From a young age, Amanda McNamara exhibited a strong work ethic and a desire to help people. Part-time jobs whilst at school and university provided her with early opportunities to help train and mentor those she worked with. So, it is not surprising that today, as a technical advisor at Crawford in Australia, training and development are key components of her role.
Taking the insurance route
With a degree in behavioral science, Amanda might not seem an obvious fit for a career in the insurance industry, yet Amanda’s first job took her straight there when she became a claims and injury assessor for a Sydney-based insurer in 2006. Following a brief period as a recruitment consultant — still in the insurance sector — she walked through the door of our Sydney offices in 2009.
Now a highly experienced technical and training consultant with the firm, Amanda’s first role at Crawford was as a claims technician. In 2010, she joined our team in Brisbane as an internal claims adjuster, before stepping up to the position of team leader two years later. Her next move was to become external claims adjuster before she took on the role of technical advisor that she holds today.
During her time at Crawford, Amanda has continued to develop her skills and expand her knowledge. She has obtained a range of formal qualifications in loss adjusting, human resources, and training and assessment, which have proved extremely useful in her work to develop the skills of others.
Taking a walk in her shoes
As technical advisor for the property division in the state of Queensland, Amanda's working days are almost never the same. Her state-wide focus means that she is working with people at all levels across the organization and, as part of the second largest state in Australia, across multiple different regions.
Her multi-faceted role means that she has numerous responsibilities, including inducting new employees, training staff on systems and processes, helping the team with claims-related queries, organising 'Lunch & Learn' sessions, visiting other offices and assisting management. When catastrophes hit, Amanda facilitates the induction of overseas adjusting personnel, the onboarding of internal contract employees, peer-review reports and the development of training materials.
She also finds time to be part of Crawford's Brisbane social committee. The body arranges events and fund-raising activities as part of Crawford’s commitment to working with local communities, engaging our employees and fostering a great culture across the company.
Unsurprisingly, given the scope of her role which requires great time-management skills and adaptability, Amanda is often managing a number of different activities at once. It also means that she has to be great at motivating and engaging people as much of her time is spent working with groups, running training sessions and delivering presentations.
Making the difference
Amanda’s strong work ethic, dedication and focus on employee engagement have not gone unnoticed. As Queensland State Manager, Adam Noble, says:
“Amanda has been crucial in our employee training and catastrophe adjuster induction process. This has facilitated greater employee engagement and satisfaction, which has shone through in our Pulse Survey results here in Queensland. We are very fortunate to have a resource in Amanda who facilitates such important training systems.”
Getting the balance right
When your role is as demanding and far-reaching as Amanda’s, it’s important that you get the work/life balance right. So, when she’s not 'on the job' or out learning a new skill, she enjoys socialising with friends, travelling (when funds are available!), taking her dogs to the beach and going to concerts.
