Strategic Plan: Geico

RUNNING HEAD: GEICO STRATEGIC PLAN

GEICO Strategic Plan

MBA580

University of Phoenix

Executive Summary

This a challenging and exciting time for the Auto Damage Department for GEICO located in Phoenix Arizona. Due to past circumstances compared to current the department is now able to develop fundamental to progress the department in to a knowledge and profitable area. The ever rising rates of labor and costs of medical and physical damages rising the department is challenges to maintain a level of payment in relation to the amount of premium taken in each year. The more the department is able to control these costs the lower rates can be offered to customers, therefore, increasing growth.

Each of the goals is affected the success of the each other. The plan will be develop to have targets and tasks aligning with the short term and longterm goals. The efforts will be uniformed as a team to create a driving well rounded operation. The department will develop employees creating lower severity, increasing sales all while remaining profitable. Growth and staffing will be set to reach a goal at an aggressive but comfortable pace.

Background

The auto damage department of GEICO auto insurance is responsible for negotiating and settlement claims in each respective area. The Phoenix metro area has seen increased growth over the past five years. During this growth the auto damage department has been challenged with covering the claims in this area despite being understaffed. The department is now fully staffed to handle the volume in the area. However, the area still experiences increases in new business resulting in more claims each year. The Phoenix metro department of GEICO will develop a strategic plan to account for the current position of the department and develop in to an organization to exceed expectations of the company and raise into one of the premier departments in the company

The department five years ago consisted of approximately 10 adjusters, one manager and two supervisors for an area with nearly 5 million people. Currently, the department has approximately 30 adjusters, four supervisors and one manager. The department has experienced a large amount of turnover in the beginning due to employees unhappy with large workloads. The adjusters are responsible for settling auto insurance claims for both insured’s of GEICO and claimants involved in accidents. The adjusters are rated based upon results relating to severity and seeing vehicles in a timely fashion. However, the heaviest factor in adjuster’s ratings is in customer service. In the past the area has been understaffed and showed poor results with customer service surveys.

The current goal of the department is to complete each job and receive a high rating. However, the goals should consist of more specific goals. The goals should hold both long-term and short-term objectives. By setting short term objectives the company can use these steps to reach the over goal. The areas of the strategic plan which need to be address are the vision and mission statements. The company has these statements but the auto damage section in Phoenix does not have any in writing. The current work environment needs to be analyzed. Currently many areas of the department have room to improve. Some of the areas which could be address are staff development, unity within the organization, and communication. The department should begin to set goals and expectations for individuals and the department as a whole. By developing these goals employees and the department will have building blocks to develop in to the department of the goals set.

Mission Statement Overview

Currently, the department does not have a mission statement. A goal is to develop a mission statement which describes the goals and actions needed to reach the goals. The statement will be clear and concise to the specific tasks to reach the goals. A mission statement will give guidance and set expectations for the department. Pearce and Robinson state, “The mission of a company is the unique purpose that sets it apart from other companies of its type and identifies the scope of its operations.” (Pearce & Robinson, 2004, p 34) The mission statement holds as a phrase to describe goals desired from the department as a whole. The entire group of adjuster, supervisors, and management will be able to use this statement to provide the service and level of commitment expected from the company. The mission statement for the department will be, “GEICO Auto Damage will provide our customers the highest level of expertise, service, and integrity to control costs associated to provide affordable insurance to current and future customers.” The customers will benefit from the statement by receiving reliable service from each claim. The department will be able to have a uniform foundation to know what is expected from each claim and the reason the level is expected to reach the common goals.

Values Statement

Values are a critical role for the company. Three interested stakeholders exist with the concerns of values in the company. The company overall, the customers, and the employees are the major stake holders. Each will have the group’s own values. The values statement will need to address values for each. The value statement will be as follows: GEICO will uphold the highest level of service for customers, the highest level of respect to employees, and highest level of integrity in the company”

Many factors exist in developing the plans laid forward. The first issue is communication. Communication is crucial to communicate to adjusters what changes are taking place and why they are taking place. By employees understanding the goals will develop the employees to better train and more success the employees are more likely to commit a greater effort in implementing the new strategy. Commitment to the new strategy should be expected from both management and employees.

The new strategy will develop employees and the department into the desired goal of being the one of the most successful and knowledgeable staffs not only within the company, but in the insurance