Do you have great Administrative Support skills?

Do you have great administrative support skills? If so we have several positions that may be of interest to you.

At Pinnacol we operate in a team environment. On the business side we have what we refer to as "multi-functional insurance teams". What this simply means is that we have combined all of the insurance functions - claims, underwriting, nursing, etc. - to work together as teams focused on the same group of customers. Supporting these teams we have two administrative positions. The first is what we refer to as Business Services Representatives. Their primary role is to provide administrative support to the other members of the team mentioned above and to provide assistance to customers as they call.

The second level of administrative support for the teams is what we refer to as Business Director Assistants. The BDA position supports the team at a high level but primarily supports the team leader (or as we call them, the Business Director). This involves a wide variety of functions such as preparing reports, handling business correspondence, working on special projects, managing the team and Business Director calendars, and arranging a variety of events from team meetings to team volunteer activities.

As you would expect, both roles require strong administrative support skills and experience. The BDA position especially needs to be able to act independently while exercising good judgement and initiative. Computer skills are a must in both positions (we use standard office software such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook) as are excellent communication and customer service skills. Generally speaking 3-5 years or more of direct administrative support experience would prepare someone for positions like these. Both positions offer room for growth and advancement so some college or a degree are beneficial.

If either the Business Director Assistant or the Business Services Representative opportunities sound interesting we would love to hear from you! Please apply on-line and we look forward to reviewing your information!

Getting on the Volunteer Bus...

As I had mentioned in my last post, Pinnacol In Action (Pinnacol's employee volunteer program) is celebrating it's 10 year anniversary and part of that celebration includes a volunteer event. Yesterday I and several hundred of my fellow employees headed out under threatening skies to do battle with grounds maintenance, painting, and trash pick-up at a local Denver park.

As we boarded the bus to take us to the volunteer venue I heard more than one employee broach the idea with the driver of taking us instead to Central City or other points west. As these requests fell on deaf ears, and as the ultimate plan of hijacking the bus quickly, and thankfully, fell apart, we were off. Looking around I saw that we were well represented by all areas of the company. Folks from legal chatted up people from med-pay, claims representatives rubbed shoulders with underwriters and nurses. We were part of the second wave, or afternoon shift, and as we arrived the morning group of volunteers were just wrapping up their efforts. Fortunately the rain had held off for them and gazing up at the still grey skies our group was cautiously optimistic that we might stay dry as well.

The work crews for this volunteer effort were assigned one of three tasks - painting park facilities, picking up trash, or laying mulch to protect trees and flower beds in anticipation of winter storms soon to come. I had signed up for mulch duty and was only slightly in awe of what appeared to be a bazillion metric tons of the stuff lying on the ground next to six or seven minuscule-by-comparison wheel barrows. The good news is that there were also big blue tarps available to help haul the mulch around the park and we certainly had enough hands to give it a go.

It didn't take long to load up the wheel barrows and tarps with their first load. Several of us noted that it hadn't even put a dent in the pile, but we had all afternoon and still fresh muscles. A load of mulch is really not all that heavy but I can vouch for the fact that after dozens of loads it gets your attention. We found it wasn't so much the weight of the load but the distance traveled that wore one down. Of course we had started with the trees and flower beds close at hand but these were quickly dispatched and the hike out to the more distant objects of our intent quickly made clear this would be more of an exercise in walking than anything else. You probably already know this but Denver Parks & Recreation manages some large parks and it was fortunate for us that the planners of our event had been no shirkers in the size and scope of what they expected of us. The park had a sizable lake, several pavilions, a football field, and enough trees to make Smokey the Bear proud.

While some of us hauled mulch others grabbed rakes and neatly arranged our loads around trees and flower beds. Some of the areas had been infiltrated by weeds and employees were down on their hands and knees yanking them out by the roots. In the distance we could see more employees busily painting park shelters and picnic tables, while others were bent over collecting the inevitable trash that accumulates in public areas. Passing me with yet another load, Rob, who works in our Legal department, quipped that he now knew why he worked in an office. Then he was gone leaving me to follow in his wake.

