Pinnacol Foundation ramping up for 2011 Scholarships

I've shared information on this blog about the Pinnacol Foundation in the past (click here). It's almost 2011 and the Pinnacol Foundation is gearing up for the new year. The Foundation offers college scholarships to children who's parents have been injured on the job. More than 200 students have received these scholarships, and as the video below attests, the extra money towards college can make a big difference  in a young person's life who otherwise might not be able to afford the cost of higher education. If you know someone who might qualify, please have them visit the Pinnacol Foundation.

Team Nurse Case Manager: Temporary Assignment

We have a very rare opportunity for a Team Nurse Case Manager to join us for a short term temporary assignment. The assignment is anticipated to last for several months. I had the opportunity to speak with Jerica, the Business Director of one of our medium account teams, about this opportunity:



We have also advertised this opportunity on Craigslist:
Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading provider of worker’s compensation insurance and recognized as one of America’s Best Places to Work, seeks an RN to provide telephonic case management handling the medical aspects of workers’ compensation claims. This is a temporary assignment anticipated to last several months. Our nurses perform self-directed, professional level work in a fast paced team environment as they interact with injured workers, policyholders, and providers. A broad clinical background, and experience with rehabilitation, occupational health, managed care, or emergency nursing preferred along with the ability to  collaborate closely with claims representatives and work effectively in a team environment is a must. Requires current Colorado RN license.  For consideration apply online at www.pinnacol.com.

Where's the smartest place in America?

Using Census Bureau data, Portfolio.com just did a survey of the 200 largest U.S. markets to determine the metropolitan area with the "strongest brainpower". Boulder, CO, sometimes known as "the Berkeley of Colorado", topped the list. According to the article, five out of every six adults in the Boulder area (82.5 percent) have attended college, and 26 percent of Boulder’s residents hold master’s, doctoral, or professional degrees, the highest figure in the country. Ann Arbor, Michigan and Washington, D.C. were the runners up. Fort Collins, CO was number 5 on the list. The city of Merced, CA, known as "the gateway to Yosemite" was at the bottom of the list. Thirty-four percent of Merced’s adult residents left high school without receiving diplomas and only 11.3 percent hold at least a bachelor’s degree.


For those of us in the Denver area, Denver came in at number 21. 67% of Denver adults had attended some college, with 13% having earned a graduate or professional degree.

And yes, the article does point out that the higher the level of education, the higher the earnings power, with those holding advanced degrees having more than 300 percent higher annual earnings than those who drop out of High School.

Shanghai, China

Other recent studies indicate that overall the U.S. continues to fall behind other countries in educational achievement. One report released just this month showed fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranking 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scoring in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts, raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy.

At Pinnacol we strongly believe in having a well educated workforce.

That doesn't mean that you have to have a college degree for every position with our company. But as the managers I support constantly tell me, they are looking for what we call "continual learners". In other words, these are folks who can and want to advance their knowledge in a variety of different ways - through ongoing formal education, on the job training, self-study, etc. This ability to constantly learn allows our employees to adapt to an ever more rapidly changing world. The way we do our jobs now is radically different from the way we did them when I first started with this company, and will be radically different in 5-10 years from the way we do them today.

Its that time of year!

As 2010 rolls to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read this blog since it first went live in March. This blog isn't really mine - it's yours, as you explore potential employment with our company. As the economy rebounds, hopefully in 2011, I know you will have increasing options when it comes to picking employers you might want to work with. All of us at Pinnacol are honored that you would consider working with our company.

From all of us, to all of you, best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and for a bright and prosperous new year!

New Opportunity for Medical Operations Assistant!

We have a new opportunity available on our Medical Operations team for a Medical Operations Assistant. Our Medical Operations team provides services to our physician network of doctors and other healthcare providers who treat injured workers throughout Colorado.

The ideal candidate will have at least 2 years of general office experience, preferably in an insurance or medical setting, and will be responsible for the administrative support of the team. Strong computer, typing, and data entry skills along with the ability to coordinate multiple tasks is required. If you, or someone you know is interested, please apply on-line at www.pinnacol.com/careers.

What's Pinnacol Reading?

On Friday I attended the Pinnacol Book Club discussion of our most recent book "The Five Disfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni. Written in the form of a business fable, the book chronicles the efforts of a newly-hired CEO of a start-up California Tech company to pull together her group of executives into a high performing business team.

