Colorado Best Companies to Work For Announced...

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a session sharing best practice information and recognizing the Best Companies to Work For in Colorado. Sponsored by Jobing.com, Colorado Biz magazine, the Colorado Human Resources Association, and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment among others, the event recognizes companies who really take to heart the value of their own employees in their organization's success.

60 companies submitted for recognition this year and the winners are ranked by size (small, medium, and large employers). The process involves each company's employees being surveyed on more than 60 questions as well as a formal application being completed. Pinnacol was recognized as the #1 Best Company to Work For in Colorado last year, so we were not anticipating a repeat in 2010. So we were thrilled to be recognized this year in the number two spot behind this year's winner: Edward Jones. The reality though is that all the employers on this year's Best Places to Work list are truly special places to work. Edward Jones and Pinnacol fall into the large employer category. Here is a list of our peers on the list:

1. Edward Jones
2. Pinnacol Assurance
3. PricewaterhouseCoopers
4. CoBank
5. DaVita Inc.
6. Quest Diagnostics
7. Merrick & Co.
8. Omni Interlocken Resort
9. Alpine Bank
10. T-Mobile USA and Cheyenne Mountain Resort (tied for 10th)

I'd say congratulations to these companies, but I would be remiss in doing so. Instead, congratulations to the employees of these organizations - they are what really make these companies the great places to work that they are. I'm a little biased so I'm saving a special Thank You! to all of our Pinnacol employees for this year's recognition. For those of you who have followed Pinnacol in the news you know its been a challenging year for us with an unusual amount of legislative and media attention. The fact that our employees, through their survey responses, still see the company as a wonderful place to work speaks volumes about the culture they are a part of.

One thing I noticed is that how different the cultures of the recognized companies are. There is no secret formula, no one roadmap on how to make a great place to work. Some of the things that Pinnacol employees rave about might not fit another company and vice versa. For example, one of the award winning companies teaches employees how to do doggie CPR and another one stocks their refrigerators with beer! The latter will likely never happen at Pinnacol (unless perhaps its root beer - a cold, frosty mug of A&W is my particular favorite!) but that's ok. We have our own special blend of benefits, traditions, perks, and culture that works for us in our quest to deliver top-notch service to our customers. I've blogged on this before, but as a job seeker its critical that you find the organization that best fits you and allows you to be the best you can be. We think Pinnacol is certainly worthy of your consideration as a potential employer, but given the caliber of the companies on the Best Places to Work In Colorado list, we have some stiff competition!

New opportunity for Oracle Database Administrator!

We have just announced a new opportunity to join our Data and Network Services team (via http://www.pinnacol.com/, http://www.dice.com/, www.denver.craigslist.org/ and LinkedIn). We are looking for an experienced Oracle Database Administrator to be responsible for the corporate database including logical design, as well as providing assistance to systems staff with the physical database environment.

The position requires detailed knowledge of the Oracle database (Oracle 9i/10g/11g) and its supporting software and the ability to create, design and manage all facets of the database as well as the ability to translate complex technical concepts to a wide range of audiences. Proficiency in Oracle Recovery Manager, import/export (and datapump), SQL*Loader and Oracle Enterprise Manager is a must. A Bachelor's Degree in computer science or a related field, or equivalent technical work experience along with a  minimum of 8 years experience as an Oracle Database Administrator, in-depth knowledge of SQL and PL/SQL, and strong Unix or Linux experience including strong shell scripting skills is sought. If you, or someone you know, are interested in this type of position, please apply online at http://www.pinnacol.com/!

Passion...

I was out of the office last week enjoying some vacation time, or as we refer to it at Pinnacol, PTO (Paid Time Off). Pinnacol is generous in the PTO allowed employees because it understands that the best employees are the ones that maintain a healthy work/life balance. New employees begin with 20 days (4 weeks) of PTO during their first full year of service to use however they like and long-term employees with 10 plus years with the company enjoy 6 weeks. One of the really nice things about Pinnacol's PTO is that new employees don't need to wait some determined amount of time before they are eligible to use their time off. We recognize that even new employees have family obligations, doctor's appointments, and the like that can't be postponed simply because one has started a new job.

