Ventiv Technology

6 | 360º Aon eSolutions or at least stay abreast of what's happening is going to be left behind." Delivering top-notch performance year after year is no small feat. In addition to being evaluated on cost and service KPIs, Perroots and his Claim Services colleagues are also motivated through a formal process by which each Claim Services regional office sets yearly goals for how to improve performance. Each office's goal, which must be approved by Vice President of Claims Bob Steggert, must be challenging yet attainable. Each regional office is then judged by how well it meets objective quality and cost-efficiency criteria. THE 2012 GOAL: ONLINE INCIDENT REPORTING Perroots is leading a key initiative in 2012 that will have a major impact on the Marriott claims department's yearly performance-improvement goal: Namely, transitioning from claims intake by a third-party call center to online incident reporting in iVOS. Introduced in pilot on February 1, 2012, online incident reporting began rolling out to Marriott properties across the United States on July 1, 2012. Says Perroots, "It's coming along very nicely and is actually exceeding expectations. We already have several thousand incidents successfully reported through the new process. Hotel personnel have already given us feedback that the process is saving them time, which is very important for our properties because, obviously, they have other responsibilities in addition to reporting incidents." Perroots didn't share with us the standards by which his team will be judged this year in reaching its performance goal, but in terms of cost efficiency, going to online incident reporting looks to be a winner: Sporting a return on investment of 400 percent, Marriott's initial savings alone equal four times the cost of implementing online incident reporting. The new incident reporting process will be judged on quality measures, as well. "Marriott's executive management strongly supports the move to online incident reporting because it furthers one of Marriott's key objectives: timely claim reporting by properties, which is crucial in keeping claim costs down," says Perroots. "Properties are held accountable for their In the world of workers' compensation and disability management, it's almost unheard of for a company as large as Marriott to be both self-insured and self-administered. Yet not only does Marriott Claim Services cover more than 100,000 employees at 700 U.S. locations, they also perform at a very high level as measured by an extensive set of key performance indicators (KPIs). From on-time claimant contact to claim disposition; from timeliness of payments to workers' comp losses per $100 of payroll, Marriott Claim Services consistently scores at the top of the scale in frequent internal and external audits. As Steve Perroots, senior director with the Washington, D.C., claims office, states, "We believe that there are major advantages to being self-administered, but we have to prove it year after year. We're evaluated annually on how well we compare to outside options for third-party administration, and we compare favorably when we look strictly at the cost of self- versus third-party administration. But being evaluated on costs alone doesn't account for quality, where we also compare very favorably in areas like claims outcomes, claimant satisfaction rates and rates of litigation and involvement by attorneys." MISSION CONTROL Perroots is quick to point out that one of the driving forces behind the consistently superior cost-efficiency and quality of Marriott Claim Services is its adherence to the prime directive issued by company founder J.W. Marriott, Sr., some 80 years ago: "Take care of your employees and they'll take care of your customers." J.W. Marriott's words are echoed clearly in the mission statement that guides Perroots' office: "To provide superior claim service to associates, guests and operation staff in a fair, prompt and honest manner in order to achieve equitable, cost-effective resolutions." As Perroots explains, "It's not just about efficiencies and saving money. It's about superior claim service and how we treat the associates and guests." When Perroots says that he, along with his Claim Services colleagues nationwide, are always looking for ways to improve and do things better, it's much more than just a personal commitment: it's an organizational imperative. In the world of claims administration, Perroots states, it's essential to stay out ahead of the pack: "The industry is changing, and new technology is coming out every day. The company that doesn't pay attention to that

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