New Opening for an Audit Analyst!

I met with one of our Business Directors, Shelley, about a new vacancy she has on her team for an Audit Analyst. As many of you may know, Pinnacol actively tries to promote from within wherever possible and this vacancy is a result of us being able to do that in some other positions that were open.

The position of Audit Analyst is probably unfamiliar to many of you  so I wanted to share some additional information on this position and what we will be looking for. If you are a business owner you are billed for your workers' compensation insurance based primarily on two factors: the type of work you are doing (each particular job - nurse, gardener, accountant, ski lift operator, etc. - has a unique risk of being injured on the job associated with it) and the amount of payroll you have in each of those jobs. Policies are audited to see if there have been changes in those factors. For example, an increase in payroll usually means the policy premium will increase; alternatively, if the payroll declines Pinnacol may owe the policyholder money back. The Audit Analyst plays a critical role in this process as they help policyholders complete the necessary paperwork to ensure we have complete and accurate information regarding their policy with our company.

The Audit Analyst handles mail audits where we aske the policyholder to provide information and then return the information to us. As a result, Audit Analysts work in the office processing this paperwork. We occasionally have openings for another type of Auditor, a Field Auditor, who goes out and visits policyholders at their sites to review records and documents, but that's a subject for another posting!

Our Audit Analysts handle one to two hundred audits in a normal month (approximately 9 per business day) and based on this level of production we are looking for an individual who can really focus on getting a high volume of work done and who doesn't mind that the job is fairly routine and repetitive in nature. In the copy of the job ad below you'll notice the position requires  "basic accounting/math knowledge". What that means is strong competencies in all things related to addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, percentages, decimals, and fractions. And yes, a math test, as well as a typing test, will be given to those who interview for this opportunity.

Things like attention to detail (the work in this role is really nothing but details!) and the ability to help our customers are other must-haves.  A degree, though not required, is a plus so recent college graduates in finance/accounting will be considered. Experience in dealing with audits, payroll, and related areas is also sought. If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete an expression of interest via our company website. What follows is a copy of the job announcement which will be advertised on the web:

Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, is looking for a detail-oriented individual with excellent customer service skills to join our team. With minimal supervision this person is responsible for the review, analysis, and processing of a variety of voluntary audits from policyholders.  The position requires an analytical aptitude, basic accounting/math knowledge, and some experience with payroll is helpful.  Candidate must have strong computer skills. This is a high volume production position requiring attention to detail, decision-making, and helping customers on the phone. Experience in handling insurance audit reports within the workers’ compensation insurance industry preferred. A degree, though not required, is a plus so recent college graduates in finance/accounting will be considered. For immediate consideration please submit an expression of interest via our company website at http://www.pinnacol.com/careers/current-opportunities.

What Does Your Email Address Say About You?

We are getting ready to do some internal training for our employees on ways they can better present themselves on paper (resumes), internal job bids, and in interviews. In one of the planning sessions it came up that e-mail addresses should (obviously!) be included along with address information on resumes and that the e-mail address needs to not negatively portray the person. Addresses like ihatework@letsparty.com, or partyanimal@hatetowork.com (these are fictitious examples) are less likely to grab a hiring manager's positive attention than things like topofclass@ivyleague.com or topinsales@salesforce.com (again, fictitious examples). Most savvy candidates have several email accounts, with one address used in their job search and others used with family and friends. If you haven't thought about it, you might want to take some time to consider what impression the email address on your resume gives to someone who has never met you, knows little about you, but whom you want to call you in for a job interview.

Now I come to find its not just what comes before the @ that is important. Your email provider is now being viewed as significant. People are now judging you on  the email service you choose--whether it be Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail or AOL. HunchBlog did a survey and found some interesting stereotypes regarding who is using which email service. Techies tend toward Gmail, older, less tech-savvy folks tend toward allegiance to their AOL monikers. Other findings have found that at the extreme if you are applying for a tech job, having a Hotmail or AOL account may totally eliminate you from contention. The folks at Hunch also came up with some interesting generalizations about the type of person who uses each type of account. Here is some of what they claim to have found:

