Our Vice President of Claims, Cory Candelario, attended the Claims Conference of Northern California (CCNC) for first time in 2016 and recognized there was a need to discuss leadership and the evolution of team management in the Property and Casualty industry.
This year, Cory was asked to be the keynote speaker of the CCNC 25th Annual Meeting at Squaw Valley where he was able to address these topics.
The Evolution of Claims Leadership
By: Cory Candelario, VP of Claims
As the Property & Casualty industry has proliferated during the past two decades, leadership has been required to evolve. The focus in years past is no longer the centerpiece today. To motivate and succeed, today’s leaders are required to be more dynamic, relatable and committed to today’s workforce. What motivated most before, doesn’t today.
Today, we have a responsibility to ensure a positive experience for our organization. The claims job is hard and stressful at times and we can’t do much about that, but we can look to be sensitive to needs and flexible whenever possible. It is important for employees to have a sense of content, and proper leadership should look to limit bad experiences within our control.
As leaders, our most important job is to be accountable to the business. It is important to represent the mission statement of a company and keep the focus on the short- and long-term goals. Executing on behalf of the business is primary, but without great people, the business can’t be successful. If you can create an environment in which people are happy, they will produce the best possible results. You create loyalty this way, which translates to longevity. Today’s workforce is smarter, and more informed. Information is at the fingertips of the working world, which creates impatience and expectations, and requires fair-weather employees.
Nowadays, it is important to be more flexible and understanding to relate to employees at a deeper level. Leaders simply cannot manage everyone the same anymore. The key is to truly listen and try to create a better work environment and culture each day.
Figure out how to motivate your employees individually and you will have a stronger team as a whole. Not every day can be perfect but keeping people, the work environment, and culture top of mind helps to foster a motivated team which, in turn, produces optimal results.