The insurance industry has changed drastically in recent years, with one of the most significant shifts being the rise of the remote workforce. While remote work has opened new doors for talent acquisition and operational flexibility, it has also exposed a glaring weakness in many agencies: the lack of a structured system to monitor performance and maintain alignment with core values.
Without visibility into day-to-day actions or clearly defined expectations, remote employees are often left in the dark—unsure of what success looks like or how their contributions tie back to the agency’s mission. Fortunately, there’s a powerful solution: implementing activity-based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are intentionally aligned with your agency’s core values.
In this post, we’ll walk through the lessons learned from building a successful remote workforce and how you can use KPI-driven strategies to foster a productive culture and drive agency growth.
One of the most common misconceptions among agency owners is the belief that their team will work as hard as they do simply because they see the vision. That’s rarely the case—especially when teams are distributed and communication is fragmented.
Employees, whether in-office or remote, want to know where they stand. They crave structure, accountability, and clarity. Without measurable performance indicators, you’re not leading them—you’re leaving them guessing.
In a remote setting, activity-based KPIs are the lifeline that keeps your team aligned with daily expectations. Not only do they clarify what each team member should focus on, but they also reinforce how individual roles contribute to broader agency goals.
The fear of becoming a micromanager often keeps leaders from implementing KPIs—but in reality, clearly defined metrics empower both in-office and remote employees. KPIs remove ambiguity and provide a roadmap for daily action. As one guest on our podcast said, ‘Otherwise, you’re just showing up to work each day and you’re trying your hardest, but maybe you’re not getting the results that the agency owner wants.
It’s tempting to jump straight into performance metrics—things like policy count, premium written, or revenue per producer. But that approach skips the most important step: defining your agency’s core values, especially when leading a remote or hybrid team. Without shared values, even the best metrics won’t drive the right behaviors.
Before setting KPIs, ask yourself:
Once your core values are clear, you can reverse-engineer KPIs that drive behavior in line with those values. For example, if one of your core values is compassion, a KPI tied to quality conversations with clients (as opposed to quantity of calls made) better reflects your agency’s ethos.
This alignment makes performance metrics more meaningful. Instead of seeing KPIs as rigid targets, your team begins to understand them as extensions of your values—actions that move the mission forward.
Many insurance agencies fall into the trap of focusing on outcome-based KPIs like “$100,000 in new business” or “50 new policies written.” While outcomes are important, they’re not entirely within an employee’s control—especially in sales.
As Nick Saban once said (and we love a good sports analogy), “We can’t control if we win a national championship every year. But we can control the activities we do every day that increase our odds.”
That same logic applies to building a high-performing remote sales team. You can’t control if a client buys coverage today, but you can control how many people you contact, how many quotes you deliver, and how many marketing drops you complete. These are the daily actions that lead to results.
Activity-based KPIs create a sense of agency, progress, and focus. They include things like:
Tracking these daily habits leads to better outcomes because, quite simply, what gets measured gets done.
One of the biggest mistakes agencies make is overloading employees with too many KPIs. Ten KPIs might sound thorough, but they’re almost impossible to monitor—and they dilute your team’s focus.
As we said on the podcast, “Your only KPI might need to be not having too many KPIs.”
A more effective approach is to focus on three to five high-impact KPIs per role:
For a producer, this might look like:
For virtual assistants, KPIs might include number of renewal prep packets completed or service requests resolved within 24 hours.
The key is clarity. Each team member should know:
A common objection from agencies is, “We don’t have time to track all this.” The truth is, you don’t have time not to.
A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system like HubSpot makes it easy to track, automate, and manage your team’s performance.
For example, when producers log calls or marketing drops into the CRM, that data is used to:
This creates a feedback loop of accountability. It also removes the manual burden of “remembering” who to follow up with—freeing producers to focus on high-value activities.
Agencies that resist CRM adoption often lack visibility into their team’s performance. Without that data, coaching becomes guesswork, and performance problems go unaddressed.
CRM use isn’t just a tech solution—it’s a culture strategy.
Too often, KPIs are reviewed quarterly—or worse, only at annual performance reviews. That’s a mistake. Weekly KPI reviews are essential for:
Make KPI reviews a regular part of your team meetings or one-on-ones. Use the data to coach, not just critique. Ask:
This creates a feedback-rich culture where team members feel seen, supported, and motivated.
When you reframe KPIs as behaviors that support your core values, everything changes.
Let’s say one of your KPIs is upsell conversion. Instead of positioning it as a revenue goal, tie it to compassion: “We’re going to proactively recommend this coverage because we care about protecting our clients when the worst happens.”
This turns sales conversations into opportunities to live your agency’s mission. It also helps team members connect emotionally with their work—something that’s often lost in remote settings.
Your core values should be part of:
Every KPI becomes a mirror of what matters most to your agency.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by how to implement KPI systems or align them with your values, we’ve got you covered.
Visit our website to download a free guide to building and implementing agency KPIs. The guide includes:
You can also sign up for our newsletter to get weekly resources, toolkits, and even free access to boot camp tickets and exclusive giveaways.
We’re here to help you build the remote workforce culture your agency deserves.
The road to success with a remote team starts with clarity. Clarity in expectations, clarity in values, and clarity in how you measure progress.
KPIs give your team direction. Core values give them purpose.
Together, they create a framework that not only drives performance but also fosters engagement, accountability, and alignment.
Whether you’re scaling a remote workforce or tightening up your current processes, remember: keep it simple, keep it meaningful, and always lead with values.
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