With the launch of the Global Technical Services (GTS) European Academy event in April, Crawford & Company continues to demonstrate our commitment to continually raising the talent bar for our people with the full support of the management team. The inaugural European Academy event saw adjusters from seven European countries come together to learn from proven, real-world experts.
For several years, we have been investing in our adjusting talent through the Crawford Academy in the UK, providing a structured career pathway for employees to develop their skills and careers from apprentice level through to major and complex loss (MCL) adjuster roles. We are now building on that success by having a regular European Academy event to develop the next generation of adjusters.
A powerful aspect of the Crawford Academy program is the involvement of highly experienced practitioners from across the industry, who are playing an integral role in the ongoing development of our specialist adjusters.
The development of this event was led by Glenn Thornton, head of MCL for the UK & Ireland, and Luke Brannigan, who was appointed last year as people development director, MCL, with responsibility for technical training and talent development through the Crawford Academy. Together they have put together a comprehensive and diverse schedule of presentations and activities for this inaugural GTS European Academy event.
Crawford’s senior-level commitment to training was also clearly in evidence at the event. Presenters included Lisa Bartlett, chief operating officer, International Operations, Niels de Kock, president - Europe and Middle East, and Rob Kleinveld, client director Benelux & GTS Europe.
Over one-and-a-half days, attendees learned about key aspects of Crawford’s European strategy, delved deeper into our high-end international GTS loss adjusting proposition, and got a working understanding of the demands of international assignments. The event also provided an opportunity to get a client perspective on the work that Crawford does for its partners, with some of Crawford’s clients taking to the stage.
Day two included a two-part session on a key aspect of the adjuster’s skill-set – the art of communication. As Academy Director Graham Cranford-Smith explained, the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and deal empathetically with clients is critical to handling any loss scenario.
Taking place in the heart of the city of London, attendees were taken on building and learned more about the history of the iconic Lloyd’s building, as well as learning more about the history of the insurance market through the Insurance Museum, which Crawford is proud to sponsor.
Crawford’s global network and our highly skilled teams of loss adjusters and claims experts across Europe afford us an excellent platform to further develop our GTS business and create great career opportunities for the next generation of loss adjusters.
We are confident that this new Crawford Academy initiative not only provided a wonderful experience for our teams across the UK and Europe but increased our adjusters’ understanding of the requirements of the London market and pan-European programs to help them deliver a market-leading service.
