New Business Representative position now open!

We have an immediate opportunity for a New Business Representative to write and review workers' compensation insurance policies, review and resolve policy problems, and assist with audits as needed for new policies.

The New Business Representative, or NBR as we refer to this position internally, serves as the primary point of contact for quoting and issuing many of our new policies. Ensuring the accuracy and completion of all forms needed to issue a policy, processing applications, and attend agency visits are key functions of this role. This position requires strong computer skills, the ability to type a minimum of 35 words per minute, and an understanding of basic accounting and mathematics. The ability to organize and prioritize caseloads and manage multiple priorities along with handling customers in a professional, courteous manner are critical. Bilingual capability  (English/Spanish) is a plus. Two years of college with 1-3 years of customer service are also required.

We periodically have openings in this area and for one our recent positions I had caught up with Amanda, now one of our Underwriters, when she was still an NBR for her insights into the job:



To apply for this position, please apply on-line at our company website.

Pinnacol Facilities Manager opportunity now open!

I have been with Pinnacol for 15+ years and have never posted  for this particular position in all that time. So to say this is a very rare opportunity is an understatement! We are looking for an experienced Facilities Manager who will be responsible for facility management, including building and grounds maintenance, lease administration, budgeting, management of maintenance employees, and supervision of contracted services. This position oversees our 140,000 square foot building and 4 acre campus with an emphasis on providing our employees with a safe, secure, and pleasant working environment.

I don't normally provide all the job responsibilities when I blog about our openings (it makes for a rather lonnngggg blog) as the full job description is available through the application process. However, since this is such an unusual posting for our company I wanted to provide a little more detail regarding the myriad of duties this position is responsible for.

Our Facilities Manager plans for short and long-term corporate projects by providing a cost benefit analysis, including making recommendations to the executive team as required and analyzes, develops, coordinates and manages modifications to the building and team layouts by ensuring feasibility, cost-effectiveness, general ergonomic issues and building safety. Responsibilities also include management and coordination of the budgets and expenditures for our Lowry building and the facilities team. This includes preparation of cost estimates for maintenance and repairs, forecasts of materials needed including furniture, and ordering of supplies and approval of all invoices and monitoring monthly budget reports.

The Facilities Manager may also perform journeyman maintenance duties, including troubleshooting, initial and final space planning using automated drafting software, electrical load calculations, estimations of square foot and construction costs. This position plans, supervises, and assists employees with maintenance and repairs to the building, grounds, and equipment and performs weekly test of generator, transfer switch, and life safety simulated tests to ensure proper operation. He or she will also proactively track, identify, implement and resolve facility components, equipment and service problems via partnerships with third party engineers, architects, contractors and service providers while ensuring that all facilities assets and equipment are properly maintained and warranties are used as required.

One of the key functions of the Facilities Manager is to direct, control, schedule the day-to-day operations for the facilities team, including special projects involving architects, engineers and third party contractors. The position also manages contracted services as necessary for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, janitorial, care and maintenance and conducts the negotiations and manages contracts with all facility related suppliers and contractors. The Facilities Manager also supervises external suppliers and contractors for execution of work and oversees completion. The Facilities Manager interfaces with landlord/property managers on leased properties for audit reviews, repairs, and maintenance while ensuring that all off-site property owned or leased by Pinnacol is properly maintained and utilized. This position also assists Human Resources and our contracted Occupational Therapist in resolving employee ergonomic problems by designing devices that are built by facilities staff and outside contractors. He or she will also ensure compliance with applicable building and safety codes, OSHA and environmental regulations and continuously identifies ways to eliminate safety hazards and improve the overall safety of the workplace.

Whew! There is obviously a lot involved in Facilities Management so as you might expect regular attendance and punctuality are essential functions of this position. Our Facilities Manager must be able to work a flexible schedule including evenings and weekends and be available on-call for emergencies by telephone and/or cell phone. He or she is required to be on-call 24/7 related to the data (computer) center and every 8 weeks for a 1 week period for general on-call rotation.

The Facilities Manager is expected to keep current on new facilities information, technologies and best practices and to maintain professional memberships in the Internal Facility Managers Association (IFMA) and other organizations as appropriate. This position also serves on our Incident Management Team (IMT) to document existing facility procedures and equipment needs for the purpose of business and disaster recovery.

Here is a synopsis of the knowledge, education, and experience generally required in this position:
Knowledge, Skills, Ability
• Must be customer-service focused and dedicated to meeting customer expectations and requirements.
• Extensive technical knowledge and experience in facility maintenance operations to include: plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, building automation systems, building and grounds maintenance, and janitorial services
• Excellent project management skills with experience managing vendor contracts and ensuring projects are complete, on-time and within budget.
• Knowledge and ability to interpret and apply use of appropriate state and local safety, fire, construction, and building codes and regulations. Ability to read and interpret blueprints/drawings and specifications.
• Knowledge of the occupational hazards and safety precautions within the building trades industry necessary to minimize injury to employees and/or damage to equipment.
• Ability to analyze, interpret and evaluate problems and provide practical, cost effective solutions.
• Strong leadership and management skills.
• Excellent organization skills – ability to manage time and workload effectively which includes planning, organizing, and prioritizing attention to details.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external customers.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively communicate at all levels of the organization.
• Computer proficiency skills: Microsoft Office, computer drafting software, AutoCadd release, and basic JAVA programming.
• Must have valid driver's license and proof of insurance.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) capability preferred.

