Network and Telco Support Specialist opportunity!

One of the fewest positions we ever have open are those associated with our Help Desk and Network Engineering group headed up by Tim. This group experiences very little turnover so an opening is a rare opportunity to join Tim and his team at Pinnacol.

We are currently looking for an experienced Network and Telco Support Specialist to support, manage, upgrade and maintain our network applications. This includes planning, developing, installing, configuring, maintaining, supporting, and optimizing all network software, and communication links and involves analyzing and resolving end user hardware and software computer problems in a timely and accurate fashion, and providing end-user training where required. 

On the technical side this position requires a minimum of 2 years administering e-mail and other network functions with experience administering cloud applications and VoIP also desired. On the soft-skill side Tim is always looking for people with a positive, can-do attitude and outstanding customer service skills. This position also requires the ability to gather and share information effectively, be innovative when it comes to solving customer issues on more than the technical level, and Tim also values candidates with the ability to acknowledge what they don't know and who will seek out the knowledge they don't have. 

If this position sounds interesting we would encourage you to apply via our company website. We look forward to hearing from you!

New CEO introduces himself to Pinnacol

On Monday Pinnacol employees got their first chance to see our new CEO, Phil Kalin, up close and personal. Phil made the effort to hold numerous employee meetings all day long, and as tiring as that must have been for him it was an effort greatly appreciated by everyone at Pinnacol. Phil mentioned that when the announcement first became public he saw hits to his LinkedIn profile soar so it was clear our employees were curious and anxious to learn about the gentleman tapped to lead our organization into the future.

Phil has a tremendous background, but acknowledged he has much to learn about workers' compensation insurance. One thing was clear - Phil brings to the table the same focus on providing exceptional customer service that our management team has been focused on for many years.

During the session I attended I was honestly watching my fellow employees as much as I was watching Phil. I was looking to gauge their reaction to our new boss. My takeaway was that Phil made a very positive impression. He comes across as a very approachable leader who has a strong business sense about him.

One of the things we do with our new employees is a new employee follow-up after they have been in their position for a month or two to see how life at Pinnacol is treating them so far. I had one of these sessions this morning with one of our new claims adjusters, Joe, who had started with us back in September. So far he's been very pleased with his assimilation into the company from the training he's received to how he's been accepted by his fellow team members. Joe also volunteered that he had attended one of Phil's sessions and had come away "excited and jazzed" about our new CEO. I always pay close attention to what our new employees are saying as they are often the bellwether of what is happening in our company. Joe's reaction to Phil is a good omen and I think it is safe to say the 600 employees of Pinnacol Assurance look forward to working closely with Phil in the years to come.

It's official! Pinnacol Assurance Board Names New Chief Executive Officer

It's official! Our Board of Directors has announced that Philip B. Kalin has been named president and chief executive officer of Pinnacol. You can view the official press release here.

According to our Board Chairman Blair Richardson, “Phil Kalin will be an extraordinary leader. His experience in running complex organizations, his keen vision and insight into the forces that are changing our marketplace, and his long service in Colorado make him the perfect fit for this job. Phil will be a great partner, working with the board of directors to protect the interests of policyholders and injured workers and to ensure Pinnacol’s long-term success.”

Kalin was selected as a finalist for the position on October 23. Pinnacol is required by Colorado statute to publicly identify any finalist for the president and CEO position two weeks before the position can be offered. That two-week period ended today, and the Pinnacol board voted unanimously to name Kalin president and CEO.

“I am both humbled and thrilled to be chosen as Pinnacol Assurance’s new president and CEO,” said Kalin. “My commitment is to stay focused on Pinnacol’s long-standing tradition of providing outstanding customer service, to helping our policyholders create and maintain safe workplaces and to providing compassionate care to Colorado’s injured workers. I also look forward to collaborating with stakeholders across the state to ensure that Pinnacol is a true partner in making Colorado the best place in the country to grow a business, live and work.”

Kalin served as president and CEO of the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) from 2009 until the present. CIVHC is a nonprofit Regional Health Improvement Collaborative created to advance statewide initiatives to improve Colorado’s heath care quality and contain costs. In this role, Kalin has worked with the insurance and brokerage communities along with providers, policy makers and community members. He also served as president and CEO of Rose Medical Center in Denver and held senior executive positions at the Henry Ford Healthcare system in Detroit and the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland. Kalin also co-founded and was CEO of CustomMed Solutions, a health care technology company focused on improving workflow among insurance companies and providers. Kalin earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa and a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Michigan. Kalin will begin his service at Pinnacol on November 27.

I know our employees are very excited to meet Phil and have him join our company. Phil, on behalf of all of us, welcome to Pinnacol Assurance!

I'd also like to extend a thank you to John Plotkin, our interim CEO for his service to Pinnacol during the search for our new CEO. John will be joining SAIF Corp. (which handles workers' compensation for much of Oregon) in February. Thank you John and we wish you the best in your future endeavours in the Pacific Northwest!

What did your first job teach you?

LinkedIn has for some time been running a series called "My First Job" highlighting what successful people learned from their first job. Much of what they learned will ring true for many folks. I was reading one of the posts yesterday, this one from Collin Shaw entitled "My First Job: Why You Don’t Always Need Qualifications" rang true with me on a couple of levels. The first is rather obvious: most people lack the qualifications for their first job simply because they have never done that work before. The second is that many employers often defer to experience (i.e. qualifications) when hiring which makes it very challenging for talented, but less experienced, candidates to get a chance to demonstrate the skills they do already have. But what really struck home with me was Collin's observation that simply having the requisite qualifications isn't enough - you still have to work hard: "Too many people in this world think because they have many qualifications the world owes them a living. I meet them all the time. They think they don't need to work hard, that as they are clever everything will come to them because they deserve it. Well, let me tell you, it won't. I have seen many clever people fail - they need to work hard as well. In my experience employers want people who do things, not talk about doing things."

What Collin ultimately says he learned from that first job was that "...hard work, dedication, enthusiasm and commitment can overcome the lack of qualifications." What I would add to his observation is that even with all the qualifications in the world without hard work, dedication, enthusiasm and commitment success is unlikely. At Pinnacol we often see candidates who, based on their qualifications alone, should all be able to do the job. The folks we ultimately hire are usually those who can also demonstrate those extra components of "hard work, dedication, enthusiasm and commitment."

Candidates I meet with often ask me two questions: how long have I been with the company, and what do I enjoy most about working at Pinnacol. To the second question my response has always been "the people who work here". After reading Collin's article I might have to now say "the people who work here... who work hard and show dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment". That's what makes Pinnacol a great place to work.