Insurance Adjusters is a medium-sized company with 135 employees and seven managers. They process the claims of insurance holders who have experienced various misfortunes (eg: Hurricanes, floods etc). Their primary job is to determine the amount to be paid out and process the paperwork for some of the smaller insurance agencies in the area so that the final payment can be issued. Although the company is just eight years old, it has done quite well and has seen a large increase in business. It has a reputation for quality work and quick turnaround for claims. Because customers are often eager to move on after the misfortune strikes, Rainyday has built a loyal following by the insurance agencies that depend on it. Delayed claims often cost these companies’ time and money when they have to interact with continuous customer complaints.

To accommodate the increase in customers, six months ago, Rainyday expanded its office in the current building and upgraded all its equipment to make the company more efficient and to allow the workers to process the claims more quickly. In particular, the computers were upgraded to facilitate speedier turn-around and higher capacity from claims processors. The new computers represent a large investment the company cannot afford to underutilize. Since installation of the computers, Rainyday has experienced a number of problems with voluntary turnover among claims processors as well as decreased productivity and increased errors.

Recently, the CEO of Rainyday, Rebecca Stephens, hired you as consultant to determine what, if any, training needs the claims processors have. There are 85 processors in the claims department. On the first day you talked with several employees in the claims department. Fran, one of the more senior claims processor, has been with the company since it started eight years ago. He has become increasingly dissatisfied since the new computers arrived. As he remarked to you,” The managers told us that the new computers will make our job easier, but they have been nothing but trouble. We spend half of the time printing out the forms and then we have to correct errors on them. Also, some newer claims

processor has been bugging me to show how to fill up the forms. I don’t have time for that, and besides, they should have learnt it themselves in the computer classes they have taken. On top of all that, my manager, Paula, stops by every day and tells us we need to work faster because we are getting behind. I’m telling you, I have had it. I’m about to join the others and quit.”

After the conversation with Fran, you decide that before you start drafting an action plan for the training program, you had better meet with Fran’s manager to get her perspective. Paula seems friendly enough and is very open about what she thinks are the reasons for the problems. “Ever since we got the new computers, we have been having problems. Errors have increased, productivity has gone down, and we have had a lot of employees quit. At first, I thought it was just the new computers, but I noticed a lot of bickering among the claims processors. It seems the more senior processor have resented the new hires, perhaps because some of the buddies have quit the firm.” After further enquiry, Paula mentioned that when the new computers arrived, she offered to send everyone to the local Institute to take computer classes that would teach them how to use computers and software. The classes were offered early in the morning (6.30am – 8:00am) so that the employees could attend the training and still make it to office only one hour later than it was expected. They could get to work by 8.30 am which was one hour after their normal start time. Paula also told employees that they would be paid for the hour lost in training. As she noted to you, “I was surprised that the employees did not seem more excited about the idea of training. In fact, a number of employees told me that they did not want to go to the Institute with a bunch of teenagers and said they would just train themselves”.

After talking to Paula, you asked her to point you in the direction of one of the newer employees who has been experiencing conflicts with the more senior employees. You reserved a conference room and met with Malcolm. He was very talkative and had a lot to complain about, especially regarding the older employees. “I am having a pretty tough time here. After I took those computer classes at the high school, the computers have been really easy to work with, but I’m still trouble filling out the claims forms. One of the senior employees, Randall is supposed to help me, but he seems too busy. I think that he and the other old timers are just jealous that some of the new employees know the shortcuts on computers. It is kind of funny watching them try to format their claims. They get so frustrated because they don’t have a clue how to work on the computers. I told a few of them that I can show them, but said they didn’t need help from a youngster. Fine by me; I have plenty to do.”

After meeting with Malcom, you realize that things don’t sound too good. Because of the delays in the work by the claims processors, customers have been complaining to the insurance companies. Consequently, the firms are threatening to drop Rainyday. With all their expansion efforts, Rainyday needs customers more than ever. The CEO said to you as you were leaving for the day, “If things don’t improve soon, we may be out of business.” She encouraged you to develop a training program or whatever you think would help to improve the productivity of the claims department.

Questions:

1. Discuss 4 major problems at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company. (4 marks)

2. Discuss Leadership problems at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company. (4 marks)

3. Provide 4 suggestions for addressing the problems in the claims department at RainyDay Insurance Adjusters Company. (4 marks)

4. Briefly explain the training design process you will follow to enhance the operational efficiency at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company. (4 marks)

Guidance: Evaluation Criteria

Marks allotted

1. Discuss 4 major problems at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company?

4marks

2. Discuss Leadership problems at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company.

4marks

3. Provide 4 suggestions for addressing the problems in the claims department at RainyDay Insurance Adjusters Company.

4marks

4 Briefly explain the training design process you will follow to enhance the operational efficiency at Rainyday Insurance Adjusters Company.

4marks

Format, structure and logic of the presentation

1mark

Creativity

1mark

Grammatical and spelling corrections

1mark

Appropriate referencing applied

1mark

Total

20 marks

1. The assignment should have a cover page, table of contents.

2. Use headings, diagrams, and brief tables if appropriate to illustrate points and to support your arguments. Ensure that these are relevant, based on your reading.

3. Structure and development. Ensure that what you write makes a direct contribution to the question and try to avoid including general or irrelevant information.

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6. Appendices. You may attach appendices to your work, if you think them necessary – they will not be included in the word-count.

7. Last date of submission: the last day of the 13th week of the semester.

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