Dubious Beginnings

While the process of integrating new claims hires has advanced in intervening years, current customs may still veer from best practices. What a shame, too. Adjuster retention starts with getting off to a strong beginning. Getting off to a good start is no guarantee that an adjuster will be a successful hire for the long haul, but it stacks the odds in your favor (and theirs).

Thus, the first minutes, hours and days on the job are crucial in determining whether that new claims hire is a keeper or a short-timer. Just as a rudder sets a boat's course, an onboarding process gets the new claims hire off on the right (or wrong) foot. This is true whether the new hire is a total newbie or a seasoned executive transitioning to a high-level claims management role. 

Adjuster turnover saps morale, productivity and degrades customer service. It also is expensive, draining time (and maybe “headhunter” fees) starting the recruitment process anew. Stack the deck in your favor by being thoughtful and thorough in bringing new hires into your claim operation.

What are best practices in integrating new claim hires? Alan Hardin is a workers' compensation claims specialist with Assurance Resources Inc. in Houston, Texas. Here, he offers his perspective on best practices:

1. Roll out the red carpet
Do make a fuss. Prepare a sign at the front of the office that says, “Welcome Joe New Hire!” Have someone in his or her department greet them as they walk in the door. This greeter typically should be a coworker, a boss, and/or mentor.

2. Prepare the right tools
Ensure the new claims professional has a clean work station, with office supplies, a computer and a (comfortable) chair that actually works. Be proactive. Start the process weeks before the new hire arrives. Claims managers should not be scrambling around, late on a Friday afternoon, only then discovering the new person needs a stapler, keyboard, monitor, and so on. Also, make sure each new hire has the appropriate IT system access for necessary applications and supporting software.

3. Provide “face time” with the manager to set expectations
While it is vital that new hires meet peers and direct reports, they should also meet the higher-ups. Have the manager welcome new employees and discuss briefly with them what they can expect for the first day and week.

4. Give a tour and make introductions to the claims staff
Show new adjusters around the office/building. Introduce them to the team they will be working with directly and other key personnel. Be selective and realistic here, though. Keep in mind it does virtually no good to walk them around and introduce them to 100 people in other departments because they will simply not remember them anyway.

5. Give them time to set up
Avoid over-structuring time during the first day on the job. Use the rest of the morning to let the new addition to the claims unit access the computer, set up voicemail and email, as well as apply for any needed adjuster licenses.

6. Treat them to lunch
Have a predetermined co-worker or two take them to lunch. This gesture makes a big difference. While it is fine if the boss wants to take them to lunch, often new hires in the claims department feel less intimidated if they go to lunch with peers, at least initially. Moreover, having the company/manager pay or reimburse them for the meal is even better.

7. Don't make them spend all of their time reading manuals
Allow for unstructured time during the first few days, but use part of the first days and week to let the new claims hire read company manuals, policies, best practices, and so on. If the claims hire is a neophyte, then break up the time by letting him or her “job shadow” with others. Whatever you do, though, refrain from having the person sit at a desk for hours on end reading claims manuals and literature.

8. Send them home early
Have the manager sit down with the new hire for an hour and a half before the day's end to recap the first day and identify any questions. Then, let the employee go home an hour early. Tell the person you look forward to seeing him or her tomorrow.

The key is to make newbies feel that, as a company, you are glad they joined and look forward to a long, productive relationship. Long hours and endless numbers of claims will come in due time. Being an adjuster is a tough job, so there is no sense rushing them into it.

A Lasting Impression

Leslie Yates, AIC, is a senior claims professional near Columbus, Ohio. Yates has brought on board many claims department associates. She finds that nothing turns off new employees more than seeing that the new employer is unprepared for them. To avoid that, Yates recommends formulating a training plan with a calendared series of instructive sessions for the new hire and the team members involved. Demonstrate a personal interest in the new hire's development.

Michael Spence, a claims project specialist from Buffalo, New York, suggests that managers meet with new hires for an hour to cover general ideas about how things work in the unit as well as the company as a whole. He adds it is crucial to provide a heads-up about any potential “fires” in the claims backlog as well. Having someone act as mentor and be part of this meeting facilitates a smooth onboarding process in which the new hire feels respected and valued.

