The 8 Characteristics of Awesome Adjustersby Carl Van and Sue TarrachClaims magazine, Dec 1996
Rochelle, an adjuster being managed by one of this article’s authors, was busy one day in the break room reading her claims law book when a co-worker interrupted her concentration with, “I don’t think it’s fair that Carl uses you to do everything for him. H should spread the work around, and not always pile it up on you. I don’t know why he picks on you so much.”
At that moment Rochelle’s manager, Carl, was walking in and overheard the comment (which, although disguised as concern, was actually meant to stir up bad feelings). Before Carl stepped into the room to defend his actions or apologize, Rochelle replied, “I realize he does give me more than anybody else. It makes me feel good that he thinks so highly of me. When someone has that much faith in me, I work hard not to let them down.”
The manager couldn’t have asked for a more positive response, and his respect for her soared. It was her attitude that separated her from her co-workers, that slight but all-important difference in the way a person looks at their circumstances. It was that attitude that allowed her to succeed and propelled her forward in her career while those around her struggled.
Attitude is just one of eight characteristics of what the authors call “awesome adjusters.” Awesome adjusters are the elite. The top 2 percent. Awesome adjusters come in all shapes, sizes and colors, both sexes, and many educational and intellectual levels. As different as they are, however, they also have a great deal in common. The following is an outline of the characteristics, skills and attitudes that these adjusters have in common that make them superior adjusters.
1) Attitude. The single most important characteristic of the awesome adjuster is attitude. It has been said, "There is very little difference between people, but that little difference can make a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative."
The very best adjusters are people who look for the positive in all situations. For those people, being overburdened with work is an opportunity to demonstrate work ethic. Making mistakes is an opportunity to learn something. Being asked to do more than anyone else is an indication that someone thinks more of you than anyone else.
Managers just love to deal with awesome adjusters. They don’t get bent out of shape when asked to help out. They question the status quo without waging a war against policy or procedure. They always have a suggestion for improvement when they express a concern. They look for ways to make something work, rather than building a case for why it won’t.
There are plenty of solid technicians who are bad adjusters because their focus is on discouraging others instead of encouraging themselves.
2) Desire for excellence. Many years ago Scott and all his co-workers were asked to complete some arbitration forms. When his manager was reviewing the work of the unit to make sure they did it, he skipped over Scott’s file. A co-worker of Scott’s noticed this, and inquired of his manager why he checked everyone else’s work but not Scott’s. The manager replied, “If Scott says he did it…then he did it.” Awesome adjusters believe that whatever one does, it be done in an excellent manner. Scott is a good example. It makes absolutely no difference to him whether the task is important or not. All that matters is his deep-rooted desire to do an excellent job regardless of the circumstances.
This is extremely hard to develop, but not impossible. Most of the time, the desire to do an excellent job comes from personal values instilled at an early age, but sometimes it can be learned. To learn the desire for excellence, one must be exposed to the rewards. This is management’s greatest failing: the practice of attempting to train employees to desire excellence without showing potential rewards. How does anyone know they want something until they have seen it or tried it?
Scott already had the desire for excellence when he became an adjuster. He knew that meant even the little boring things have to get done – like making sure the form is complete, getting a statement when one is needed, documenting the file, attaching the photos in the right place, using the right color ink – because Scott knew that no one can see his good hard work if their attention has been distracted by the little things.
A crucial point here is that the desire for excellence does not impede the ability to accept feedback and constructive criticism. Pride in one’s work is an essential element in the desire for excellence, however it cannot stand in the way of accepting that improvement is possible, and should be sought after.
3) Initiative. Awesome adjusters always look for ways to find the answer before having to ask. They spend their time reading manuals, reviewing memos, doing whatever they can to find the answer before asking their co-workers and managers. Then, they spend their time thinking things through, and developing an informed opinion before going to their manager. Tom is like that. He comes prepared with what he thinks the answer is, and can explain how he got there. Even if – and this is important – all of his efforts were fruitless; it is the fact that he makes the effort that is long remembered and appreciated.
It makes no difference whether Tom is right or wrong because it’s the process that is important. Developing the right answer will come with time and training. The most knowledgeable, well-developed thinkers learn as much (if not more) from their mistakes, errors and failures than from being right. The adjusters who always ask before looking for the answer themselves are less than effective and fall tragically short of their own potential. They simply do not recognize that it is the fear of being wrong – the fear that their manager might think they are not smart – that holds them back..
4) Teamwork. Some adjustors are great in every way on their own work. They truly believe they are team players because they do their own work without bothering anyone. But awesome adjustors recognize that they can sometimes have a greater impact by assisting other members of the team rather than focusing only on their own work. At those times, they offer assistance.
