love to share some in next month’s AdminSource!

Featured News

REMINDER: NEW client Payment Method Summary Report
The Payment Method Summary Report produces a list of all payment information associated with each active account or policy under an advisor’s code, including payment frequency and method. You and your advisors can learn more about this new report and other My Clients enhancements on Repsource.ca.

Get educated: The CE Centre makes it easy
The Manulife CE Centre is an industry‑leading educational space designed to make earning CE credits convenient. As part of their contract with Manulife, advisors have access to a comprehensive course catalogue featuring award‑winning courses– for free. Available 24/7 through Repsource, advisors can earn a credit in as little as 45 minutes (Repsource > Training > CE Centre).

Insurance & Living Benefits

Coming June 1: Updates to inforce insurance service standards
To support our digital transformation, effective June 1, we’re updating our inforce insurance service standards, where applicable, to prioritize the processing of forms submitted with eSignature using Docusign over paper.

REMINDER: NEW Manulife Par premium duration ‑ pay to age 90
Share with advisors that there’s a NEW Manulife Par pay to age 90 premium duration! With another premium option to choose from, in addition to premium durations for 10 or 20 years, advisors have a more well‑rounded product to serve their needs and their clients’. Learn more on Repsource.ca.

Learning & Development

New training video: The Guarantee Guard
Did you know advisors can help their clients manage their Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal benefit (GMWB) for applicable segregated funds? By using the Guarantee Guard, they can also protect clients from experiencing unexpected reduced guaranteed payments due to an over‑withdrawal.
We’ve created a new short video to walk advisors through how they can turn the service off and on and how to manage withdrawals. We encourage you to share this with your advisors.

For more resources like these, visit the Investment Training Corner from the Training tab in Repsource’s top navigation.

Customer Experience

Help us do better! Customer survey launches this month
Starting May 21 (for two weeks) and August 19 (for three weeks), Ipsos will conduct the second and third of four twelve‑minute customer surveys, on behalf of Manulife, to check in on how we are doing as a company and to uncover areas for improvement – so we can do better for clients. For more details, read the Repsource article, Annual customer experience survey aims to help us improve.

Distributor Services

Contracting update: Corporate banking not permitted for individual advisors
In order to streamline tax reporting, effective immediately, we will no longer accept corporate banking for new advisors applying for individual or representative contracts. Banking information for existing advisors is currently not impacted, however, we’ll reach out if updated banking is required. For questions, contact the Distributor Contact Centre at 1‑800‑838‑7770 or email comp_mfc@manulife.com.