A claims conflict resolution specialist and self-described “Queen of Onboarding” working in Sacramento, California, Ursula Whitfield emphasizes that the claims unit must be ready for the new hire. Aside from having the computer and requisite login IDs, phone, and clean, new desk equipment in place, this extends to the days leading up to orientation. The manager should contact the person before the first day of work, phoning or sending a nice personalized card, welcoming the person aboard. There should also be an onboarding schedule for the first week or at least the first few days. This should cover such items as whom they are shadowing; a sufficiently thorough tour of the facility, and so on. As mentioned earlier, someone from leadership should take the new hire to lunch. In addition to a physical “welcome” sign near the building or departmental entrance, set up a PowerPoint presentation that will be running on the new computer. This might include the person's name and title, along with a brief welcome message. 

Promising beginnings can lead to fruitful relationships. Be sure to plant the “seeds” of those fruits with a thoughtful and effective onboarding process for your new claims hires.

Remember the Training Component of Onboarding

“A new claims person needs to be trained,” says Barry Zalma, a lawyer and insurance fraud expert. “That means [he or she] should receive training on contract law and torts; how to read and interpret a policy of insurance; how to take a recorded statement; how to read and understand medical reports; how to determine damage to real property; how to repair an automobile; and most importantly how to deal with people with empathy.”

“The modern trend of giving blank checks to new hires, giving them the title 'adjuster'and sending them out to handle claims without training,” he cautions, “will make rich every policyholder's lawyer.”

Study: 85 Percent of Insurers Have No Women in Top Positions

By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360.com

A 2012 study undertaken by Saint Joseph's University Academy of Risk Management and Insurance shows that gender diversity is lacking across all leadership levels within the insurance industry.

“Executive leaders are aware of the status of gender diversity among insurance organizations, they are genuinely surprised and disappointed in the results, and are interested in providing a solution,” said Mike Angelina, Academy executive director and administrator of the study that analyzed SNL data of major insurance organizations, in a June 13 presentation of the results at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Global Women in Insurance Conference.

Women hold only 6 percent of top executive positions (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.), 12.5 percent of board seats, and 8 percent of inside business, legal or actuarial officer roles, such as chief actuary or division president, among the 100 publicly-traded or mutual insurers/reinsurers.

The study found that 85 percent of companies have no females in top executive positions; 28 percent of companies have zero women on its board of directors; and 65 percent have no female inside business or functional officers on its board of directors.

Market segmentation is a key differentiator with respect to gender diversity in leadership roles: a quarter of the top executive roles held by females are in the brokerage business; 21 percent of women inside officers and 18 percent of female directors are employed in personal lines insurance.

Furthermore, companies that communicate with customers on a daily basis tend to exhibit more gender diversity, with more women working as brokers (7 percent) and in life (15 percent), and personal lines insurance (17 percent) than in any other insurance-based organization.

Many younger women are just entering the insurance workforce, with more than 15 percent having two to three years of tenure in the industry, and almost 10 percent having only one year of experience. According to Angelina, progress that is occurring today may not come to fruition for many years.

“Entry-level women hired in 2011 will not become CEOs tomorrow,” Angelina says. “Any change will take time to become reflected in the poll results.”

The challenge, says Angelina, is now to help women move into and upwards through their insurance careers through increased identification and recruitment, training and leadership development initiatives. The Academy plans to update the study with data from 2013 proxy statements and SEC filings.

All but two percent of male and female respondents to a live poll held during the IICF said that gender inequality still exists in the insurance industry. About half said that the lack of C-Suite recognition and sponsorship is the top issue that must be confronted to elevate this statistic, and 26 percent said that women need to promote themselves more efficiently in order for change to occur.

More than 30 percent replied that their company does nothing to source more female talent, but mentoring seems to be just as empowering: 20 percent of respondents can rely on CEO endorsement and mentoring or sponsorship programs, and about 90 percent have participated in and benefitted from a professional mentoring relationship.