Hard Times Make Great Leaders

Fatigue and Burnout from Fighting to Get Paid by the Insurance Companies?

I want to talk about something that I believe many of you will resonate with and relate to. 

I speak to a lot of people in restoration and remediation with small and big companies. And a prevalent theme that I'm seeing is fatigue from the fight of trying to get paid by the insurance companies.

Unless you have been in hibernation for the last decade, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the insurance processes and procedures have become harder over time. It’s like year after year and job after job, the same thing happens and it’s causing a lot of people to get tired and burn out. 

Check out this weeks episode of Disaster Podcaster 

Video Version

Audio Version

Take Time to Rest and Work on Things

Every year, I take one week and go to a pretty remote area of Montana. It's a humble place.

I go there with the pure intention of disconnecting...

 If you were offered a reset button for your business, would you press it?

We’ve been doing solo podcasts for a while on the Disaster Podcaster. Much easier, far less complex recording process. 

We did a podcast with Andy McCabe recently to talk about the Restoration Rebel movement, how it got started and where it is today. 

As we post-produced it we realized that there were some audio issues. Nothing that most people would pick up on, but significant enough that we felt that they needed to be addressed to get future podcasts to an acceptable standard in our books. 

We adjusted knobs. We turned dials. We slid sliders. To no avail. 

Then Klark yanked the XLR chord out of channel 4 and plugged it into channel 1. Shazam. 

All was well. 

The audio was seemingly perfect. 

All we needed was to change channels. 

We needed to try something new. 

To Reset. 

The irony of the situation was that the podcast that revealed the issue to...

Missed Opportunities or Knowledge

You just might owe hundreds of clients an apology.

Apologies are a very hard thing for people to wrap their heads around because ego and pride get in the way.

Stay with me here for a moment.

You must first start out by knowing that my article here is a resource to improve.
As pretty much an optimist, I believe the overwhelming population of the world, and in this case, the roofing industry means to do the best they can for their client.

But this elusive thing called education just always dances around.

If you are currently in or have even been in the roofing industry for any period of time, it is quite likely that you have missed a few opportunities to truly deliver for your client. Again…not the intention (let’s hope), but from knowledge.

If this does not pertain to you, reach around and pat yourself on the back because you are up at the ninja level.

As a 20-year veteran and very knowledgeable MITIGATION expert, I have seen...

Disaster recovery. That's what we do.

Mitigation = prevention

Restoration is a broad term.

We are a very niche specialty more akin to emergency management than construction.

I've said for years...the professionals (technicians) should be a very high caliber. Not sub $20 per hour people.
I think $30 is too low for what they NEED TO BE.

Why do you think we see such a struggle at the hiring at the tech level. No one wants to do all that work plus the documentation for $19 per hour.

Our bill rates should technically be up close to $100 per hour.

But we have allowed an insurance industry dictate our value.

They don't care how a job is performed. If they did, half their vendors would never be allowed in a structure.

They want to pay the least.

Everyone knows but they don't know what to do about it.

An emergency services technician, that doesn't need a supervisor (think medical equipment, AT&T, automobile And other should be making $60,000'plus. That's a good living wage.

For that, a...

Let's talk onboarding.

In 2016, I met a guy named Andy McCabe.

He was making videos on LinkedIn. I liked what he was saying but I really was drawn to his desire to stand up and talk about things no one else was, and things that most avoided from fear.

We spoke for a while and developed a MOVEMENT called Restoration 2.0.

A reboot

A newer version

An update

An exit from the Matrix.

The carriers were getting more brazen and stronger with their tactics outlined in Delay, Deny, Defend.

A profit driven system applied to the claims process.

Carrier relationships that built incredible companies were no longer as strong and many had deteriorated with the expansion of the MRP's and growth of TPA's.

Quality and Customer service had been removed as KPI's and replaced with Claims Ratios, claims shrink and lowering of overhead by limiting site visits ( pushing the documentation onto the contractor).

Frustration was building.

Franchising was exploding (MRP's) and the quality of work in the industry...

So, I wrote this to explain to all my non disaster and restoration industry friends how our business model has been jammed.  When I say jammed....I mean a force so large and with endless funds....that small and medium businesses feel powerless. 

Feel free to use the "problem" in your marketing, on boarding, or defense. 
Please. I implore you. Join in with being part of the solution that I've included in this blog. 

A homeowner (or business) has a fire or flood.

They have insurance (and plenty of coverage).

A contractor is contacted to perform emergency services (2 am).

Insured makes a claim with their trusting insurance (premiums paid for 13 years, always on time).

The first thing that happens is they look for evidence to deny the claim. That's effort 1.

Then when it seems to be a covered issue, they have a list of vendors that have agreed to be their preferred. This only means that they have agreed to rates and sometimes omission of charges...

In a secluded area of Fort Lauderdale, FL - a coastal town with generational wealth building by the minute - there is a luxurious complex where Bentleys are daily drivers, and sit under carports. 

All of America’s rich and famous have been there, and many have a mansion on the water for their yachts to be parked behind. The cost of merely owning the yachts is so stinking high it would make maggots gag. The cost of real estate in that luxurious spot probably attracts vultures in human form if you are picking up what I’m laying down. 

I managed to stay there and work a large loss in one of the luxurious complexes where the “stinking high” costs are chump change to those living in the area. 

I can’t imagine living that way, but dammit, I wouldn’t mind trying! I must admit, while I cant say its my cup of tea - I prefer mountains and countryside - I can definitely say that I was blown away by the luxurious...

The great Albert Einstein has been repeatedly attributed as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results”.

While we refuse to call anyone insane, we do repeatedly see an industry that does the same thing over and over.

Over and over they plead for a different outcome. 

We have conversations with restoration professionals every day.
It's what we do.
And when I say professional, I emphatically say these people are some of the technically brightest people on the planet in their discipline.
They know how to dry very well. They know how to mitigate impressively.
They started their business because they want to help people. Empathy for others is off the charts. 

Empathy is what gets them in difficult situations. 

They feel the clients pressure so much that they assume the burden of the situation. They cannot separate out what the clients (insured…NOT the insurance company) burden is, and what...

We are putting the finishing touches on an Accelerate program for emerging leaders. 

We did this last year with incredible success. But lets be honest. It was the first one. While we had incredible results, and responses, we had equally incredible feedback. Using the experience and feedback… we’re almost ready to roll out v2. 

This Accelerate program could also be for new/young owners in the restoration industry who are looking for some solid concepts to help them get a jump start on growth and education, or meet some other industry peers. 

As we talk to owners and leaders in the restoration industry we are often connected with emerging leaders. They often want to know how they can become more connected in the industry, how they can contribute to making the industry better, and how they can bring more value to the organizations they represent above and beyond.

Read on to find out what we are doing to facilitate the growth and connection they want!

As we...

Once you’ve identified the key systems that make your business money, it’s now time to extract them.

But here’s where many business owners get tripped up... they try to create all the systems themselves! And once they’ve been created, then they feel an overwhelming pressure to perform all of the systems themselves. 

As a business owner, you’ll never be free from the day to day operations if you’re always deciding to involve yourself in them.

This is a pivotal decision point where businesses can either remain in the stationary stage and continue to decline, or start systemising the right way so they can move to the scalable and saleable stages.

I had a breakthrough moment with a client this week who has been working hard on breaking free from doing things the way he’s always been doing them. 

His words to me (in a troubled tone) were, “It's almost like I don’t care anymore.” 

On the surface that sounds...