Owners of small businesses are called on to manage many aspects of their businesses. One area, workers’ compensation insurance, must not only be provided but also maintained at a high level to be cost effective while providing employees with excellent benefits if they are injured at work.
A solid workers’ compensation management implementation program is one adaptable to every infrastructure in every state and includes these key points.
1. Start at the beginning with the assessment.
2. Develop a policy, program, and procedures.
3. Integrate practices into your every day work culture.
4. Measure return to work and data benchmarking before and after to see how you’ve improved.
5. Train employees, and document decreased work related injuries.
6. Bring the data to your insurer and bargain for a better insurance rate.
Before you can begin to think about a workers’ comp program, you must first put into place and maintain a safety program. Here are a few key steps.
1. Begin by using immersing everyone (owner(s), supervisors, employees, contract workers, etc.) in the single, most important idea: safety is not an option. Everyone needs to be aware of the consequences of ignoring safety rules, tied to their performance evaluations.
2. Use ISO900 standards for a safe work environment. Ask your insurance company about this.
3. Structure the work environment so tools, machinery and office equipment are neatly stored.
4. Mark walkways with day-glo yellow tape and keep them free of debris.
5. Use non-slip grids and handrails to prevent slips and falls.
6. Use signs to warn of hazards, in both words and pictures.
7. Post safety reminders to employees to wear protective personal equipment. Signs need to be in English and any other language prevalent in your workplace.
8. Appoint a safety coordinator.
9. Require employees to attend safety meetings and to participate in safety control.
10. Fully train all employees in the safe performance of their job tasks, highlighting particular safety standards, techniques, issues and consequences for non-compliance.
Train in safety to the expectations of your particular workplace and environment. (workersxzcompxzkit)
Competent management of a work comp program is more than preparing your payroll and reporting claims. The employer must create an atmosphere of safety and implement an active workers’ compensation program at every level.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers' Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
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Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers' comp issues.
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