Safety Consultant opportunity in Grand Junction now open!

Since 1915 Pinnacol has covered every corner of Colorado when it comes to workers' compensation insurance. For much of that time we have had dedicated staff out in the field actively working with business owners to prevent accidents from occurring in the first place. We now have an opening for a Safety Consultant, based out of Grand Junction, who will serve our customers in western Colorado.

We are looking for candidates who have the advanced skills and abilities needed to conduct or assist in implementing one or more of the following loss prevention/cost containment services for our policyholders: 

• on site safety inspections, and accident analysis
• ergonomic hazard analysis
• claims management procedures
• returned-to-work programs

Since this is primarily a field position, there is considerable instate travel associated with this role. Pinnacol does offer a very nice auto-reimbursement program. Candidates should bring a Bachelor's Degree in safety or related field, 4+ years of related field experience, and ASP or CSP certification. The Safety Consultant role also requires a candidate who is a self-starter, well organized and who has good computer, communication, and presentation skills. 

If this sounds like you we would love to hear from you! Candidates interested in this role are asked to apply on-line via our company website.

Moon Dance

As I was leaving work last night after another busy day my head was down watching where I was going, mindful of all the snow and ice from the latest storm. As I got several steps out of our building I happened to glance up and noticed what an incredibly beautiful evening it really was. I actually stopped and took the picture to the right which doesn't do justice to what I saw. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been watching the dance of the Moon with Venus this week in the western sky but the frigid cold temperatures of the last several days seem to have brought a clarity to the night sky that makes the walk across our parking lot seem less of a burden and more of a delight. The shock of coming from the 70 degree temperatures inside our building to the 3 below outside also heightened my senses. When its this cold the snow underfoot has a different sound, almost a crunch, that makes you pay attention. As I drove home the radio was announcing the death of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and that the people of that country were already gathering not so much to mourn his passing as to celebrate a life well lived. Its too easy this time of year to get caught up with perilous commutes and the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but nights like these remind me that we are all fortunate to be alive and that the universe we live in is truly an incredible place.

Provider Relations Specialist position now available!

We are looking for an experienced Provider Relations Specialist who will be responsible for all aspects of managed care contracting including provider recruitment, pricing strategies, contract negotiation, administration, and implementation, with monitoring and management of direct provider contracts, facility contracts, and ancillary service contracts such as DME, home health care, and others.

This particular Provider Relations Specialist opening will focus on dealing with providers primarily in the central mountain/western Colorado region. Candidates can be located in Denver and work out of our Denver office with periodic trips to this region but we will also consider candidates already located in the central mountain/western slope region. In fact, readers of this blog on the western slope may notice that this position is currently advertised in the Grand Junction Sentinel. Something that you may not realize is that Pinnacol has maintained an office in the Grand Junction area for years to better serve our customers in western Colorado. 

The position of Provider Relations Specialist requires a minimum of three years of insurance or managed care experience, preferably in a Workers Compensation setting (Workers’ Compensation experience is desired). Some of this experience will be related to collaborating, negotiating, and working directly with physicians and medical facilities. Contracting experience is highly preferred for this position.  A Colorado Driver’s license and Bachelor’s degree in business, healthcare, insurance, or directly related field also required. If this sounds like something you might like to consider, please apply on-line via our company website.

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.