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Volume 3, Number 8

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eye on > redefining a corporate culture

Case Study: Crawford & Company 2004 Annual Report

Atlanta-based Crawford & Company is the world’s largest independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities. With more than 700 offices in 63 countries, Crawford enjoys a strong heritage in the business, as well as a global footprint and claims experience that is unmatched in the industry.

Yet, despite these impressive qualities, the company’s financial performance in recent years had declined due to inconsistencies in quality, response time and personal service in its global field offices. A new CEO was brought on board in September 2004 to invigorate Crawford’s organization and restore the company’s commitment to excellence. Crawford’s new mission, “Excellence In Everything We Touch,” was the banner under which the company wanted to communicate to shareholders, employees, customers and other key stakeholders.

Our Solution: Feature the field people who are really in touch
Crawford challenged see see eye to help them deliver an annual report whose design and content matched the company’s renewed commitment to higher standards of excellence. We responded by recommending a design approach that made those Crawford people that are achieving great results the "stars" of the report. Warm, personable photos of Crawford employees, along with the stories of how they are serving their customers well, were featured throughout the annual report. Smaller images of the real-life incidents that required outside-the-box claims or administrative solutions (such as hurricanes or fires) were also included in the layout spreads.

A very candid Letter to Shareholders from the new CEO and an equally straightforward Q&A with him immediately following provided the reader with a real look at the new man in charge and his plans for changing the culture and performance of the company.

What do analysts and portfolio managers really want from an annual report? At a panel discussion entitled “Looking Beyond the Numbers” held at the June 2005 annual conference of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), participants cited the importance of “non-financial” indicators when evaluating the investment-worthiness of a company, including:

• Innovation and R&D
• Market dynamics, penetration and/or share
• Management reputation and bench strength
• Social responsibility
• People

These topics and more can and should be featured in a company's annual report. To do so assures that the annual report has exceptional value as both a financial communications document and as a window onto those activities and people that are driving the success of the organization.

To find out more about what makes an annual report successful, contact Lawson Cox.

About Us

see see eye is an award-winning graphic design firm that helps Fortune 1000 companies and other organizations build stakeholder confidence. The firm uses strategic creative design and effective message development to produce annual reports, branded collateral programs, Web sites and other communications targeted to investors, customers, employees and community members. Additional information can be found at the company's Web site, www.seeseeeye.com.