The skies off and on showed potential signs of clearing. The clouds couldn't seem to make up their mind - one moment appearing poised to let loose with a torrential downpour, at others breaking apart to show a trace of clear blue Colorado skies above. Todd, Mark, Sharra Lee and the rest of our safety team, which participates in many of these events to protect those of us who quite candidly don't spend our days doing physical labor from hurting ourselves, were kept busy alternately handing out sunscreen and then plastic ponchos as the storm clouds gathered once more.

As the hours flew by the paint buckets emptied, trash bags filled, and still the mulch pile remained indomitable. Though no one said a word I believe everyone on the shoveling brigade had secretly set themselves the mission of conquering the massive mass of mulch. With sweat dripping they worked feverishly to fill our wheel barrows and tarps as we hauled load after load (after load after load) all over the park. And yes, slowly the pile showed signs of diminishing. However, we were losing the battle of time and before you could say "yes, please put a couple of more shovel loads in my wheel barrow" the folks from Denver Parks mercifully told us we were done for the day. Looking around I saw a lot of happy, smiling, and yes - tired - employees. Pinnacol In Action shirts were wet not with rain but with the sweat of a good effort. Moseying slowly back to the bus we only half-heartedly joked again about it taking us to Central City. Instead most of us were looking forward to a hot shower, some Advil, and a good night's sleep.

The sore muscles will quickly fade from memory but as with all volunteer events the satisfaction of giving something back to the communities who in turn support all of us will last far, far longer. Now where's that Advil...

Pinnacol In Action celebrates 10 years of giving back to Colorado

Pinnacol In Action is our company's volunteer program. Every Pinnacol employee is given two days of volunteer time to use for the charitable organization of their choice. 2013 marks the 10 year anniversary of PIA.

From its humble beginnings in 2003 when we had 48% of our employees volunteer a total of 1,900 hours the program has grown to the point where in 2012 93% of our staff participated,volunteering 6,595 hours. Through those years employees have given their time to hundreds of organizations. And what better way to celebrate this milestone than to arrange a company-wide volunteer effort this week. Pinnacol employees will be out at several sites doing community improvement projects.

I can't speak for the hundreds of Pinnacol employees who have volunteered over the last 10 years but if I've learned anything its that it really doesn't matter so much what you do, so long as you do something. As children's author Richelle Goodrich once said “It's impossible to be involved in all situations, but there's no excuse not to be involved in something, somewhere, somehow, with someone. Make an ounce of difference.”

 Here's to the next 10 years of PIA continuing to make a difference!

Meet one of the Pinnacol Foundation Scholarship recipients

I've referenced the Pinnacol Foundation in previous postings. Yesterday Kyle Dyer of  9News interviewed Jordan Vigil. Jordan, who's father was severely injured in a work-related accident, is a recipient of a scholarship through the Pinnacol Foundation. Over the last 13 years, scholarships totaling nearly $3 million have been awarded to the children of Colorado workers who were killed or seriously injured in work-related accidents. For the 2013-14 school year the Pinnacol Foundation awarded $400,000 in scholarships to 112 students across Colorado.

After a serious workplace accident, families often struggle financially, physically and emotionally. The children may need to take on more responsibility than their peers - from working part-time jobs to taking care of a parent who is unable to work. In 2000 the Pinnacol Foundation was created to assist those families after a workplace accident.

Since its inception the Pinnacol Foundation has awarded scholarships to nearly 400 children of injured workers. Students can use the funds at any accredited institution of higher learning for vocational training and undergraduate degrees, and may reapply up to five years or to age 25.To qualify for a Pinnacol Foundation scholarship the student must be the child of a worker killed or seriously injured in a work-related accident while employed by a Colorado-based business. Scholarships are awarded to students regardless of the insurance carrier.  Scholarship applications are accepted annually January 1 through March 31. The selection committee convenes each May to determine the awards.You can learn more about the program here: http://www.pinnacol.com/foundation.

