Why Your Mindset Matters for an Applied Epic Migration (Plus What to Expect)

May 20, 2024

Migrating your team to Applied Epic is not just a software change. It’s a holistic system upgrade that has the potential to significantly elevate your operations. To reap the benefits for your insurance agency, you need to think in a broad, holistic mindset.

And what this really comes down to is the migration mindset. While it’s important to get all the technical components correct, it’s equally important to foster a mindset for change, growth, and learning. You want to equip your team with the knowledge and information they need to be successful in adopting Applied Epic as their Agency Management System.

In this blog, we explore what to expect in your Applied Epic migration and why a mindset shift is key for success.

Major Components of an Applied Epic Migration

Insurance agencies can expect to follow a clear, systematic migration process. Each agency is assigned an implementation team from Applied who will help you through the migration process.

There are several key migration steps to expect:

Data conversion and cleanup: An implementation team from Applied will help you identify what data and items will convert—and what may not. You’ll receive sample data reviews of what will come over to the new system and how it will look. There will also be some pre- and post-migration cleanup to complete.
Configuration setup: In this step, you’ll work with your Applied implementation team to make important decisions around things like your key servicing roles or accounting methods. Like the setup and test samples, making these key decisions is vital to do before going live, as it will all help your team to understand how it the configurations will impact your agency and workflows.
Training: The last—and perhaps most important—step is training your team. Your core migration team needs to be trained early on. Applied offers a helpful training sessions with their Applied University. Later on, create comprehensive training and workflow development for everyone so they, too, can successfully learn the new system.

The good news is that you’re not left alone during an Applied Epic conversion. Applied has teams in place to help you be successful.

Kite Technology also offers tailored support to insurance agencies migrating to Applied Epic. We also have a comprehensive video tutorial about each of these steps and what to expect during the migration process. You can view it here or visit our Applied Epic training page for more information.

And while external supports can be critical to your success, they’re not in lieu of internal buy-in and education. For your team to be successful in the long-run, you must take Applied Epic training and implementation seriously—all starting with a positive mindset for change.

7 Critical Success Factors for an Applied Epic Migration

Applied Epic is a big change. The goal is not to mimic your old system, but to embrace something new that can help elevate your operations. With that in mind, we’ve identified 7 critical success factors in your Applied Epic migration:

Management Buy-in and Support: It starts from the top. Management must lead the change and support their team along the way.
Reviewing Samples: Be proactive in looking at the sample databases that are provided to you, so you know what’s being migrated and can ensure accuracy.
Testing Data: On top of reviewing data, you want to test the information to see if the configuration choices are working properly.
Understanding Configuration and Workflows: Understand the different configuration options offered. Applied Epic a great product out of the box, but you can customize it exactly to what your specific agency needs.
Core-team Composition: These are the people who are early adopters and help you through the Applied Epic migration. Consider bringing in people from each department and those who are interested, knowledgeable, and proactive to support this process.
Understand Data Fields: You want to choose what’s important for your reports. Understand how the data is migrated, as well as what you need and don’t need.
Staying on Applied’s Timeline: It’s crucial to stay on-task and on-time when migrating to Applied Epic. It will make the whole process smoother and more effective.

These success factors are not just about the technical components, though those are important. Instead, it requires the coordination of your staff and their skillsets, plus strategic thinking and decision-making.

Digging Deeper: Mindset Shifts for Your Applied Epic Training

To best set your team up for success, recognize how your mindset about the migration impacts the process. Leadership and the core team needs to set up the tone and direction for the rest of your staff to follow.

And while this does take time and effort, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are 3 tips creating a proper mindset shift during the migration process.

1. Focus on Your Core Team

It’s important to set up a core team that will be engaged in the process and embrace change. Make sure to identify key players who are knowledgeable about their department and what key configurations are important.

You’ll also want to regularly meet together to review and test sample data and discuss workflow development and decisions. Keep them engaged and active in the process, as that attitude will transfer to the rest of your staff as well. Together you can develop a plan for training and post-activation support.

2. Embrace the New

Applied Epic will be a brand-new system to your staff. It’s important that all levels of your agency know that and embrace it. New isn’t scary! It can be exciting. Embrace this mindset shift and prepare with these key elements that we discussed before:

Your core team.
Staff-wide training.
Key decisions and configurations.
Data review and testing.

3. Engage in Ongoing Learning

During the Applied Epic migration process, Applied University will serve as your main hub of learning. Not only does it offer comprehensive information and knowledge for this process, but it fosters an environment of learning and growth.

Ensure you and your team are accessing information and resources throughout the process so you are setting your agency up for success.

And If You Need More Help, Speak with KiteTech's Agency Consulting Team!

And if you want even more support through your Applied Epic migration process, connect with Kite Technology today. We provide strategic IT support to achieve your objectives and drive performance through technology solutions. The goal of our Applied Epic Consulting Services is to help you have a successful migration process by either liaising with Applied or working directly with your team during the Applied Epic conversion. Contact us today to start a discussion with our team!