The book is an easy and entertaining read and makes the case for the cause of dysfunctional teams being a combination of factors that build upon each other:

• Absence of TRUST
• Fear of CONFLICT
• Lack of COMMITMENT
• Avoidance of ACCOUNTABILITY
• Inattention to RESULTS

Overall the Pinnacol Book Club gave the book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. Reviewers on Amazon give it 4 1/2 stars so I guess our Book Club members are a tougher audience! What struck most of the group was that the protaganist, the newly-hired CEO Kathryn, always had the perfect response as her team's weaknesses were unveiled, and we all sensed that, unlike the book, what happens in real life would never be so scripted. Despite its shortcomings, the book certainly shed light on many of the things that can and do go wrong in teams without the members even being aware.

Here's a sample of some reviews from our Book Club Members:

"None of the concepts were earth-shatteringly new, but they were all good reminders of the basic things that really matter.  The "fear of conflict" dysfunction was one I've thought about quite a bit.  Disagreeing with my team or my peers feels bad, but if everyone has a trusting relationship to start with, disagreeing can be very productive.  If there's a good healthy debate about an issue among a group of smart people, you're bound to come out with a better decision than you would if just one smart person made it."

"Overall this book was interesting, presented good concepts and ideas. It was a quick read that held my interest. The only thing I struggled with a little was it almost seemed too neat and convenient at times. Kathryn always seemed to know exactly what to say and how to present her arguments. Additionally, everyone seemed so at ease with making major life changes so quickly and effortlessly without as much pushback as expected. I did take some positive take away that can be applied in a personal setting: conflict can be positive and constructive and maintain commitment to an idea, project or job task."

"The Five Disfunctions of a Team was an easy ready and I enjoyed the story format of the book.  Overall, the concepts are good and the model is right on.  I would have liked to have read a factual story about a dysfunctional team/organization that turned itself around and sustained it's functionality over time.  I certainly agree that trust is the basis for all team success and think the author identified 4 other dysfunctions that quickly tear down a team's ability to be effective.  They build on each other but must constantly be revisited to ensure one dysfunction doesn't creep back in to the dynamics of a team."



Have you been reading any good business-related books? Let me know if you have a suggestion for what our Pinnacol Book Club might want to read in the future.

Around the World Cookie Festival Celebrates Diversity

Pinnacol values the diversity of our employees and every year sponsors diversity appreciation events including everything from guest speakers, to museum and photo exhibits, to Food Festivals. This last Wednesday Pinnacol celebrated diversity with an Around the World Cookie Festival.

Arranged through our Diversity Task Force, employees were treated to cookies from many different countries, from Ireland to Israel, Germany to Greece, China to Mexico.

Before the event I wouldn't have known a Ruggalach cookie from Baklava, but I do know that all the cookies were delicious!

Think you know your cookies? Try matching up the cookies listed below with their country of origin (for the answers, see the comments section):

Country                                       Cookie
America                                      Baklava
China                             Chocolate Chip Cookies
France                       Fortune and Almond Cookies
Germany                                Kolaches
Greece                                  Reposteria

Ireland                           Ruggalach Cookies

Israel                             Shortbread Cookies

Mexico                         Soda Bread Cookies

Poland                             Spritz Cookies

Scotland                            Tea Cookies

Colorado comes through...

You may have read before the Thanksgiving holiday that charitable organizations in Denver and throughout Colorado were struggling to gather enough donated food to provide holiday meals for those in need. You're also probably aware that the need this year is greater than normal due to the economic conditions we're facing as a State and as a nation.

One of the local organizations, the Denver Rescue Mission, had put out the word that they were in dire need of help, and Colorado businesses answered that need. Organizations as  varied as the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, XEROX, Delta Sigma LLC, Tree Land, Toyota Motor Sales, Mark Schlereth's Stinkin Good Green Chile, The Denver Foundation, Presidential World Wide Transportation, St. Anthony's Central Hospital, and The Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, stepped forward. Pinnacol and its employees were also  happy to participate. Companies raised money, held food drives, and donated turkeys so that the Denver Rescue Mission and other charitable organizations were able to share Thanksgiving meals with more than 150,000 hungry folks in Colorado.

The Denver Rescue Mission acts as a 'turkey collection center" that distributes turkeys to other organizations who are also providing holiday food boxes to those in need. This year, thanks to the efforts of businesses as well as the broader Colorado community, the number of turkeys collected was nearly 17,000 compared to 5,000 in a normal year. The increase allowed food to be distributed to organizations such as Project Hope, Wishing Well Enterprises, Metro Denver Partners, Straight Ahead Colorado, Food Works (COMPA), Arvada Food Bank, Weld County Food Bank, and others.

The need, of course, remains long after after the Thanksgiving holiday. Some food banks are reporting that they have only a third of the food they normally would at this time of year. And, as I mentioned earlier, the need is great. The Denver Rescue Mission alone serves more than 600,000 meals to hungry people and its just one organization.

Pinnacol is committed to doing what it can to help and we applaud Colorado businesses as well as the broader Colorado community in coming through during these very challenging times.