Cream rises, hope floats, and poor performance … sinks the claim department. One key talent for effective claim managers lies in the ability to coach an under-performing adjuster or staff member. We have likely all known under-performers, either as peers or as reports. (Perhaps you have had a boss you would place in this dubious category!)

If you are a claim manager or supervisor with problem children on your staff, you must take action. You cannot pull up the covers and hope the clunkers take care of themselves. A key initial step is to identify where they need help and improvement. Is it in interpreting policy language and analyzing coverage? Is their knowledge of claim law deficient? Are they clueless on medical concepts and overlook talking points in arguing damages with claimant attorneys? Are they lazy negotiators who prefer “take it or leave it” offers because they disdain the ebb and flow of negotiation? Are the problems in work habits? Spotty attendance? Chronic tardiness? Disorganization and mismanagement of time? Then there are the “squishier” issues. These relate to intangibles, such as not playing nice with others, poor attitude, failure to mesh as a team player, and lack of initiative.

Problem employees may have more baggage than an O'Hare skycap, but the claim manager or supervisor must address these issues. Failure to do so will cause the department to limp along and will degrade its performance. It also may hurt the morale of the rest of the staff. Give an under-performing employee a chance to elevate his game; if he cannot raise his game, this may spur some much-needed introspection on whether he should seek work elsewhere.

From a human relations standpoint, addressing specific areas of performance shortfalls — and documenting them — is key to defending any later claims of wrongful discharge or retaliation. You may hope that the weak performer in your claim unit will improve but, as my first boss drummed into me, “Hope is not a strategy.” What you need is not hope, but an action plan to rehab the under-performer.

Assessing Salvageability

One starting point is to ask yourself whether you really want to rehab the employee. Is this a member of your claim staff who has potential, or someone who is at the end of the line? Have they shown the capacity to change and improve? Do they need more rehab than Lindsay Lohan? Have they had recurring problems, or had the same issues, again and again? To put it another way, is he a 10-year adjuster? Or a one-year adjuster 10 times over? There is a difference! How hard do you want to work to get him to upgrade his performance? Have you been seeking a reason to shed excess staff, or is your unit stretched thin? How is the local job market for good claim people? How fast do you think you could replace one of your adjusters if he left? Do you have staffing contingency plans to keep files serviced during this period?

Documenting the employee's areas for improvement is vital. Employees have little ability to fix a deficiency unless you let them know there is a problem. Otherwise, self-delusion enters in. Employees can be in complete denial regarding their shortcomings. Even if you communicate areas for improvement, there is no guarantee that they will accept it or “buy in.” If they do not, perhaps then pull the proverbial plug.

Document, nevertheless. There are many good reasons. First, it offers a road map of areas to work on and coach on. Second, if things do not work out and you must part ways with the employee, documentation is essential from an human resources standpoint. Many states will recognize wrongful termination suits. It will be tough to defend these if you cite a litany of problems about the adjuster you have canned but there is scarcely any mention of deficiencies in the personnel file or performance appraisal. Worse still is if the employee is terminated “for cause” and the written documentation is positive!

Set specific goals. Determine if the employee needs to improve his technical knowledge. If so, assign specific resources for reading. Find out if there is any outside course available to shore this up. Does your company offer training in the area where the employee is deficient? If not, is there any kind of self-paced, self-study tool that you can order? If not, are there any short off-site classes to which you could consider sending the employee? Decide on an action plan for addressing the area of deficiency or needs- improvement area. Agree on specific time benchmarks, such as: “By December 15th, you will…”

Follow up. As management guru Tom Peters says, “That which gets measured gets done.” Follow up periodically to monitor and gauge the progress of the “rehab project.” Are they making progress? Have they made good faith efforts to improve? Have they taken your advice and counseling to heart? Schedule time with the employee as a recurring appointment on your calendar (and theirs) to meet and discuss. These regular meetings can have a motivational impact on the adjuster's progress, as it reinforces accountability. Relying on a memo or e-mail lacks the same accountability “oomph.”

Tom McCloskey of Snow Country Services (Boyne City, MI) thinks employers have a duty to determine a root cause for poor performance. The causes are as many as there are employees. He notes that the reasons for lackluster performance might range from a simple “could not care less,” to a spouse with terminal cancer.

One question that often arises is, “Whom do you salvage and whom do you encourage to seek other career paths?” McCloskey believes this depends on the manager's perception. “If the person is seen as a potential performer, a talent, or just another cog in the wheel,” McCloskey notes, adding that “people are not fungible.”

McCloskey once gave a direct report a “two weeks off” assignment, asking the person to come to work each day with the local classifieds, using the time to shop for another job. “If you think your services are worth more than I pay, I want you to explore the market,” McCloskey notes. The employee was back to work after five days, with an improved attitude.

Another guy, McCloskey recalls, was so relieved when he pulled the trigger, McCloskey thought he was going get a kiss. The employee “went to a competitor and with the fresh start, became a star. He was so behind in his work, he saw no hope of ever catching up.”

So, before pulling the proverbial employment trigger and terminating a problem employee, consider mentoring and coaching. By salvaging the situation, you help the employee upgrade his skills, promote claim staff continuity, and perhaps even strengthen your hand if a discharged employee pursues an employment claim. Your reputation as a mentor and developer of talent may also help propel your claim career.

From 2002-03, Steve Spurrier coached the Washington Redskins, his sole (and mediocre) foray into the NFL after a stellar college coaching career with the Florida Gators. “The Old Ball Coach,” as he called himself, was notorious for saying that one way to win games was to elevate his players' performances, to “coach `em up.” The phrase became popular in Washington, D.C. for a while, at least until the team owner canned Spurrier.

The claim manager's job is similar when it comes to the claim staff — especially under-performing adjusters — you need to “coach `em up”!

Don't fire them (at least not right away); fire them up!

Kevin Quinley is a claim executive in the Washington, D.C. area. You can reach him at kquinley@cox.net or at his web site, www.kevinquinley.com.

Special Reports /

Fire Them Up Before Firing Them

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