• AOL users are most likely to be women ages 35-64 who have a high school diploma and are spiritual, but not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, in a relationship of 10+ years, and have children. AOL users live in the suburbs and haven’t traveled outside their own country. Family is their first priority. AOL users mostly read magazines, have a desktop computer, listen to the radio, and watch TV on 1-3 DVRs in their home. At home, they lounge around in sweats. AOL users are optimistic extroverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team.
Gmail users are most likely to be young men ages 18-34 who are college-educated and not religious. Like other young Hunch users, they tend to be politically liberal, single (and ready to mingle), and childless. Gmail users live in cities and have traveled to five or more countries. They’re career-focused and plugged in — they mostly read blogs, have an iPhone and laptop, and listen to music via MP3s and computers (but they don’t have a DVR). At home, they lounge around in a t-shirt and jeans. Gmail users prefer salty snacks and are introverted and entrepreneurial. They are optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the situation.

• Hotmail users are most likely to be young women  ages 18-34 (and younger) who have a high school diploma and are not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, single, and childless. Hotmail users live in the suburbs, perhaps still with their parents, and have traveled to up to five countries. They mostly read magazines and contemporary fiction, have a laptop, and listen to music via MP3s and computers (but they don’t have a DVR). At home, Hotmail users lounge around in a t-shirt and jeans. They’re introverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team. They consider themselves more pessimistic, but sometimes it depends on the situation.
• Yahoo! users are most likely to be women ages 18-49 who have a high school diploma and are spiritual, but not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, in a relationship of 1-5 years, and have children. Yahoo! users live in the suburbs or in rural areas and haven’t traveled outside their own country. Family is their first priority. They mostly read magazines, are almost equally likely to have a laptop or desktop computer, listen to the radio and cds, and watch TV on 1-2 DVRs in their home. At home, Yahoo! users lounge around in pajamas. They’re extroverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team. Yahoo! users are optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the situation.

Bear in mind these are broad (very broad!) generalizations. But if I was a candidate I'd take a moment to think about what my entire email address is portraying about me.

"I generally keep the volume on my work computer on mute, only turning it on when my career calls for it… However, sometimes I forget to turn the volume down again, and this has, on occasion, led to the embarrassment of “You’ve got mail!” being shouted by my computer at the entire office."


That’s right; I still use AOL as my personal email provider. I know. I can feel you looking at me with pity, thinking, “Oh my God, what century does this guy come from?” (The same one as Buster Keaton.)
-Sam Barry, “The Daily Sam Confessional: I Still Use AOL”

New Opportunity for Oracle Developer

We have a new opportunity available for an Oracle Forms and Report Developer to help maintain our enterprise applications. I checked with Tamela, the hiring manager, to see what specifically she is looking for, and as usual, she had some very specific thoughts. In brief, the successful candidate will have the following experience:


On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not so much and 5 being an expert:
· Oracle Forms 10g (4+) --- Working with and/or building Customized forms is a must.
· Oracle Reports 10g (3+)
· PL/SQL (4+)
· SQL (5)
· Linux/Unix (shell scripting helpful) (2)
· Java (or any OO language) (2)

Some additionally desired skills include:

· Exposure to Flex (1+)
· Ruby/Rails (1+)
· Background in Medical Payments or Health Care (1+)
· Unix shell scripting
· Appworx

According to Tamela, we are in the process of transitioning, over the next several years, from Oracle Forms to Adobe Flex for core user interface and Ruby on Rails for the middle-tier services. Ideal candidates will have strong Oracle skills, such as SQL, PL/SQL, Oracle Forms, performance tuning, etc.; additionally, candidates with exposure technologies such as Adobe Flex and Ruby on Rails or other object oriented languages such as Java is preferred.

If you have this mix of skill sets we'd love to hear from you! Interested candidates are asked to submit their expression of interest via our company website and apply for the position “Information Systems: Software and Application Development”.

Update on Current Openings

I just returned from taking some vacation time and am getting back up to speed with the status of all the openings we currently have open so thought I'd share a quick update on where things stand with the various positions.

We are still actively accepting candidates for several positions including our Team Nurse Case Manager, MedPay Liaison, Safety Consultant, Underwriter, Business Director and Medical Director opportunities. More information on each of these positions is available at our company website. As always, interested candidates are encouraged to complete an expression of interest!