Education or Formal Training
Bachelor’s Degree in engineering, construction management, or a related field.

Experience
Minimum of five years progressive experience within the building maintenance and construction trade industry, including three years of supervisory experience.

Certifications/Licenses
FMA, CFM industry certifications preferred

If interested in this unique opportunity, please apply on-line.

Forbes Magazine List of Best Career Websites

The folks at Forbes Magazine have compiled a list of what they consider to be the top 75 Career websites. I work in Human Resources and spend most of my time in recruiting but I'll be the first to admit some of these sites were new to me. Of course there are the ones you might expect (LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, etc.) but I'd encourage you to take a look at the list and explore some of the ones you might not already be familiar with. While there is no way any of us can manage to stay current with all 75, there are certainly some that will likely fit your interests and needs.

Not all of these are 'job boards'; in fact most appear to be sites helping people progress in their career once they already have a job. Some of my current favorites, including Evil HR Lady, Glassdoor, and InsideJobs made the list but what I'm looking forward to is exploring the rest! From finding internships and sites for new grads to helpful advice for women in the workplace that supplements Forbe's Top 100 Websites for Women list that came out in June, there's a lot of variety on the list. One of the more unusual ones is No Joe Schmo, which dedicates itself to profiling people in cool and crazy jobs and how they got there. Jacquelyn Smith, who did a nice job compiling the list and writing the Forbes article, also has a nice blog titled From Campus to Career that I have found interesting and entertaining in the past. Her most recent posting is a good example: The Most Outlandish Resume Mistakes of 2012. Happy browsing!

100 pounds of...

I had blogged more than a year ago about one of our employee's efforts benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. For every pound of soda can pop tops collected, a family can spend one night at the Ronald McDonald House to be near their sick child while they are in the hospital.

On a late Friday afternoon my thoughts were starting to turn to the upcoming weekend. It looks to be an absolutely gorgeous couple of days in the Denver area. As I was wandering back to my desk after running an errand upstairs I happened upon Betty, one of our team nurse case managers, out collecting pop tops. I quite honestly hadn't thought too much lately about the Ronald McDonald House program but Betty, who is the original champion of this program at Pinnacol, was clearly on a mission as she went from breakroom to breakroom collecting a handful of pop tops here, another handful there.

As you'll see in the picture a small handful multiplied over and over can quickly add up. I asked Betty if I could take a quick picture and she very graciously agreed while telling me that Pinnacol employees had already collected 75 pounds of pop tops this year. 75 pounds is what we collected at Pinnacol in all of 2011 and Betty has a goal of 100 pounds for 2012. I'm no mathematician but that translates to 100 nights families will be able to spend at the Ronald McDonald House. After I snapped the picture Betty went quietly about her task. Betty's example reminded me its often the littlest of actions that mean the most. Thank you Betty for your continued efforts at making our community a better place. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Med Pay Reviewer Processor position now available!

I can't remember the last time we had an opportunity open to join our Medical Bill Payments team, but I know it's been a long time. We now have an opening for a a detail-oriented Med Pay Reviewer Processor who has at least 1 year of computerized claims processing experience, a good working knowledge of medical terminology including  CPT and ICD9 codes, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

This position reviews bills for services related to Pinnacol’s  liability as a workers’ compensation insurer and is responsible for reviewing or entering all fields on each bill to verify the data is correct and reviewing all system parameters to establish that billed charges are payable. Our Reviewers also apply the Colorado Workers' Compensation fee schedules and PPO discounts to billings and communicate with other departments and/or providers when required.

This position starts as office-based, but the option to work from home is available once a processor demonstrates mastery of the position and the ability  to meet daily production quality and quantity standards.  In fact, most of our processors work from home, though they have the option to work in the office if they prefer. Candidates must be familiar with CMS 1500 and UB94 billing forms as well as a variety of other types of billing.  Experience on PPO claims is a plus. For consideration please apply online at our company website.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a....

Every morning our communications team updates a section on our company intranet called Industry News. Our communications folks are very good at sharing articles about Pinnacol, our industry, and other topics such as health and wellness. A day or so ago one of the articles had an interesting round-up of stories related to celebrating the Labor Day Holiday. One of those stories involved the profession of window-washing. Ho-hum you might think.

The story wasn't talking about washing normal windows. It was about cleaning windows on the tallest structures in the world from the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center, to the Space Needle and the Burj Khalifa. Not familiar with the Burj Khalifa? It now holds the honor of the world's tallest building at 2,716 feet and 160 stories tall. For a fascinating look at this now 3 year old tallest of the tall click here. What I found interesting about the Burj Khalifa, apart from its physical size, is that its so tall they actually put the observation deck on the 124th level rather than at the very top.

What is common among all these buildings, apart from being very, very tall, is that they have a lot of windows that need periodic cleaning. And the cleaning of these structures remains a fairly manual process. I'm always fascinated by the tremendous variety of jobs that people are involved in on a daily basis. I can only imagine what it must be like to be perched 100 floors up with the wind tugging at you as you feel the stretch and bounce of a narrow ribbon of rope which is the only thing that separates you from a long plunge to the ground below. I'd guess though, that if you talked with some of the people doing this unique job its become very matter of fact, just another day outside of the office.


For a look at some of the pictures showing folks washing windows in some very precarious positions click here. I for one won't be quitting my day job anytime soon to join them!