 |
Although a staff writer for many years, Felson quickly learned that freelance writing, if done successfully, is no different than running any small professional business. To that end, Felson’s company of one gradually began to diversify, offering a host of other communications services for business clients in need of dependable writers who could deliver well-crafted material on time and on budget. His clients include Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
RECENT WORK: The First Line of Contact Consumer Affairs Responds to Customers’ Needs AetnaSphere, May/June 1997 Travelers Tribune Newsletter March/April 1999 Newsletter for Travelers Property Casualty Inc Forty thousand calls, letters, inquiries, referrals, and yes, even complaints. That’s one way to measure Travelers Consumer Affairs’ business last year. But like any statistic, it tells only part of the story. Think of Consumer Affairs as the liaison between customers and Travelers Property Casualty, Travelers Life & Annuity and other branches of the company. Think of it as one vehicle to promote a customer-focused culture dedicated to quality customer service. Of those 40,000 yearly “transactions, 5,000 were telephone and written complaints. “We don’t see them as a negative, but as an opportunity, a strategic tool to increase business and customer satisfaction,” says Carol Mitnick, manager, Consumer Affairs. “If your customer’s complaint is addressed quickly, courteously and with empathy, often the complainant becomes a long-term customer who appreciates what you’ve done. Take, for example, an elderly insured from Memphis, Tenn., who drove his rental car from his home to the Travelers home office last August because he did not want Travelers to total his damaged automobile. Consumer Affairs introduced him to the home office Claim staff who, with the help of the Charlotte Claim Service Center, had his auto repaired to his satisfaction. “Our insured was so grateful for our help that he sent me a thank-you letter and Christmas card,” says Marianne Carcio, senior executive complaint coordinator. Managing complaints is one small facet of Consumer Affairs’ responsibilities. The five-person unit located in Commercial Lines works with businesses and product lines across the company and around the globe. They provide information not only to insured and claimants, but also to agents, attorneys, medical providers and anyone else who has dealings with the company. The unit identifies trends and monitors customer attitudes and reports them to the business lines. The feedback that Consumer Affairs gets first hand from customers provides great market analysis at no extra cost. In fact, Personal Lines is using the Consumer Affairs area as another source to keep them abreast of consumer reactions during its first cross-selling efforts with CitiBank. The team also prepares documentation for state market conduct exams and internal audits. The unit tracks all transactions and ensures the company is in compliance with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) guidelines. Understandably, the Consumer Affairs staff is versatile. “We work with all types of people,” says Susan McAuliffe, senior executive complaint coordinator. “Sometimes people are frustrated because they don’t know where to get information. We refer them to the contact to get their questions answered. We’re often the first line of contact – the voice Travelers presents to the customer.” AetnaSphere, May/June 1997 Newsletter for Aetna Inc. Howard University students view Aetna firsthand Jason James, a Howard University information systems major, was hungry for answers during his day at Aetna May 14. “I’m here to gain all the knowledge that I can and to see how I can make myself more marketable,” said the Portsmouth, Va., sophomore. After a week in Hartford visiting Aetna and other insurance companies, James and 50 other business schools students from the Washington, D.C., university left with a clearer picture of the heath care, insurance and financial services industries. These top-of-their-class business students also left a strong impression on the Aetna executives who answered their countless, well-prepared questions about operations, the industry’s future and the roles they could play as part of an ever-changing and more diverse work force. The students, participants in Howard’s Center for Insurance Education’s Summer Intern School, are from all parts of the United States – from Northern cities to the rural South – as well as Canada, Africa and the Caribbean. Their majors include insurance, actuarial science, marketing, computer science, finance, management, accounting and international business. During their day at Aetna, they focused on customer service, exploring issues such as what kind of service customers will be expecting in the future, what role technology will play, and what skills will be critical for service providers. They all shared what Harold L. Gray Sr., the business school director, said was an energetic can-do spirit. “They are part of a cadre of dynamic, bright, vibrant, well-educated people of color who are ready to take on new opportunities in this industry,” Gray said. “We don’t want a handout,” he said. “We want to lend a hand. We want an open door. Our students have proven they’re ready to take on the challenges.” ‘We need you’ Gray’s comments came shortly after Aetna Chairman Ron Compton welcomed the students to Aetna. “We need to attract and retain talented people,” Compton told the students. “In other words, we need you.” Particularly in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace, Compton said, “a successful company has to reflect diversity at all levels.” That means having a work force that brings to the company “new and different ideas that reflect different backgrounds. If a company wants to get into new markets,” he said, “it must be diverse so it can understand its diverse customer base.” Peg Lesiak, whose job in Investment & Financial Services is in part to work with hiring managers and executives to create a more diverse work force, said Howard University’s visit to Aetna was important because it gave company executives an opportunity to meet “talented people with diverse backgrounds, who are looking for careers in the industry.” Nearly a dozen Aetna executives from corporate, health and financial services, spent part of the day with Howard students in small groups during lunch, discussing a variety of industry issues. “With an eye toward building future bench strength, we’re always on the lookout for people who have high potential and a good possibility of growing in our company,” Lesiak said. “Bringing these students to Aetna was an effective way of accomplishing that.” Indeed, two students in the group have decided to accept offers to work as summer interns in ARS this year. And the heath business is in contact with several of the students to work out arrangements regarding summer positions. Allan Polak, who’s responsible for staffing and executive resources for Aetna U.S. Healthcare, said the way growth companies succeed is by bringing new energy into the company, like the students from Howard. “You don’t succeed in the future merely by applying what you’ve learned in the past. You do it by bringing in fresh talent, energy and creativity,” said Polak. “I don’t want new people to come in and hit the ground running. I want them to hit the ground learning.” Gray said the reason his students came to “the insurance capital of the world” was to dispel the misconceptions about the insurance industry. As a result, he said, his students now appreciate “how dynamic the industry is and what a transitional period it is going through. “Diversity is an economic issue because it affects the bottom line,” Gray said, adding that a company can’t grow in the future “if it doesn’t take the risk and open the doors to this diverse work force.” Joan Black, coordinator of Howard’s Center for Insurance Education and its Center for Professional Development, said having Aetna open its doors to the students for the day also gives the students a huge advantage to see what the industry has to offer all disciplines. “For them to have a week-long internship,” she said, “visiting with CEOs, vice presidents and HR people, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” |
 |
 |
|
|
©2006 Leonard Felson |
HOME | ABOUT | BIO | JOURNALISM | COPYWRITING | CONTACT
|