You can’t fit a square peg into a round hole, or so they say, which led us to wonder whether or not our franchisees at Aspray – a property repair and claims management expert – need to have certain personality traits. Should we only be looking at people who can lead from the front, with true Napoleonic gusto, or would it be best to sift through applications and see who comes across as a deep and rational thinker?
To settle this debate, we decided to refer to a relatively new personality type model that analyses individuals based on their behavioural traits. The NERIS Type Explorer® system describes five personality aspects that, when combined, define a personality type. The aspects are Mind, Energy, Nature, Tactics and Identity.
When we focused on Mind, we had two options – Introverted and Extroverted. We instantly felt that our ideal franchisee would love social interaction and so be an Extroverted type, but we read on.
Next, we had to decide if they would be Observant or Intuitive. This proved tough. The Observant types were described as practical, pragmatic and down-to-earth – just what you’d expect of a loss adjuster, employed by an insurance business. But our franchisees are loss assessors, acting on the side of insured property owners needing help with their claim. Did this mean we should be homing in on the Intuitive type traits of open-mindedness and curiosity?
The waters became even cloudier when we focused on whether they should be Thinkers or Feelers. Yes, our franchisees need logic and need to be efficient in handling a claim scenario, but they also need empathy and sensitivity. After all, they visit people’s homes and businesses at times of great stress, following major impacts such as fire, flood, storm damage and transport impacts. They need to connect and reassure.
Do they judge, or do they prospect? Clarity, organisation and closure are what the Judgers do, but Prospecting individuals need to improvise. Loss assessors certainly need to think on their feet, as well as showing organisational skills. On to another conundrum; should they be even-tempered, or sensitive to stress? Is that part and parcel of empathy?
The NERIS system then encouraged us to look at the model’s four roles – Analyst, Diplomat, Sentinel and Explorers and, at this point, we realised that our franchisees could fit into any of these. Whilst the Analyst will go out on site and think strategically about the claim scenario they find, Diplomats will bring harmony and empathy. Sentinels, possess the high degree of practicality required, but Explorers will master situations swiftly and react quickly.
At a strategic level, our franchisees could again be Confident Individualists, who take responsibility and are self-reliant, or People Masters, who have excellent communications skills and can express opinions well, knowing what makes others tick. They are often success-driven Constant Improvers, but can also be high-achieving, sensitive Social Engagers.
So which of the 16 personality groups should produce most of our franchisees, according to this model? Perhaps we would say Campaigners, able to raise a smile even in depressing claims scenarios, but it could be Executives – great administrators who excel at managing people? Maybe we need Consuls, known for caring, or practical and fact-minded Logisticians who are super-reliable?
Naturally, we would expect to see many applicants from the Entrepreneur group, entrepreneurship being the driving force behind becoming a franchisee in most people’s minds. But it could be just as essential to attract Architects, who can put a plan together thanks to their great strategic thinking, or Commanders, who can always find a way forward, no matter what.
The conclusion is that we need to recruit franchisees with an array of personality traits. Equally strong is the realisation that nobody considering becoming a franchisee with Aspray should rule themselves out, just because they are not the archetypal Entrepreneur.
This exercise has been hugely valuable for us. It has added clarity and enabled us to look at our existing franchisees in a new light, perceiving the variety of traits that they collectively possess and which make all of them so successful within their territories.
We can quickly see why this rainbow of types makes our network so vibrant and why peer networking between franchisees is extremely valuable. All bring different insight to the table and can help their fellow franchisees in areas where they are not as strong, because of their distinctive personality traits and behavioural preferences.
It has also forced us to recall that the role of a claims manager and loss assessor is a multi-faceted one and perhaps one that requires complex people that it is hard to label and define. That could be you.
To work out just who you might be, when all of your traits are considered, take the free test at https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types If you then feel you want a new career path, running your own business within the claims management sector, please get in touch with us on 0800 077 6705 or visit www.asprayfranchise.co.uk for more details. We fully understand that it takes all types to make both a perfect world and a thriving franchise network.