Happy Holidays from all of us at Pinnacol Assurance!

Pinnacol is strongly committed to giving back to Colorado. As a part of that, we provide our employees time off in which they can volunteer in the community. From Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the National Sports Center for the Disabled to Volunteers of America and Junior Achievement, as well as with many other organizations, Pinnacol employees volunteer thousands of hours every year giving back to the communities we serve and in which we live.

At this time of the year some of our employees visit local assisted living centers and serenade their residents with songs of the holiday season. I thought it would be fun to catch up with these folks and share some of what they do with you!

Write It Right - Keep It Simple!

Michelle of our communications team this month focuses on eliminating obfuscating buzzwords from everyday conversations. She probably wouldn't approve of my use of the word obfuscating, as she might feel it unnecessarily confuses things, but oh well... So in the spirit of KISS - keep it simple... - here goes:

When in doubt, just use plain English!

It happens every few years: A new set of business "buzzwords" starts cropping up in meetings, emails and everyday conversations. Here are some that simply need to go.

1."Capitalizing": This can mean "make money from," "make the most of" or a number of things. Be specific instead of relying on the buzzword.

2."Deploy": Even if the project seems important, it's probably not equal to sending troops into battle. "Start" or "begin using" work just fine.

3."In brief": Keeping things concise is great! So, why not eliminate these two unnecessary words as well?

4."Mission critical": See #2. Unless you work at the Pentagon or NASA, this is fairly pretentious. "Important" works well, or simply "critical" if the situation seems dire.

5."On the same page": But heavens, what if we’re on different paragraphs? Seriously, just use “agree.”

6."Ramp up": "Increase." Enough said.

7."Spearheaded": See #2 and #4. "Led" will usually work just fine.

8."Streamline": Does this mean to make something "faster," "simpler," "easier to use" or many others? Again, be specific — and use plain English.

9."Think outside the box": Ironically, using this hackneyed phrase is the opposite of original thinking. Instead, just ask for some "fresh ideas."

10."Utilize": Please, just use "use."

Thanks Michelle for some great tips. On a similar vein, the Harvard Business Review recently had an interesting blog about eliminating meaningless words that you also might want to check out.

And finally, from a piece attributed to one of the masters of the written word - Mark Twain (though there is some debate as to whether he actually penned these words himself) - I'll leave you with his plan for improving the English language...

For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.

Generally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeiniing voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x"— bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez —tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivili.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

Opportunity for Quality Assurance Migration Analyst!

We have a rather different opportunity available right now for an individual to help manage the migration of new code and new programs from the test to the acceptance to the production environment. The formal job announcement is below but in talking with the hiring manager, Stewart, I found he is looking for someone with strong related technical skills as well as the ability to interact very effectively with other team members and customers. This position does work occasional nights and weekends as items are migrated and this position is also on-call on a rotating basis with other members of the team. If you have the skills listed below we would love to hear from you!

Quality Assurance/Migration Analyst

Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, is seeking an experienced Quality Assurance/Migration Analyst who’s primary responsibility is to maintain version control while working with developers to implement all changes and maintain the turnover process of programs and procedures from the test environment to production. Among the key duties are:

• Design, manage and optimize daily batch processes.
• Update and maintain Designer with all table modifications, new tables, views, sequences and generating the appropriate ddl's.
• Apply all changes to the Acceptance database for user testing.
• Maintaining and administering Mitigation of Objects.
• Coordinating moving of modules and insuring that the proper versions are moved.
• Promote all objects to appropriate environment and ensure that all invalid objects are recompiled.
• Work closely with the developers to implement their projects into Acceptance database and ensure that everything is production ready.
• Communicate with Database Administrators when changes are ready for production and the proper sequence for the changes to be made.
• Monitor nightly production batch.
• Ensure that the acceptance environment is in sync with production for accurate batch testing.
• Assist developers with Appworx questions and design.
• Notify and assist print operations with batch processing questions, reprints, and problems.

Knowledge of, and experience with Unix and SQL Plus are required with exposure to Oracle Forms and Oracle Designer a plus. This position also requires effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communications skills, excellent organization skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities. Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or Business preferred but will consider equivalent related technical work experience on a year for year basis. 2 to 3 years experience in programming required with 1-3 years related experience in a quality assurance role a plus.

This position does require that a beeper be carried at all times and employee be on-call at designated times. When on-call, the employee must be able to respond to a pager call within 15 minutes. Employee will be required to resolve the issue/problem either by dialing in from home or returning to the workplace within one hour if required. Occasionally will work evenings and weekends to migrate code to production environments.

For immediate consideration, please complete an expression of interest via our company website at http://www.pinnacol.com/careers/current-opportunities. To explore what it is like to work with our company please visit our Careers Blog at http://pinnacolcareers.blogspot.com/.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

2011 has flown by and here we are a week away from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the traditional start of the Holiday season. Of course the holiday ads are already well underway on T.V. and driving home from work last night I saw several houses already decked out in their holiday lights.