Entry Level Safety Consultant Opportunity Available!

We don't see much turnover within our Safety Consultant group so this is a relatively rare opportunity. Normally when we fill one of these positions we are looking for someone with lots of experience, but for this opening we are willing to train a recent graduate with a safety related degree. Safety consultation is one of the cornerstone services we provide to Pinnacol policyholders. The Safety Consultant role is focused on preventing accidents wherever possible, and reducing the severity of the accidents that still occur. As I always tell people I meet with, the best claim is the claim that never happened, and our safety folks play a crucial part in working toward that objective.

I spoke with Troy, a Safety Consultant who has been with us for a couple of years, about the position and words of wisdom he might share with candidates interested in this line of work:



Here is a copy of the job announcement as it is being advertised:

Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading workers’ compensation insurance company, has an entry level opportunity for a recent graduate with an environmental health and safety related degree to be based in the Colorado Springs or Pueblo area.  This position will conduct or assist in implementing one or more of the following services to policyholders: safety program development and on site safety inspections, Cost Containment Certification assistance, accident and injury trend analysis, onsite Train the Trainer programs, OSHA compliance assistance, construction safety, and ergonomic resources in the southeast Colorado region and will research & update other staff on changing regulations & emerging safety issues.  Position requires considerable travel throughout the state.  Individual must be a self-starter, well organized and have good computer, communication, and presentation skills.

As always, interested candidates are asked to complete an expression of interest via our company website.

Pinnacol Partners with 9Cares Colorado Shares: Good Makes Good!

Today, June 14th, Pinnacol employees were encouraged to donate non-perishable food items as part of the 9Cares Colorado Shares campaign. Denver's Channel 9 and Goodwill have teamed up to encourage local companies to host employee donation drives. At Pinnacol we named our drive "Beans for Jeans" as all employees who participated earned an extra casual day where they could wear jeans and dress down from their normal business attire. On Friday, June 17th, be sure to tune in as Greg Moss from Channel 9 will be visiting Pinnacol from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The folks at Channel 9 tell us that Summer is historically a very busy time for food banks as they see an increase in need as families try to feed students who had been receiving federal free and reduced-cost lunches at their schools. The donations of food and toiletries will supply more than 125 food banks in metro Denver and along the Front Range from Fort Collins to Castle Rock through Food Works. Food Works coordinates the food distribution for 9News.

Clothing and other household items will be donated to Goodwill. Profits from the sale of these items help over 30,000 individuals with much needed workforce development skills, putting them on the path to success and giving them to tools they need to support themselves and their families.

During the 9Cares Colorado Shares Summer Drive, non-perishable food, toiletries, clothing are collected. Any non-perishable food is appreciated; however, food banks prefer foods high in protein. Those include peanut butter, tuna fish, and dry beans. They also always need soups and stews, Mac and Cheese, hot cereals, oatmeal, canned fruit and vegetables, and baby formula with iron. Food banks also need toiletry items such as diapers, shampoo, condition, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

Goodwill also accepts all clothing. Goodwill is a non-profit organization that will use the funds created by the clothing to fund their programs which serve at-risk youth, individuals moving from welfare to work, and disabled individuals. In return, Goodwill provides clothing vouchers for area clothing banks to allow those in need to shop at Goodwill stores.

The public can also get involved - on Saturday, June 18th from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. Staff and volunteers will be collecting non-perishable food, toiletries, and clothing at the 9News Studios and over a dozen regional locations for the less fortunate in Colorado.

Nurse Opportunity Now Available!

Pinnacol Assurance is looking for an RN Team Nurse Case Manager to provide telephonic case management handling the medical aspects of workers’ compensation claims. 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. Requires current Colorado RN license with a BSN a plus.

I had a chance to sit down and chat with Sheri, one of our Business Directors (Team leader) about what we are looking for. Sheri has a unique perspective because she herself joined Pinnacol in this position before being promoted to head up one of our multi-functional insurance teams.


We had also blogged about our nursing position a while back, and if you are interested in this type of position with us I would encourage you to also view that posting. If interested in being considered, please submit your expression of interest via our company website.