To:       Robert Klein

From:   Steve Meyer, High Risk Manager

            Nancy Runyon, Vendor Manager

Subject: SPI Vendor Conference September 1-3 2004 

Since our Safeguard Vendor Conference last month, we have seen a marked overall improvement in certain areas of contractor performance.  We are not really surprised, since we had such a great turnout, and participation at the Conference was so enthusiastic.  Following please find some of immediate results compiled by the staff directly relating to the Conference.

In our estimation, these results stem from the emphasis we placed at the Conference on the importance of timeliness, documentation, and follow-up. You?ll recall that the theme at the Conference was to have our contractors ?tell a story? with their pictures and their updates.  It turns out that our contractors are fast becoming better ?story tellers? than we could have imagined, since the quality of the updates has vastly improved.

We have measured the improvement by tracing our Open Order Report Log, which is an indication of a work order not completed. 

Three critical areas we monitor include:

1. Insufficient information or incomplete responses (code #200);
2. Incomplete photo documentation (code #400); and
3. Return trips required to complete the work within the allowable (code #300)

We generate and review open order reports daily in our 9:00 a.m. manager meeting, and our focus is usually on reducing the number of orders falling into the above categories. 

Fairly soon after the Safeguard Vendor Conference in early September, the staff started noticing significant improvements.  For the four (4) week period immediately following the Conference, we are happy to report the following indications of improved performance:

Average # left open daily              Average # left open daily
prior to the conference                after the conference

Code 200's - 140-150                        60-70
Code 300's - 100-110                        50-60
Code 400's -  80-90                         20-30

We?d like to believe that this dramatic improvement is also due to Safeguard?s internal systems and staff, including their more focused attention on order completion.

The fact is that our contractors' updates and results are significantly better.  For example, we have seen a significant increase in the number of photos received on a daily basis.  Since the Conference, we are receiving an average of 38% more photos daily.  We also audited 50 Initial-Secure and Convey orders over a three-week period, and on average we are receiving 9 more photos per order.   Our review indicates that these additional photos are primarily being taken to document the condition of homes.

Overall, the contractors are doing a much better job of supplying detailed bids and descriptions of damages and other conditions at the home.   This is confirmed by the decrease in the first open-order category (#200) described above.  Complete details and thorough descriptions mean fewer times we are required to seek additional information from the contractor, saving us an extra step in the process.  Also, more contractors are completing the required work in one trip, versus returning from the property without completing the project within the allowable (either under Guidelines or pursuant to a specific client parameter).

Finally, during a Vendor Management meeting we held recently with our Regional Coordinators, I asked if our overall communication with our contractors had been affected by the Conference.  The Coordinators confirmed that communication with those contractors who attended the Conference had particularly improved.  The improvement is noticeable in both actual results and overall attitude, with most Coordinators commenting that contractors seem better able to communicate their results and as a result are becoming much easier to work with.

As far as Safeguard?s staff is concerned, the improved contractor performance allows our personnel to focus on other areas ? vendor management, winterization lists, customer service, status requests, etc. ? and lessens our need to review and revise updates, since the required information is already included.  

Nearly everyone on the staff attributes these results to the Safeguard Vendor Conference, since so many of the themes that were highlighted at the Conference are showing up in the form of our contractors? submissions.  Moreover, the overall feedback regarding the Conference I have received from the staff and the contractors has been nothing but positive.  This leaves us with virtually nothing else to say to our colleagues but ?keep up the good work.?

Thank you.
"Customer Service = Resolution."