Years ago during a particularly challenging time for Arbella, the trust we had built with our independent agents was severely tested. On the advice of Arbella’s vice chairman and my long-time mentor, Frank Bellotti, I visited countless agents one by one to ask them what was going wrong and what we could do better. I didn’t try to sell the merits of our company; I just asked questions and listened. It was hard, humbling, and took time but as a company we rebuilt our agents’ trust in us and it endures today.

A strong carrier-agency relationship is based on trust, communication, and candor. The days of throwing products over the wall to the independent agent are long gone. Our best ideas come from our agents. Today and in the future, the most successful carriers will listen to their agent partners, work together to eliminate stovepipes, and do what’s best for the policyholder. When you open yourself up to understanding what your agents need, you can expect nothing less than honest feedback. Without it you won’t make progress…

It’s up to the carrier to create opportunities for two-way communication; connecting once a year isn’t enough. Arbella agents know they can call our top executives and we will pick up the phone and listen. Agents tell us it’s one of the things that sets us apart. When you don’t take a proactive approach to listening to agents and providing what they need, you are effectively putting up a barrier to candid communication and trust. We must continually ask for agents’ feedback, listen and test our understanding of that feedback, and recalibrate throughout the year.

Because the CEO cannot be solely responsible for the relationship with the company’s agents, you need strong C-suite executives who are willing to meet with agents in their offices to listen, respond, and discuss realistic solutions. Once you’ve opened up the communication channels, you must respond to feedback and set achievable goals. This is also important to your company employees who will be executing on your promises. You can’t make commitments to fix long-term problems in 90 days. Once you make a promise, communication is key. Follow up and tell agents and employees how you’re doing. And hold yourself and the company accountable.

It’s important to provide numerous face-to-face opportunities in a variety of settings. We host biannual breakfast meetings, attended by hundreds of agencies, as well as substantive agency and service council meetings. Social opportunities such as golf tournaments, holiday parties, and recognition events help us get to know our agents and their families on a more personal level. Our expert marketing representatives and underwriters visit agents daily. All of these opportunities are designed to strengthen the relationship.

Every employee must know that the independent agent is critical to the carrier’s success. Being an accessible leader is as important to employees as it is to independent agents. Commitment to being a relationship-focused company has to be more than just lip service—employees, agents, and customers need to feel special. Successful companies create an environment in which employees are valued, trusted, and cared for. This sets the foundation for delivering exceptional service to agents and insureds. To foster this kind of culture, the CEO must be fully involved in creating an engaged work environment with lots of opportunities for employees to make suggestions for improvement.

Don’t assume that employees know you want to hear from them. As CEO, create opportunities and a platform for you and your executive team to ask for employee involvement. You must also be great storytellers: Sharing examples of your company’s values in action and articulating the mission and strategy in person has more of an impact than a film or brochure.

One of the most powerful ways to support independent agents is to help them embrace change.Carriers are uniquely positioned to do this by leveraging the resources we already have in place. For example, mass market advertising continues to bypass the independent agent, focusing the conversation mainly on price. Carriers who provide talking points to agents about the value of their expertise and coach them on delivering that message are creating mutual gain.

Equally challenging for today’s agents is finding the right forum to share their story, including social media. Effective use of social media is a challenge for any small business. Companies who provide agents with guidance and expertise to develop their social media strategies, build and enhance their digital presence, and generate content will expand their digital footprint exponentially.

The ultimate example of the successful carrier-agency relationship is a service center. When agents trust carriers enough to engage them in serving their customers, we all benefit from more frequent touches, more satisfied policyholders, and more profitable growth. The key is to help agents every step of the way as they transition to service center adoption.

There is nothing more satisfying than bringing positive change to the communities your company serves. The vast majority of independent agents are very active in supporting their neighborhoods. By focusing on the charities that are most meaningful to your agents, companies can expand the impact of corporate giving programs, which helps agents be even more influential.

The carrier-agency relationship is complex.If you want stronger relationships, I urge you to visit your agents in their offices. Listen to them. Get to know them and their staff. Understand their challenges. Look for and deliver quick wins that will make it easier to do business with your company.

Carriers don’t need the most cutting-edge technology or multi-million-dollar advertising budgets to be successful. We need to focus on being responsive, candid, and collaborative partners. When both carriers and agents commit fully to the relationship, our customers reap the benefits and we all win.