At the end of the day, where the rubber meets the road, there isonly one thing that really matters; results. Far too oftenorganizations spend far too much time chasing numbers only to bemuddled in mediocrity. Call this person, close that file,inspect that vehicle, refer more to subrogation, move thesalvage. The list of metrics upon which adjusters are measuredgoes on and on.

Certainly, there are tasks that have to becompleted. Effective adjusters, managers, and executives knowthis and don't need to be asked twice. Herein lies theproblem; are the myriad of metrics designed to get results orsimply prod marginalstaff along?

As discussed in Re-Adjusted: 20 Essential RulesTo Take Your Claims Organization From Ordinary ToExtraordinary, not everyone is meant for a career inclaims. Yet, many organizations ignore this in their hiringpractices. The reality is that organizations are comprised ofA, B and C players. The key to success is to acquire as manyA's as possible, motivate the B's and remove theC's.

Companies become great because of their people and theirculture. Companies also fail for the same reason. As afrequent flier, I typically travel on the one airline that hasredefined that industry. The reason they have succeeded isbecause their people do things right, in a consistent manner withprocesses and procedures designed to get results, not the least ofwhich is the hiring of the right personnel.

Whether it is an airline, a manufacturer, a professional serviceprovider or a claims organization success occurs when there isbasic execution of the fundamentals. It is important to notforget that claims is a skill, not a job. It takes a certainpersonality to effectively handle the tasks required for thoroughinvestigations, negotiations and settlement.

In reviewing processes throughout the industry, both here andabroad, it never ceases to amaze me how many opportunitiesexist. Liability is often assessed at zero or onehundred percent despite a significant percentage of claimsinvolving shared liability. Injury investigations oftenoverlook pre-existing conditions or interveningcircumstances. Scene investigations are rarely completed andwitnesses often aren't questioned. Clinics go uninspected,patient sign in logs aren't obtained, red flags for fraud areroutinely ignored.

It is this basic blocking and tackling that separates not onlyA,B and C players but entire organizations who can gain asignificant competitive advantage with simple processimprovement. Fortunately, none of this is overlycomplex. To the contrary, it simply involves hiring the rightpeople, training the right knowledge, implementing the rightprocesses and leveraging the right technology.

Read More of Chris Tidball's Blog Posts atBlocking andTackling

By following this model, the results will come. During mytenure overseeing claims operations we found success bytransforming from the status quo. While measuring mountains ofmetrics had historically given us data, it wasn't giving us theresults we sought. By moving to one simple metric andcalibrating the organization, the focus moved from chasing numbersto getting results.

In this particular case the simple metric was an allencompassing quality assurance score. A good claim file willmeet every metric that had been previously measuredindividually. This focus enabled the organization to improveaccuracies, reduce expenses, decrease cycle time and increaseretention. It also provided the data needed to ensure theappropriate people were in the appropriate jobfunction.

With a simple re-adjustment designed to leverage people,processes and technology, it is possible for any organization to gofrom ordinary to extraordinary. Those who are overly ambitiouswill not only redefine their own organization but also have thepotential to redefine their industry.

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is notenough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” – VanceHavne