Looking for a few good Underwriters!

We are in the market for experienced Underwriters to write and price workers’ compensation insurance policies, review and resolve policy problems, and proactively manage a book of business.  Successful candidates will have a minimum of 3 to 5 years related experience in property/casualty insurance underwriting with direct experience with workers’ compensation insurance a plus. Strong interpersonal, customer service, analytical and presentation skills, along with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience is required. Underwriting is half of our world (the other half is claims handling) so these are key positions and a great opportunity for those with related experience to join our company. We ask that if interested, you please complete an application via our company website.

Return to Work Consultant opportunity now available!

Here is an opportunity that is not available very often. We are looking for a Return to Work Consultant to join our team of professionals who provide education & guidance to policyholders on returning injured workers to the work place. The successful candidate for this position will have experience in working with employers, identifying modified duty tasks, presenting seminars and or public speaking, and developing and implementing modified duty work programs.  Must have a strong customer orientation and desire to work with an organization where exceeding expectations is the norm.  The Return to Work Consultant requires a BA/BS degree with a Masters degree in vocational rehabilitation or counseling, physical or occupational therapy with current certification preferred. If this sounds like you we would love to hear from you! As always, we ask that candidates fill out an application on-line via our company website. If you have any questions regarding this position you can also let me know through the leave a comment feature.

Several new opportunities now available!

The summer of 2013 is proving to be a lot busier than those of recent years which I think is a clear indication that the U.S. is slowly recovering from the recession. All indications are that hiring is picking up on a national level and we are seeing that at the local level as well. Anyone who has recently visited our Careers page on our company website can see we have a fair number of opportunities available and this morning I just added two more.

The first one is for the position of Corporate Services Manager. That's the official title and as someone who works in HR I'm the first to admit that sometimes the titles we come up with don't tell you what the position really does. This position manages our Records, Mail, and Print operations. As an insurance company we send and receive a large amount of paperwork, more and more of it electronic, but still a sizeable amount in hard copy. The Corporate Services Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining policies and procedures for Records, Mail and Print operations while maintaining and improving overall Records, Print and Mail efficiency without sacrificing quality and timely delivery of services. It also provides sound leadership by selecting, training, developing and motivating employees to execute all responsibilities in order to meet corporate and department objectives. Candidates will need excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to deal effectively with subordinates, customers, vendors and all levels of Pinnacol staff. The ability to handle diverse situations and problems inherent to managing a large staff, strong critical thinking, analytical and problem solving abilities, and excellent organization skills - ability to simultaneously handle multiple tasks and prioritize work and labor effectively – are required. For this position you will need a Bachelor’s Degree in Business or related field along with 3 years of experience in records management or insurance operations. 3-5 years of supervisory experience is preferred with a working knowledge of bar code technology, imaging and/or micro-graphics as well as print/mail room operations desirable. This position can be on call at any time and, in emergency cases, the employee must be able to respond to a pager within fifteen minutes and have the ability to return to the workplace within one hour if required.

The second newly posted opportunity is for a Team Nurse Case Manager. This position provides telephonic case management handling the medical aspects of workers' compensation claims. Our Nurses play an integral role in the effective and compassionate management of injured workers claims. They perform self-directed, professional level work in a fast paced team environment as they interact with injured workers, policyholders, and providers. Most of our Team Nurse Case Managers come from a clinical environment and bring a broad clinical background. Experience with rehabilitation, occupational health, managed care, or emergency nursing is preferred and direct insurance exposure, though not required, is a plus. As you might expect, a current Colorado RN license is also required. If you are an RN who has perhaps thought about making a change from the traditional clinical nursing world, this opportunity might be worth exploring! 

If these two positions seem like a good match with your background and experience we would love to hear from you. As always, we ask that, if interested, you please complete an on-line application.