Communication Audit Report

        Communication Audit Report

        Prepared for

        Dr. Marguerite Joyce, Professor

Prairie View A&M University

        Prepared by

        Crystal Newell, Junior Underwriter

State Farm Insurance

        April 30, 2015

        EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On March 27, 2015, interviews were conducted to determine which communication techniques were effective and non-effective at State Farm Insurance’s Underwriter Center. The purpose of conducting these interviews was to evaluate employees’ responses to determine the effectiveness of communication and give recommendations for improvements.

The Underwriting Center at State Farm consists of multiple teams of underwriters and underwriter service assistants. Each team has a team manager and there is a team of business analysts that continue to work proof of concept projects to improve the work process flow. Most of the information gathered for this report was from primary data obtained during the interviews. Secondary information was taken from business articles relating to effective communication.

The research uncovered the following findings:

• Formal oral communication needs little to no improvement.
• Communications with customers are mostly by e-mail.
• Internal e-mails are 70% of the managers’ form of communication.
• Least used modes of communication are telephones and letters.

Recommendations for improvement in communications are as follows:

• Implement a department newsletter.
• Create new opportunity notification for employees through internal job site

         COMMUNICATION AUDIT REPORT

        INTRODUCTION

With most businesses one will find different levels of formal and informal communication. Consistently reviewing the communication structure of a business is necessary for the success of the company.

Effective communication is something that leadership does not take for granted. For this reason the strength of the company’s internally and externally communication must be periodically reviewed. This report will describe and evaluate the State Farm Insurance Underwriting Center formal and informal communication channels along with my recommendations for improvement.

The primary source of my information was interviews with five key employees in the department: Team manager, Gordon Kulikoff, Business Analyst, Tai Rankin-Gray, Senior Underwriter, Monica Hockman, Junior Underwriter, Rachel Topper, and Underwriter Service Assistant, Jerica McFarland. My secondary source of information was articles relating to effective communication.

Next, you’ll see detailed descriptions of current methods of communication used by State Farm Insurance, including formal and informal communication channels.

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