In this eight-part series, Carl Van shares his thoughts on thecharacteristics of the awesome adjuster. The series is to serve asa sort of road map for those interested in knowing what it takes tobe among the top in their field.

The most important aspect of teamwork is for claim people tounderstand what the word really means. Because claim people havethe opportunity to work by themselves, on their own cases andfiles, and only interact on a limited basis, they believe thatteamwork is not important in claims. In fact, they believe thatthey can do an outstanding job with their own files and work, whilesomeone right next to them struggles, falters, and fails. Theybelieve this for a very important reason: it is true.

One characteristic of awesome adjusters is that they not only doa great job on their own work, but they also help out in theoffice. They understand that, by helping other people, they willreceive the rewards themselves later on, and that will make all oftheir jobs much easier.

What Business Are You in?

When I monitor phone calls, one of the most important questionsI have to answer for myself is: Is this adjuster in the customerservice business? Or, is this adjuster in the “get rid of thisperson if he's not my problem” business?

The most important thing that I listen for is whether a claimadjuster actually believes that his job is customer service and iswilling to help even if it is not his claim, or whether he tries todo anything he can to get rid of a customer because it is not hisproblem. This is important in teamwork, because there is a hugepotential that we all are creating more work for ourselves by beingselfish and handling only our own work.

I was listening to phone calls one day when a particular callcame in that I believe makes my point. A customer, Betsy Burke,called and got Maria, and the exchange went like this:

Maria: Hello, this is Maria in claims, how mayI help you?

Betsy: I'm calling to find out what's going on.I keep getting calls from the company that loaned me money on thecar. I thought you all paid this off?

Maria: Oh, this is Tom's claim. He's not intoday. Can I have him call you tomorrow?

Betsy: No, I want to find out what's going onnow.

Maria, heaving a big sigh: Ok, what is yourclaim number?

Betsy: 1234567

Maria: It looks here that we paid $6,000 onyour truck.

Betsy: But I owed $8,000.

Maria: Hold on. (Maria puts Betsy on hold, twominutes pass.)

Maria, getting back on the phone: Ma'am, didyou sign a bill of sale?

Betsy: A bill of sale? What's that?

Click, put on hold again. Maria does not say a word before doingthis. Three minutes pass. The phone rings and a new person answersthe phone.

Steve: Hello, this is Steve, claim supervisor,can I help you?

Is Maria in the customer service business, or is she in the “getrid of this lady, she's not my problem” business? That's right,this adjuster is in the “get rid of this lady, she's not myproblem” business. Notice how she did not even want to try to help.Her first goal was to get rid of Ms. Burke.

In the adjuster's defense, you might say that maybe she was notsupposed to answer these questions or maybe she did not know how tohelp someone like this. That would be a good defense, except thatshe knew perfectly well how to do it. That is not why she wasn'thelping Ms. Burke. She was not helping because it was not her claimand, therefore, not her job. You see, she does not know that she isin the customer service business, she thinks that she is in the“handling claims” business.

Take a look at the next phase. When she realized that she wasgoing to have to talk to this person, a big sigh slipped out, whichclearly tells the customer that she really does not want to dealwith it, but she is willing to put up with it. This is not greatcustomer service and these types of things come out more than wecan ever imagine.

When she put Ms. Burke on hold the first time, she did say,“Hold on,” but it is common courtesy to simply ask someone if theycan be put on hold. For example, “Would you mind if I put you onhold?” And, of course, it's always nice to actually wait for ananswer. Additionally, it is common courtesy to tell someone howlong they are likely to remain on hold, and maybe even give them areason for being put on hold. Unfortunately, we did not get any ofthat; what we got was, “Hold on.”

Hot Potato

You might be looking at this conversation wondering how theclaim supervisor got involved. For that, I need to reconstruct thedialogue, because it is not obvious just from reading it. The firsttime that Maria put the customer on hold, she walked over to hersupervisor, and it went like this:

Maria: Hey, Steve, this is Tom's claim. He'snot here right now. Can I transfer this call to you?

Steve: What does she want?

Maria: I don't know, something about we paid$6,000 but she owes $8,000. Can I transfer this call to you?

Steve: She must have signed a bill of sale orsomething, didn't she?

Maria: I'll go find out.

This is the point at which Maria gets back on the phone and asksMs. Burke whether she signed a bill of sale. When the customerindicates that she does not even know what a bill of sale is, Mariaputs her right back on hold. Maria walks back over to hersupervisor.

Maria: She doesn't even know what a bill ofsale is. Can I transfer this call to you?

Steve: Fine, fine, transfer the call to me.

Maria walks back to her desk, clicks on the line, transfers thecall, and hangs up the phone. That ends her total interaction withthis customer.

Let me ask: Do you think she is saving herself any time? Is shesaving herself any work? One thing is sure: Maria thinks that sheis. She thinks that she has saved herself work by not having todeal with this person at all. Yet, if everybody in the office isdoing the same thing, it actually is generating more work foreveryone.

If Maria had gotten rid of this call by taking a message forTom, that means that Tom has to call back the next day. When hedoes call back and does not get the person, he will leave amessage. When that person calls back, she will not get Tom becauseTom will be on the phone, and then she will leave a message. Andthen Tom will call her back and, maybe, after about five or sixphone calls back and forth, Tom actually might be able to talk toher and do absolutely nothing more for her than anyone else couldhave done.

What I want to submit is that if everyone simply tried to helpcustomers, if they could, before they tried to get rid of them, itwould reduce the amount of work for everybody. This is where theteamwork aspect comes in.

I have talked to plenty of adjusters who thought that they wereoutstanding in teamwork, but who never appreciated this. In fact, Iasked an adjuster one day whether he thought that he was a teamplayer, and he said, yes, he thought that he was an excellent teamplayer. When I asked him why, he replied, “Simple. I am great atteamwork because I do my job, and pull my own weight, and I do notbug anybody else.”

Teamwork is much more than just doing one's own work and mindingone's own business. Awesome claim adjusters understand that theywill get back far more than they ever will give by paying attentionto teamwork. To help others in their offices always will returngreat rewards, because they almost always will get paid back morethan they ever offered in the first place. Additionally, awesomeadjusters know that, by helping customers whenever they can, evenif it is not their file, it will ultimately reduce the amount ofwork the entire office has, and everyone benefits.

As far as teamwork goes, I have found there are people who aregivers, and people who are takers. Givers keep an eye out for theircoworkers and help whenever they can. Takers spend as much effortas possible making sure that no one is taking advantage of them,and refusing to help others.

The funny thing is, I have never met a giver who was unhappy inhis job, and I have never met a taker who was happy.

Carl Van is president and CEO of International InsuranceInstitute and dean of the School of Claims Performance. He can bereached at www.insuranceinstitute.com.