Set Goals for Team Members

There are a number of employees in my office who are able to “stay on top of” their work. There are others who cannot. I tend to start at the premise that; if one person can keep up, then anyone can. This, of course, seems to be flawed thinking. Our people are required to:

* Make immediate contact on all claims assigned,
* Return phone calls quickly
* Investigate claims timely
* Pay estimates within 48 hours
* Handle a bunch of diaried cases each day,
* etc etc

Frankly, it’s a pretty impossible job. But, it has been this way for decades and it isn’t going to get easier, ever. So, my leaders are puzzling over how to coach people who just can’t seem to catch up. Any thoughts you might have will be welcomed.

The Team Doc Says…

Yep, you’re right. Just because one person can do something, doesn’t mean another person can. You need some quantifiable measures for these people. The only one that came close in your list is “pay estimates in 48 hours.” All the rest of them are subjective and open to interpretation. Everyone has a different opinion of what “timely” and “quickly” and “handle a bunch” means.

You can’t measure someone’s performance against this type of criteria. So first you’ll need to identify what these things mean. Set a standard objective that is measurable. Then communicate it to each team member — better yet, let them help develop the measures so they’ll have skin in the game.

You also need to set up a regular feedback process for all team members so they know where they stand. And keep in mind, the team members who are already behind will probably never catch up. Get your team together and have them collaborate on how the work can be accomplished more efficiently so everyone can be successful.

Best regards,

Denise O’Berry
aka ‘Team Doc’