A professional approach to management. (includes related article)

The Executive Information System (EIS) roars through the night. By 5:30 each morning, American General Finance (AGF) management at headquarters in Evansville, Indiana as well as all division general managers have fingertip access to key operational information. The system, operating for about the last six months, is a sophisticated new database that allows our management to spot trends, variances and critical indicators on a daily basis so that they can take immediate action. Prior to EIS, getting to this kind of information sometimes took as long as three weeks and almost always required further paperwork to categorize and quantify specific data.

Mike Atnip, senior vice president of administration and coordinator of the EIS project, said the project was initiated by American General Corporation President Roy Haley, who wanted managers to have access to real time data. The system consists of this basic programs, Briefing Book and Execuview. Briefing Book is a set of established, personal computer-based reports that are automatically generated each night. Execuview allows the individual manager to request specific information at division, region, district, or branch level detail.

As part of Execuview, the manager can choose a personal way of viewing that information in a bar graph or pie chart, for instance. And with printers installed at each division office, division general managers can generate instant reports and fax them to regional general managers for immediate action.

Branch Applications

Here are some of the ways division general managers are using the new system to track information and take action in the branch network:

During the Kentucky Storm Advertising Program in the Central Division, Division General Manager Larry Bogie used EIS daily to track participating branches, make comparisons, and identify trends. Bogie also used the system to develop a specific action plan for one state where he spotted substandard performance in the areas of loan volume, profitability, and charge offs. He personally monitored individual branches to track progress in his division's 40/40/4 Club, a project designed to encourage branches each month to make 40 loans, establish 40 contracts, and maintain a 4% ROI on an annualized basis. His division has combined EIS information with information available through our marketing database to accomplish branch consolidation.

Troy Goodwin, division general manager in the Northeast Division, said he uses what is called the "drill down" feature of the EIS every day. He looks at information first on a division basis, then on the regional level, the district level, and finally the branch level. Then he calls regional general managers on a daily basis to discuss trends spotted through the EIS. He also uses the system to monitor the effectiveness of branch manager training.