Not only does this help out the team, it improves customer service. A nice fringe benefit that comes along with helping others is the assistance one gets in return.
5) Customer Service and empathy. Awesome adjustors know what business they are in. They do not repair the cars, they do not provide the medical care, they do not rebuild the homes. What adjustors do, is provide customer service. They help arrange for compensation, yes. But what separates the average adjustors from the excellent ones is that the excellent adjustors know that how you deal with people is just as important as what you do for them. Awesome adjustors go even further, and truly desire to help their customers. They want their customers to feel, regardless of the final disposition of the claim, that they were treated with respect and concern. Awesome adjusters are tremendously successful when it comes time for negotiation, because they have built a level of trust with their customers through empathy. Awesome adjusters know, that people trust others to the degree that they feel the other person understands where they are coming from. The adjuster who does not take the time to acknowledge what the customer has gone through has failed to seize a wonderful opportunity to make the process go smoothly.
In the same day, adjusters Martin and Deanna responded to a customer’s telephone complaint of being transferred around in different ways:
Martin: "Well, we have a lot of different departments. Not everyone knows everyone else. If you don’t explain what you need clearly, you might get transferred to someone else. And then if that person is not there to pick up the call, the operator will try someone else. Plus right now we are so busy that we have some people helping out in other departments."
Deanna: "Mrs, Waisner, being transferred around can be very frustrating. If that has happened to you, I apologize. Now that you’ve got me, let me help you."
Martin is setting the stage for an argument by trying to explain how being transferred around can happen. Deanna doesn’t accept that the person has been transferred around, only that if it has happened, she is sorry it happened to the customer. She is not accepting blame. She is simply empathizing with the customer’s frustration. Which of the adjusters will have an easier job at settlement time?
6) Time Management. Awesome adjusters rarely work harder than other adjusters, and usually do not get any more work done than others. However, they more than make up for it in what they get done. Awesome adjusters focus on the high-impact activities. Those things that will yield large results for little effort. Here are some examples:
Kathy takes the time to thoroughly explain the entire process to her customers. She tells her customers, up front, what to expect, when to expect it, and what to do if 80 percent of all "nuisance" calls (calls just asking questions or checking up on the process), occur simply because the customers do not feel comfortable with what is happening or is supposed to happen.
Bob keeps "to-do" lists. This single greatest tool for keeping focused on important items is rarely used by adjusters. Most rely on incoming calls, diary or mail to dictate what they will do that day, then go home feeling like they have no control over their work day.
Jill calls whenever possible instead of sending letters. She uses the fax instead of mail. She speaks of what needs to get done with a sense of importance, and always relates it to the benefit to the customer.
7) Continuing Education. A big separation between good, excellent and awesome adjusters is the dedication they have toward learning. Good adjusters learn the job as they go along. They read what they are told to read, and attend classes that they are told to attend. Excellent adjusters voluntarily seek out and attend additional seminars and classes in order to learn even more than is expected. They read insurance-related articles and new case law updates. Awesome adjusters do all these things, but don one thing more, as in this example:
Dave volunteered to organize passing on the information to the other team members. This meant putting on a small training session, summarizing long legal updates, highlighting articles, and a number of other things. Awesome adjusters become extremely knowledgeable very quickly because they are involved in disseminating information, which raises their level of understanding and practical application to a much higher level.
8) Interpersonal Skills. It has been said in this age of increasing customer service that 80 percent of promotions will go to people who are problem solvers and can get along with other people. The ability to deliver a message, ask questions or provide input on sensitive matters without creating bad feelings is a fundamental trait of excellent adjusters. Awesome adjusters have the uncanny knack of being able to deal with delicate situations and have people actually feel good. Much of this has to do with empathy, but it also has to do with knowing how people like to be treated, and knowing how to find out what is really important to them.
A discussion of job knowledge and technical skills ahs been omitted from this article. The reason is simple. Those are by-products - not characteristics - of awesome adjusters. Those skills are developed because of the characteristics mentioned above. Adjusters (and managers as well) who think they are superior because of their claims knowledge or technical skills alone are often mediocre - they just don't know it.
Carl Van is President & CEO of International Insurance Institute SM, Inc. in Sacramento, Calif. Sue Tarrach is Assistant Vice President of Claims Service with CalFarm Insurance in Sacramento, Calif. The two created and facilitate a full-day workshop through the Insurance Educational Association in Sacramento and San Francisco designed to show students ways to develop the "Eight Characteristics of Awesome Adjusters."
INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE, Inc. SM 2112 Belle Chasse Hwy, Suite 11-319Gretna, LA 70056click here for contact numberswww.InsuranceInstitute.com
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