Use Data the Right Way and Gain Management Commitment for Real Results

One gap I often see is using data the wrong way. Companies use key performance indicators to hold management accountable, but they don’t use them effectively. Benchmarking is one of the most effective ways to gain management commitment – if you can read it.

You make reports count by using very direct communication strategies. For example, set aside important items for more impact. Using a large spreadsheet with tiny font makes the document virtually unreadable and unusable to potential readers.

Another example would be ranking all business units on one page. This has much more impact than a 40-page spreadsheet no one can figure out.

If you must have the 40-page spreadsheet, summarize it on one page or include a very brief executive summary.

Make It Count!

1. Provide motivation to keep everyone involved in lowering the company’s WC costs.
2. Use a workers comp target score ranking.
3. No one wants to be listed as the worst!
4. Small crowded lists have no impact.

Instead of a best-to-worst ranking, try a worst-to-best ranking. No manager wants to see his business unit on top of a list titled “Worst-to-Best.”

The division president will quickly “help” the general manager of the unit at the top of such a list “refocus his priorities.”

Further, one of the key cost drivers is management thinking workers’ compensation is a cost of doing business, so here’s tool to use to gain management commitment:

At a large convenience store chain with $17 million annually in WC and a 4.5% profit margin, it takes $377 Million to replace the $17 million on the bottom line. They knew the costs were killing them, but we didn’t get management commitment until all locations were plotted on a U.S. map and put big black Xs over the 25 locations whose total gross sales was used to “pay for” workers compensation. THAT got management’s attention. (workersxzcompxzkit)

Helping companies understand the financial impact is very important because most employers are not aware of how much WC really costs them.