This last week I had the opportunity to participate in the Tour De Wyoming bicycle ride. Starting in Green River the 350 riders on this year's tour covered 370 miles with stops in Idaho, Utah, as well as Wyoming. Each night the tour provided some form of entertainment for us. One of the nights a gentleman performed for us that I had never heard of, though apparently he's developing quite a following in the Cowboy State as well as on YouTube. His name is Jalan Crossland and as I watched him perform his magic I was thinking that not only does he have a gift for what he does, he's also very passionate about his craft.  Here's a short clip of him in action:

At Pinnacol we get a lot of resumes from candidates looking for a job, especially with what's going on in the economy. There's no doubt these candidates really do need a job - we all have to support ourselves and our families. When I first started with Pinnacol (it was called the Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority back then) if you could do the technical aspects of the job that was about all that was required. I clearly remember some employees who were technical experts at what they did (claims adjusting, underwriting, auditing, etc.) but they weren't passionate about what they were doing and it showed. Other employees noticed, and sadly, I'm sure that our customers were aware as well. In today's world, and given the tight job market, employers can be very selective about who they bring on board. Increasingly they are looking for people who not only can do the job, but take the way they do it to a whole new level. Jalan Crossland doesn't just play the guitar, he takes the way he plays it to where few others can go. Call it passion, call it enthusiasm, call it focus, its the spark that sets these folks apart from their peers.

I sometimes tell candidates I meet with that no one at Pinnacol, when asked in the fifth grade what they wanted to do when they grew up, raised their hand and said they wanted to work in workers' compensation insurance. Yet as I look around the organization today I see people who have passion for what they do and the service they provide to our customers. Pinnacol aspires to become the best workers' compensation insurance company in the nation. That's a very lofty goal (at last count there were more than 500 other workers' compensation insurance companies operating in the U.S.). Unless we can continue to attract employees who can demonstrate a passion for what they do, much like Jalan does in the clip above, we won't get there. That's why we truly believe that great companies keep company with great people.

Pinnacol's employee picnic held at Aurora Reservoir

Pinnacol's employee picnic was recently held at the Aurora Reservoir. 473 employees and guests braved the heat to enjoy a day at the beach. Kids of all ages enjoyed games, face painting, fun tatoos, watersports, and, of course, lots of great food!

Pinnacol hosts an annual summer picnic as well as a winter holiday party to allow employees and their families to get together and enjoy each other in a non-business setting. In recent years employees have enjoyed these events at venues such as Six Flags/Elitch Gardens, the Denver Zoo, and Heritage Square among others.

Pinnacol Education Fair promotes never-ending learning

Pinnacol has a very generous Tuition Assistance program and actively encourages our employees to continue their formal education. Change is continuous at our company. Whether its a new employee joining us, new technology that's impacting how we do our jobs, new legislation that affects what we can and cannot do, there is always something new that we are having to learn about and adapt to. Every year Pinnacol hosts an Education Fair to bring the area's colleges and universities together with our employees so that they can learn about the huge variety of programs designed to help them in their careers.

This year's Education Fair, held today, saw our employees meeting with representatives from Regis University, University of Denver, Webster University, Arapahoe Community College, Colorado State University, Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Phoenix, Columbia College, Front Range Community College, Colorado Christian University, Colorado Technical Institute, DeVry University, National American University, University of the Rockies, Western Governors University, and the Art Institute of Colorado. With that kind of selection our employees would be hard pressed to not find a program designed specifically for their interests and needs.

Some of these schools already teach classes on-site at our Pinnacol headquarters building. Regis University, for example, is teaching our on-site M.B.A. program and the Aurora Community College teaches a series of classes aimed at those interested in pursuing their Associate's or Bachelor's degree. Regardless of the level, these college classes segue nicely into the more job-specific training we offer our employees in-house. We have employees currently enrolled in degree programs from the Associates to the Doctoral level. Given the rapid changes that we all face its critical to have a well educated workforce and our well trained employees are one of the reasons we're known as the workers' compensation experts in Colorado.

Thank you to all the representatives from all the schools that participated in this year's Education Fair, and to our employees who took advantage, we'll see you in the classroom!

A little bit of Pinnacol Trivia...

Pinnacol was originally created in 1915 when the Colorado legislature first passed the Colorado Workers' Compensation Insurance Act. In those days we were known as the State Compensation Insurance Fund. As a history buff I'm always curious about the similarities of times gone by with what's occurring today. When we do new employee orientation we try to share some of our company history but sometimes it is difficult for new employees to appreciate what we are sharing with them because they lack the historical knowledge to put what was happening with our company into context with what was happening in the broader world. So, just for fun, here's a quick quiz to test your knowledge. We're going back 95 years in time to 1915. Put on your thinking cap - which of the following things do you think actually occurred in that year?

1. While working as a cook at New York's Sloan Hospital under an assumed name, Typhoid Mary infects 25 people and is placed in quarantine for life.
2. The Battleship HMS Formidable is sunk by a German U-boat.
3. Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of Congress.
4. The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote.
5. German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the England for the first time, killing 20.

