2025 Virtual Office Operations Academy April
About this Program: Office Operations Academy
The virtual Office Operations Academy provides twelve hours of live, online instruction blended with self-directed exercises and assignments. This program is designed to provide clarity on Ameritas’ processes, resources, and support. Many learning moments are customized to meet your needs and provide highly interactive content. The intent is for you to actively participate in every session as each course builds on the previous. You will not only feel like you are part of the learning process, but you will leave this school knowing you are part of the Ameritas family.
DAY 1: April 22, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST.
Welcome – 30 minutes
Facilitator: Tara Borden – Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist – Practice Management & Development
This session will get you comfortable with the tools and activities of the virtual classroom. We will set the stage for the courses to come and welcome you not only to this school, but to the Ameritas family.
Who Are You and What Do You Do? – 20 minutes
Facilitators: You
Tell us all about yourself and your role in your practice.
New Business Alerts and the New Producer Dashboard -15 minutes
Facilitators: Tara Borden – Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist
Staying on top of pending business is crucial to ensuring your producers get paid promptly. We will delve into the systems you’ll utilize to follow cases from submission to paid.
Producer Workbench Basics – 30 minutes
Facilitators: Tara Borden – Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist
This session provides an overview of the key areas of Producer Workbench on which you will rely for day-to-day business
Scavenger Hunt – 15 minutes
Facilitator: Tara Borden – Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist – Practice Management & Development
Being able to find the resources you need is crucial to success, so we will dive into a Virtual Office Operations Academy with our School Scavenger Hunt. Keep your eyes and ears open each day to find the answers to your quest. Those who have completed the scavenger hunt will enter a drawing for Ameritas swag.
DAY 2: April 24th, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST
New Business Top Tips – 55 minutes
Presenter: Carrie Symon, New Business Manager – Individual New Business
This is a fun, interactive session which will shed light on the new business process, tips for accuracy and efficiency as well as explore the different application types.
eApply – 55 minutes
Presenter: Patricia Rands, Quality Management Analyst
Increase the likelihood of an in-good-order application submission with eApply, our electronic application. This session will provide insight into the technology usage and best practices.
DAY 3: April 29th, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST
Underwriting Best Practices – 55 minutes
Presenters: Keith Beckman, Managing Director – Individual Life Underwriting Paul Zimmerman, Vice President & Chief DI Underwriter
This session will be highly interactive, making the underwriting process accessible and easy. The focus will be on best practices, underwriting programs, and how the underwriting department can work with you.
Policy Changes and Service – 25 minutes
Presenter: Robin Torczon, Manager – Individual Client Services
This session focuses on policy servicing, processes, and resources. You will leave this session confident with your self-service options and know when and how to rely on your home office representatives.
Customer Service Portal- 25 minutes
Presenter: Robin Torczon, Manager – Individual Client Services
Client Service System (CSS) is the service portal for all individual products. Discover how to increase your ability for self-service with this helpful tool.
DAY 4: May 1st, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST
Life Insurance Product Crash Course – 25 minutes
Presenter: Mark Oliver, Internal Wholesaler
You don’t have to be the product expert in your office, but it helps to know the basics. We will walk through the Ameritas life product portfolio.
Annuity Product Crash Course – 25 minutes
Presenter: Kristi Buresh, Internal Wholesaler
Beyond life insurance, your office’s producers may be writing annuity. We will detail the products available.
Disability Income Insurance Product Crash Course -25 minutes
Presenter: Bonnie Chambers, Internal Wholesaler
Beyond life insurance and annuity, your office’s producers may be writing Disability Income Insurance. We will detail the products available.
DI Stepping Stones – 35 minutes
Presenter: You
Explore DI Stepping Stones a self-guided training that walks you through positioning, having conversations and selling disability income (DI) insurance.
DAY 5: May 6th, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST
Licensing and contracting – 30 minutes
Presenters: Karen Degener, Manager, Agency Field Service & Melissa Cohn, Supervisor, Agency Field Service
As the linchpin of your office, you’re likely expected to know at least a little bit about everything and that includes licensing and contracting. We will hear from the Ameritas team that can help you.
Customer Service Round Table
Presenters: Tara Borden, Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist
You are the expert. Share your office’s customer service best practices and policy/contract servicing tips.
Compliance: What Would You Do? – 50 minutes
Presenter: Lindsay Erickson, Lead Analyst – Compliance
Knowing when and how to rely on Compliance can be difficult. This session will shed light on the importance of observation, best practices and resources found within this department.
DAY 6: May 8th, 2025, 11:00 a.m. EST
Marketing Resources – 20 minutes
Presenters: Devon Brosnahan, Practice Management Consultant
Join us as we explore our marketing resources, discuss prospecting ideas, and locate marketing materials for both you and your client.
Practice Management – 20 minutes
Presenters: Devon Brosnahan, Practice Management Consultant
Join this open forum to ask questions of our practice consultants to help you grow your business, build a profitable practice and deliver an amazing client experience. They work with you on your business, not in it.
RegEd Training Platform – 15 minutes
Facilitator: Tara Borden & Jennifer Osterman- Lead Sales Training & Education Specialists
At some point, your office’s producers may need to take training to satisfy state or industry requirements and that means they may need to navigate the RegEd website. We will demonstrate the steps needed to access the Industry Training Platform of RegEd and how to enroll in Ameritas product trainings.
EDU.Ameritas.com – 30 minutes
Facilitator: Jennifer Osterman- Lead Sales Training & Education Specialist
Your courses on your time. Take control of your learning with our learning management system, Ameritas EDU. We will explore this system and show you how easy it is to enroll in courses and navigate your access.
Development for the Future – 5 minutes
Presenter: Beth Goldsmith – 2nd VP, Practice Management
Where do you go from here?
Program Requirements
INTERSESSION WORK (HOMEWORK)
After some of the live sessions, you will have assignments to complete. Assignments may include blog readings, articles, and coursework within edu.ameritas.com.
A large part of learning will come from thinking about and discussing new concepts. Please come prepared to discuss your intersession work at the following session.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
You are expected to attend ALL online sessions of virtual Office Operations Academy. Because elements of virtual Office Operations Academy involve working in teams, any absence by a participant will negatively impact the team’s ability to maintain the desired learning environment and interaction among team members.
If you anticipate not being able to attend a session for any reason, you must immediately contact the virtual Office Operations Academy coordinator, who will determine appropriate measures to resolve the absence. Please note that an absence from any session for any reason may result in forfeiture of your seat in the class.
What You Need to Do Before the First Class
- Block off on your calendar or planner the appointed dates and times for virtual Office Operations Academy.
- Read the assigned pre-work material and print the workbook and resource
- Ensure that you have access to a reliable high-speed Internet connection and a working
- Review the course outline and begin formulating questions you’d like to ask for each
- For best audio results, use a separate telephone connection, not your computer’s audio system, to hear and speak during the Speakerphone is not ideal; you must use a headset with microphone.
- Take the required assigned course in ameritas.com, Learn How to Learn Online.
