| CAREERS BLOG
Kathleen McKim
February, 2025
My name is Kathleen McKim, and I’m the Vice President of Service Excellence at Tower Hill.
My role is to develop the service excellence strategy and collaborate with leaders across the company to execute a plan that delivers the best customer experience in the industry. A typical week involves various collaborations—working with call center leaders to calibrate phone calls, partnering with Lean Six Sigma project teams to streamline processes, and coordinating with our systems team to explore ways technology can enhance the customer experience.
More than 20 years ago, a large insurance company opened an office in my hometown of Buffalo, NY. A friend encouraged me to apply, and I’m so glad I did. I remember worrying that insurance would be “boring.” Boy, was I wrong! Just a few weeks in, I was hooked. I loved helping people make decisions about their coverages and seeing firsthand how insurance played a key role in managing financial risk. Over the years, I’ve worked in sales, service, underwriting, claims, Lean Six Sigma project leadership, and agency management—but I always find myself coming back to my service roots.
“Our customers place their trust in us, and we have a responsibility to do right by them. That trust builds loyalty and differentiates us from the competition.”
To me, service excellence is best summed up by our core value: “Deliver the highest quality experience with ease, consistency, and care.” It’s about doing all the right things every time at a high level. Our customers place their trust in us, and we have a responsibility to do right by them. That trust builds loyalty and differentiates us from the competition. Every time we treat a member professionally and with care, handle a claim fairly and efficiently, or go the extra mile to “wow” a customer, we build trust and turn them into promoters who refer others.
I chose to work at Tower Hill because of the culture. I was fortunate to learn of a new opportunity through a referral, and after six interviews, I knew this was the right place for me. I’m glad the team thought I was a fit for Tower Hill, too.
Some of my most rewarding experiences here come from fostering a customer-centric culture. It’s the small, incremental successes that stand out—hearing service representatives level up their professionalism on the phones, seeing survey scores improve, watching Lean Six Sigma Green Belt candidates earn their certification, or witnessing the tangible results of a team project. The day-to-day wins are what matter.
When stepping into a leadership role at a new company, it’s important to understand the culture, values, and existing foundation. I quickly saw that Tower Hill already had a strong service-minded culture. My job wasn’t to rewrite what was working but to build upon it and collaborate with others to set and execute high service expectations across the organization.
Even with years of experience, there is always something new to learn. Last year, I participated in CliftonStrengths training with other leaders, which helped me understand my natural strengths and how to leverage them. This became especially valuable in project teams, allowing us to better understand each other and use our strengths to divide and conquer tasks effectively.
Service excellence is always evolving. Just when you think you’ve achieved it, the target moves. Customer expectations shift, and external factors like technology, competition, and regulations continue to change. The one constant is that customers want things faster without sacrificing experience. As we continue to expand our channels for customers to do business with us, we focus on being there when and how they need us—whether through human interaction or digital solutions. The future lies in fine-tuning these experiences with automation, personalized interactions, and AI. Imagine a customer calling or visiting our website, and we not only know who they are but can anticipate their needs, present tailored options, and make the process seamless with just a few clicks or spoken words. Every customer touchpoint will eventually experience transformation—and that’s exciting!