6. The first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
7. The film Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith, premieres in Los Angeles.
8. NACA (The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), the predecessor to NASA is founded.
9. Pluto is photographed for the first time but is not yet classified as a planet.
10. The Gallipoli Campaign begins.
11. The poet John McCrae writes the short poem In Flanders Fields. (If you've never read it, click on the title and it will come up)

12. Babe Ruth hits his first career home run.
13. The RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat.
14. The United States occupation of Haiti begins.
15. A hurricane hits Galveston and New Orleans leaving 275 dead.
16. The U.S. recognizes the Mexican government of Venustiano Carranza during the Mexican Revolution.
17. The theory of general relativity is formulated.

18. Paul Tibbets, who would later pilot the bomber Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan is born.
19. The singer Billie Holiday and the director and actor Orson Welles are born.
20. The singer Frank Sinatra and Werner Von Trapp (whose family The Sound of Music is based upon) are born.

Now that you've read through the list, I'll admit its not really a test. ALL of the above, and many other important things that helped shape the world as we now know it occurred in 1915. In doing the research for this posting I was amazed at the people who were born, as well as who died, in 1915 who have influenced the what and how of the things I do every day as well as influencing the way I understand the world around me. 1915 was clearly a very busy year, but what year isn't? I hope you enjoyed this short snapshot into a time that seems so far away, yet really was only a blink in time ago.

The best claim... is the claim that never happened

Accident prevention is a big part of what our employees do on a daily basis. Pinnacol has the state's largest staff of loss prevention experts and its their job to partner with the companies we insure to make sure they have the safest possible workplaces. One of our publications that goes out to our policyholders is called Focus and it recently had an article on a special event reaching out to Hispanic business owners and workers in the construction industry. Statistics in Colorado’s construction industry reflect a nationwide trend: a high fatality rate among Hispanics.

Pinnacol Hispanic Liaison Representative Johana Mendoza said that the event was open to Pinnacol policyholders and non-policyholders alike to address this startling truth.

“The goal of the conference was to create a safe work environment, not just for our policyholders and their employees but for the entire state of Colorado,” said Mendoza. “We know that on construction sites, our policyholders’ crews are working alongside non-policyholders’ crews, so it was important to offer this training to workers from across the state.” As a take-off on the popular Mastercard commercials the caption on the photo above reads:
 
 ANSI-Rated Hardhat: $6.28; OSHA Citation for Not Wearing a Hardhat: $7,000; Smart Car: $12,999; Protecting Your Skull From Impact: Priceless.

Bike to Work Day is always a hit with our employees...

Many Pinnacol employees make use of alternative transportation to get to and from work. Some of you may be familiar with the Denver area's annual Bike to Work Day which happens in late June (this year it was held on June 30th).

I have to admit that I did not participate in this year's version, although I was still on a bicycle. For the last two weeks I had the chance to do some self-supported bicycle touring through northern Idaho and Washington states as well as across the border in southern British Columbia. The route we followed is called the International Selkirk Loop and its spectacular regardless of how you do it.

Meanwhile, I understand our Pinnacol employees were treated with reasonably good weather as well as breakfast items to reward them for their efforts. Our intrepid staff combined for more than 464 miles commuting to and from the office on the 30th. I have them beat in terms of that number, except it took me two weeks to do it!

Congratulations to all of our staff who make their effort to find greener, and healthier, ways to get to work, not just on Bike to Work Day but throughout the year.

Pinnacol releases Annual Report

2009 was a challenging year for Colorado and the nation. Pinnacol, having been protecting Colorado employers and their workers since 1915, has seen tough times in the past. We also recognize that for the individual workers we protect the injuries they experience are often the toughest times of their lives. That hasn't changed since we were originally created. Accident prevention is at the heart of what we do, but accidents still occur, sometimes with catastrophic results.

This year's annual report highlights three individuals (Tom Young, Jandale Carter and Harley Bowers) and their families who's lives our employees have touched. Their stories – told in their own words – are inspiring portraits of human courage in the face of adversity. They, and the thousands of workers injured each year in Colorado, are what keep Pinnacol employees coming to work each day. While some may think of workers’ compensation insurance as a legal and business requirement, we see it as a daily opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.

Colorado will weather the current tough economic times, and Pinnacol will continue to be there to support the businesses and their workers that make this state such a wonderful place to live and raise a family. To view our most recent annual report please click here: 2009 Pinnacol Assurance Annual Report.