A workforce that tripled, and costs nobody could see
The company was a family-owned insurance claims firm with about 300 full-time employees and a body of field adjusters that flexed from 1,000 to 3,000, depending on demand. When storms hit, the workforce ramped up fast. When the season ended, it ramped back down. I ran technology, reporting to the CFO.
The company invested in technology well, and it had plenty of managers. The challenge was awareness. With a field workforce that grew and shrank constantly, it was hard for anyone to see what it actually cost to support all those adjusters, or how to manage that cost.
Overlapping vendors, spread across the company
The company held contracts with service groups, third-party vendors, and tool providers, each used in different ways by different parts of the business. Some of them covered overlapping services. Because the contracts were spread across departments, nobody had the full picture of what was being bought, what it cost, or where two vendors were doing the same job.
A full year's license for a few weeks of work
One of the first big expenses I dealt with was a Microsoft licensing true-up. When I read the contract closely, we were being billed a full 12-month rate for adjusters who worked a few months, or sometimes a few weeks.
We reviewed the bill internally and then with our Microsoft team. We reduced that annual true-up, and we built a new licensing program that brought year-over-year costs down as the company kept growing. It was the clearest example of a pattern that showed up everywhere: costs built for a steady workforce, applied to one that changed size every season.
One owner for each service, one department for the contracts
Combined services where they overlapped. Where two vendors or groups covered the same need, we brought them together under one. Cellular equipment for adjusters deployed to disaster areas is a good example. One person became responsible for deploying it, and we consolidated to a single vendor that could react to our flexible staffing needs.
One department owning the contracts. We consolidated ownership of technology contracts and vendors into a single department. That gave the rest of the company a clear view of costs and contracts, and one place to go with questions.
A roadmap instead of surprises. We built a three-year technology roadmap that planned for equipment obsolescence. Instead of handling replacements as they came up, the company could invest in newer technology on a schedule, choosing upgrades that reduced operating costs and year-over-year expenses.
$2.8 million a year, and a clearer view of what the company could offer
The platform and vendor consolidation took $2.8 million out of annual recurring cost, validated by finance.
The less obvious gain was collaboration. With ownership in one place, functional groups started working together more, and that surfaced capabilities the company could deliver to clients across its whole portfolio.
Off their plate
- Paying full-year rates for people who worked a few weeks.
- Finding out what technology cost only when the bill arrived.
- Sorting out which vendor covered what when services overlapped.
- Handling equipment replacements as they came up instead of on a plan.