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Brought to You by State Farm Insurance
Name: Angela Adorno
Title: Claim Team Manager
Company: State Farm Insurance
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
Monster: What led you to choose a career in the insurance industry?
Angela Adorno: My career in the insurance industry was more a situation of circumstance. Having worked for smaller companies, I was interested in a larger Fortune 500 firm that valued employees and stability. I lived near the corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois, and through word of mouth heard very positive things about State Farm Insurance and the career opportunities available.
M: What led you to your current position at State Farm?
AA: My education and former employment was all in the human resources field. I have been with State Farm for eight years and have worked as an HR business analyst, project manager and assistant HR recruiting manager. Interested in learning about our core business and to gain cross-functional experience, I moved into a claim team manager position two years ago.
M: What do you do in your position?
AA: I’m responsible for developing my employees, creating a high-performing environment and achieving customer-focused results.
The most important aspect of my leadership role is to provide expectations, direction, ongoing feedback and development to ensure that my employees have the skills needed and the right environment to be successful in accomplishing their job.
In this position, I oversee my unit’s claim activities, which include investigations, claim payments, adjustment expense payments, workflows and claim file reviews. I also look at trends and statistical reports to recommend ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness in my area.
In addition, I coordinate and implement new programs, policies, practices and procedures. When needed, I participate in or lead committees and project groups. I’m also involved in the annual budgetary process, and I formally or informally mentor others.
M: Bring us through your typical day.
AA: Each day is filled with varied activities. A typical day includes meeting with employees to coach on performance and provide direction and opportunities for their development, discuss claim issues, or share department or company information. Some meetings may be scheduled in advance while others are spontaneous based on situations of the day. Each day also includes reviewing employee work and creating reports at an individual and team level that are used to identify trends, make recommendations for improvements, and praise successful contributions to the department and company goals. Lastly, committee work and mentoring are an important part of the role requiring regular meetings and follow-through based on the task at hand.
M: What have been the biggest rewards in your career?
AA: The opportunity to work in various roles, departments and locations, as well as opportunities to develop and move up in the organization. It has also been rewarding to provide those same opportunities to my employees and see them succeed in achieving their goals.
M: What are some of the challenges of your job that you enjoy?
AA: I enjoy the fast-paced work environment and the opportunity to positively impact our customers and my employees. There’s more pressure, but there’s also a greater sense of accomplishment and reward.
M: What do you like most about working for State Farm?
AA: The opportunity to have many challenging careers in one company, as well as opportunities for development and advancement. Also, the feeling and culture of the State Farm family.
M: What’s the best advice you could give to someone looking to get into your field?
AA: There is not a one-track career path in State Farm. No matter where you begin, you can work toward your ultimate career goals all within the same company.
M: What do you look for when you interview people on behalf of State Farm?
AA: Leadership, problem-solving and relationship-building skills, as well as customer focus, initiative, integrity and accountability.
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