For some claims departments and professionals, the holiday season marks a ramp-down of the pace of business. Less incoming mail arrives. The phone lines are quieter. Fewer lawsuits are filed and reported. Fewer emails and faxes intrude on the normal work day.
Mileage may also vary, again either because of the types of insurance your company writes or if you work for a third-party administrator (TPA) that receives overflow assignments.
Wondering if there is a silver lining? Well, this temporary lull can be an excellent time for the claims staff to invest time in activities to boost productivity and get everyone off to a running start the next year.
For example, during this quiet period, claims professionals can:
- Purge old materials (both hard copies and hard drives) that are no longer needed.
- Organize one's desk, drawers, and reference materials.
- Write professional goals for the next year, embedding “ticklers” or reminders on the calendar to revisit progress on these periodically through 2012.
- Reflect on the year that is winding down and do some “big picture” thinking about one's job, contributions, and career direction.
- Carve out time to network with other professionals. Perhaps because of other constraints on the adjuster's time, building rapport with an expanded network fell to the wayside earlier in the year.
- Update your Rolodex or MS Outlook contacts list.
- Update your resume—though not while on the job, of course.
- Plan next year's vacation and submit the request for that time off now.
- Reach out to key clients or business partners by phone, email, or the old-fashioned way—by card—to wish them a happy holiday season. Let them know how much you appreciate them.
Be sure to use any “lull” presented at the end of 2011 to catch your breath; gather yourself; get organized; and focus on what you want to accomplish as a claims professional in 2012.
I may scramble back up the chimney and not appear again before the end of the year, in which case, I wish you all a happy and fun holiday season!
How do you use the holiday season to prepare for the next year? How have you used this time of year to catch up?
Kevin Quinley CPCU, ARM, AIC, may be reached at [email protected]; www.kevinquinley.com. This post is excerpted from a forthcoming book Kevin is writing about claims productivity.
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