Chicago Title dramatically improves business performance
with Connexus C4 methodology
Chicago Title is the nation’s largest title insurance company. The fundamental principles upon which the company was founded over 150 years ago are still steadfast today. These principles are outstanding customer service, an untarnished reputation for integrity, and a rock solid, enduring identity that is synonymous with the necessary expertise to insure your most prized asset – your home.
The Challenge
Chicago Title’s North Carolina area was looking for ways to improve financial and business results. Deborah Brittain, Vice President and State Manager for Chicago Title in Charlotte, NC, recognized that a major strategic initiative was required to improve the overall performance of the state. Ms. Brittain believed that an organizational culture assessment would provide insight into the underlying emotional intelligence (EQ) and leadership styles in the state, and that this information would help align the region’s strategy with Chicago Title’s Core Value Statement:
We will be the preferred provider of title insurance services through innovation, exceptional commitment, and continuous improvement for the benefit of our customers.
Ms. Brittain was challenged with how to measure the culture and emotional intelligence of the organization and management team. Moreover, she needed to design and implement a performance management program that would be based on the cultural assessment and would align with the Company’s overall strategy with the state of North Carolina.
The Solution
The Connexus team of highly experienced professionals worked with Ms. Brittain to develop a systematic approach to measure the organization’s EQ and implement a Balanced Scorecard to manage ongoing performance. Utilizing the Connexus C4 methodology and ideaDynamics™, the Organizational Emotional Intelligence Profile (OEIP) was administered on the organization. The OEIP measures the organizational emotional intelligence along the following five levels: Detached, Defensive, Dependent, Dramatic, and Dynamic. The initial assessment of the organization found a “Dependent” culture. Connexus then developed a series of workshops for Chicago Title to understand why the Dependent culture existed and how to move the organization to a more “Dynamic” culture.
A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was developed and implemented to address various issues surrounding roles, responsibilities and management expectations for employees. The BSC is a performance measurement and management system that attempts to “balance” an organization’s methodology for measuring and managing performance by focusing on four distinct areas of operational performance: Financial, Internal Process, Customer, and Innovation and Growth. As such, it prescribes a solution for improving organizational performance.
The Balanced Scorecard Brittain developed for North Carolina includes the following objectives and metrics found in Figure 1.
The Results
Approximately six months after implementing the assessments and Balance Scorecard, a second administration of the OEIP was taken. The post-test revealed significant improvement in the organization’s level of emotional intelligence and a shift from a “Dependent” to a “Dynamic” culture at a statistically significant level. “We didn’t need the second assessment to tell us that the culture of the organization had improved. We began to experience immediate positive results after implementing ideaDynamics™.” Employees communicated more openly with each other and began to collaborate and take ownership. Management provided the runway to encourage the empowerment of the organization and became leaders and coaches, versus coordinators and managers.
The Benefits
Brittain saw significant improvements across every state in every business metric. Within one year, North Carolina’s Revenue increased by 17% from $11.4M to $13.7M. Customer satisfaction improved dramatically and employee satisfaction levels as well. North Carolina won the “Highest Net Profit Margin Award,” the first time the state had won the award in the Company’s history. “The turnaround was amazing,” says Brittain. “Connexus helped us to over-achieve our targets and have provided us with a system through their C4 methodology to continue improvement.”
| Objectives | Metrics | |
| Financial | Increased Profitability | Revenue Growth |
| Customer Perspective | Customer Retention | Customer Surveys |
| Business Perspective | Product Development | Market Penetration |
| Employee Perspective | Employee Satisfaction | Retention |
*Source of case study – Connexus, Huntersville, NC.
