Social Media Being Used For Insurance Investigations

People cannot resist the impulse to share the details of their lives with millions of strangers on social media sites. As to whether this represents a privacy issue, at this time the courts routinely allow investigators to mine social media sites. The position seems to be that when you're posting your exploits in front of tens of millions of people to freely see, that's not privacy anymore.

Always be careful of what you post to your social media profiles!  These days, more than ever, insurers and law enforcement officials are increasingly monitoring social media posts to check for insurance fraud. The use of social media monitoring has exploded in the insurance industry.  Insurance claims adjusters view social media as a gold mine for their investigations.

Not only do insurance claims adjusters look for proof that your claim isn’t fraudulent, they also might look to see pictures of what your car looked like before the accident.  If you were injured during the accident, adjusters might look at your pictures and status updates to see how the accident has affected your life.  They could also search social media for potential witnesses to the accident.

Whatever situation you’re in, if you find yourself filing an insurance claim after a car accident, it is a best practice to avoid posting about it on social media.  It’s even smarter to avoid accepting “friend requests” from strangers. The extra boost in your friend count is not worth it!

If you are involved in an auto accident, or plan on making any type of insurance claim, for that matter, make sure you comb through your social media profiles with a fine-toothed comb.  You never know who could be watching!

Scot Dickerson, CPC
President

Toxic Coworkers

Most of us understand how toxic it can be to interact with negative people. Their dreary outlook on life can drag us down. And, their pessimistic attitudes can, too often, discourage us from giving our best or taking the necessary steps to improve our future success. Toxic people can disrupt our lives and create negative thoughts within ourselves, even side tracking our own success.

Perhaps one of the most useful things you can do is to define your space and how much you are going to allow others to influence you. Often, negative people find it easy to encroach on other people by joining in on conversations--whether in person or even through social media--that are never welcome. The most effective way to eliminate as much pessimism as possible is by simply setting limits within the parts of your life to which negative people have access. Keep your sanity and create boundaries to protect yourself.

While it's important, and human, to spend some of your time helping others with their problems, it's impossible to help them win every battle. Choose whether it's more important to help your friend figure out why they are so dissatisfied with their current job, or help him get through his latest breakup. You'll exhaust yourself trying to fix all of your friend's problems or daily issues. And, it is possible that placing the negative complaints on pause for a few hours--or a couple days--can bring about a resolution without your involvement at all.

Surround yourself with people that make you happy. People who infuse your life with positivity--make these positive friends a much bigger part of your life than your negative friends. Being bombarded by a constant stream of negativity can take a toll on even the most easygoing person, so protect yourself from that potential burnout by adding quality time with those who uplift your spirits and encourage you to do great things.

Most negative people don't even realize how they are coming across. Create a positive spin on things for your negative friend. Sharing something positive can help your negative friend open their eyes to their own negativity and, hopefully, help them focus more on the positives in their lives.

Finally, what appears to be the most successful tactic of all is finding positivity within yourself. As hard as it may be, don't let the negative words or actions of others get to you. Maintain positive energy regardless of what happens--smile in the face of adversity--by replacing negative thoughts with positive.

Scot Dickerson, CPC
Capstone Search

Filling Seats in Your Company's C-Suite

Looking to fill a seat in your company’s C-suite isn’t your average hiring process. The next “chief” of any of your departments will be making decisions that shape the current company culture and the future of your business. The repercussions of a bad C-level hire will spill over into every level below and can even turn off loyal clients and potential customers.

Take the time to look for the right candidate, consider more than the resume, be clear in your job description about what you want and need.  Here are a few tips for hiring c-level executives so you'll be happy with your new CFO or COO:

LOOK INTERNALLY FIRST: With someone who's going to be managing as much as a C-level executive, it's often best to source internally. Your final choice would already have a strong grasp of the company, its needs, and its culture, which is what you need from your hire. This person would also best be able to take the company in the direction that it needs to be in. Sourcing internally also boost morale, as it means that several people within your company will get a promotion.

FOCUS ON THE COMPANY'S VISION: If you do decide to search externally for your new executive, make sure to find someone who shares in the company’s vision. This is true for a startup as well as a larger enterprise, as the new hire won't be a good fit if he/she doesn't fully believe in what the business is trying to accomplish. This can include traits in the executive that fit with company culture and mission.

INVOLVE OTHERS IN THE FINAL DECISION: Since this new c-level executive will be the boss of a lot of people, and probably people who have been with the company a while, make sure that they play a role in deciding their new boss. If your company has a board of directors, make sure to involve them, too. By leaving the decision to just one person, it might not be a good one if the new hire can't earn the respect or trust of those under his management, or has trouble fitting his/her leadership style into the department or company.

PREPARE FOR THE TRANSITION: This is one of the best practices for hiring just about anybody, but it's especially important for c-level hires. If the person is new to the company, or even new to such a management role, you need to give the hire, and everyone else, some preparation and time to adjust. Make sure everyone understands that there will be a change, and make sure current employees give the new hire a chance to do their job and to lead the team.

Scot Dickerson, CPC
Capstone Search