Thanksgiving in this country dates back to 1621 though it wasn't until 1863 that it was recognized as a national holiday (for a quick history of Thanksgiving click here). The "banquet" the survivors of the Mayflower partook of 390 years ago bears little resemblance to the 'traditional' feast many Americans look forward to today, but the heart of the holiday still remains the same - taking a moment to pause and give thanks.

One of our staffing partners, Stivers, sent me a letter yesterday that included the following reflections on this that I thought I'd share with you before we all get caught up in the inevitable hustle and bustle that this time of year brings.

On Second Thought,

I’m Thankful for

 

…the mess to clean after a party, because it means I’m surrounded by friends

 

…the taxes I pay, because it means I am employed

 

…the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat

 

…my shadow who watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine

 

…a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home

 

…all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech

 

…the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking

 

…my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm

 

…the lady behind me who sings off-key, because it means I can hear

 

…the piles of laundry and ironing, because it means my loved ones are nearby

 

…weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been productive

 

…the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am alive to see another day

In today's challenging times I know not everyone enjoys all of the blessings mentioned above. Still I appreciated the sentiment that the very things that we sometimes see as burdens may actually be reflections of the things we have to be thankful for. With that in mind, here is wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!  

New Business Representative opportunity now open!

Pinnacol Assurance has 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.

This position 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 attending 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 (Spanish) is a plus. Two years of college with 1-3 years of customer service are also required.

Interested candidates are asked to complete an expression of interest via our company website at www.pinnacol.com/careers. We had an opportunity in this area a couple of months ago and you can see a video of one of our NBR's discussing the position under that announcement.

Write It Right: re·dun·dan·cy



 I was meeting yesterday with one of our managers and reviewing resumes of candidates applying for one of our current opportunities. Like may of our managers she has a pet peeve against spelling, punctuation, and gramatical errors on cover letters and resumes. She's pretty quick to move those containing such errors from the 'maybe' pile to the 'no' pile.

Michelle, who works on our communications team, continues to write articles to help our employees improve their writing skills, and many of these articles are pertinent to candidates interested in positions with our company. Michelle's latest article concerns redundancy (re·dun·dan·cy  Excessive wordiness or repetition in expression):

Some things that sound OK in conversation look fairly silly in writing.

Some words simply "say it all." Avoid these redundant words and phrases in your writing.
•"We're absolutely certain the figures are correct."

"The results are absolutely guaranteed."

If you're certain, then you already have no doubt. And a guarantee is by nature absolute. "Absolutely" is unnecessary — and redundant — in both cases.

•"We arrived at these conclusions through actual experience."

"It's an actual fact that revenue is down."


An experience is something that occurred. A fact is something confirmed to have happened. "Actual" is extraneous in these instances.

•"They may add additional benefits to the program."

To add is to provide another of something. "Additional" is extraneous.

•"We're offering this as an added bonus."

A bonus is an extra feature, so "added" is unnecessary.

•"We should provide some advance (insert any of the following) notice/planning/warning for this change."

Notices, planning and warnings are all actions that occur before an event.
"Advance" is superfluous.

•"At the present time, we are addressing the issue."

"Are" is a present-tense verb, i.e., it's happening now. "At the present time" is unnecessary.

•"I'll provide the basic (insert either of the following) fundamentals/essentials for the project."

Fundamentals and essentials are by their nature elementary. Remove "basic" from either phrase.

•"The accident occurred at a time when safety procedures weren't being followed."

"When" is more than adequate as a time reference here. "At a time" is redundant.

•"The two teams should (insert either of the following) collaborate/meet together."

"Collaborate" and "meet" are both actions done collectively. "Together" is unnecessary in either case.

•"I am currently working on the proposal."

"Am" is another present-tense verb; therefore, "currently" is unnecessary.

Michelle will look at more redundant words and phrases in a future upcoming (oops) column.

Business Intelligence Programmer opportunity

I had just posted a Microstrategy Architect position and am now adding an additional opportunity for a Business Intelligence Programmer. Both of these positions are part of our Decision Support team. The Business Intelligence Programmer develops, maintains, and assists in the design of our business intelligence systems including, but not limited to, ETL scripts, html and Java interfaces in Microstrategy and our mobile device applications. This position also codes, maintains and assists in the design of data mart/warehouse tables, queries and metadata, tunes data mart/warehouse queries and other programs as required, and works with our Application Services and Data & Network Services teams to create and maintain interfaces between data marts/warehouse, information tools and production systems. Candidates must be able to establish and maintain strong relations with Decision Support Services staff and internal customers. 

This position plays support role in DSS-related portions of IS Application Development projects, company-wide strategic initiatives, and business-focused initiatives.

Candidates should possess expertise in, and the ability to mentor, SQL, PL/SQL and SQL*Plus, as well as have expertise in ETL practices, html and Java. Also required is a high proficiency in advanced SQL tuning, table creation, indexing and links along with proficiency in data warehouse theory and applications, and star schema (Kimball Model). Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience; computer science degree/MIS, business/economics or statistics preferred. Experience with Oracle and/or other relational database management systems, the use of database query tools using SQL, working with data warehouse design, 3+ years related experience in Programming is required. Phew! If you have all that, we'd love to hear from you!