The Story Your Data Should Tell – Part 1: Finding Meaning in the Metrics

Organizations today are drowning in data but starving for meaning. Loss runs, dashboards, spreadsheets, benchmarks — all provide endless rows of numbers. Yet many workers’ comp programs still struggle to answer the most important question: What does this data actually mean for our organization?

The Problem: More Data, Less Clarity

It’s easy to mistake measurement for management. Many teams collect every available number — total incurred, lost time claims, frequency rates, medical costs — and end up overwhelmed. Without a clear framework, the data becomes noise.

When numbers don’t tell a clear story, decision-makers disengage. Senior leaders see workers’ comp as just another uncontrollable expense. Adjusters and supervisors see no connection between their daily actions and cost outcomes. Over time, even strong initiatives lose momentum because no one can point to measurable, meaningful progress.

Why Metrics Matter

Metrics are the language of results. They translate injury management performance into financial impact. Without them, even the best program can be dismissed as anecdotal or invisible.

A well-chosen metric serves three purposes:

1. Clarity – It shows where you stand.

2. Focus – It identifies what to improve.

3. Credibility – It proves that improvement is real.

The challenge is not how much you measure, but what you measure — and how you connect those measurements to outcomes that matter to leadership and employees alike.

The Workers’ Comp Cost Driver Matrix

Think of your data as a set of nesting dolls. The largest doll represents your total cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) — the ultimate measure of your program’s financial performance.

Inside that larger doll are two smaller ones:

• Number of Claims (driven by safety and prevention)

• Cost per Claim (driven by injury management quality)

Every other data point — lag time, return-to-work ratio, litigation rate, large loss claims — fits inside these two categories. They are the levers that move your overall cost.

Understanding this “cost driver matrix” helps simplify complex data. Instead of chasing dozens of disconnected numbers, you can focus on the ones that truly move results.

Start Small, Go Deep

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is trying to track too many things at once. A few carefully chosen metrics will always outperform a long list that no one understands.

Start by identifying one number that matters most to your current goals. For example:

• If your claim costs are rising, focus on lag time or return-to-work rates.

• If your claim count is high, focus on incident rate or safety training compliance.

• If leadership questions program value, track cost per FTE and show year-over-year improvement.

Pick one, define it clearly, and commit to improving it before expanding to others. Meaningful progress beats statistical overload every time.

From Data Points to Decisions

Metrics are only valuable when they drive behavior. A lag time chart, for example, isn’t just a statistic — it’s a prompt for communication, training, and accountability.

When a claims trend spikes, the question isn’t “what happened to the data?” It’s “what changed in our process, people, or culture that the data is revealing?”
That shift — from measurement to meaning — is the difference between reporting and management.

The Cultural Side of Metrics

Numbers influence more than budgets; they shape beliefs. When a company can see its progress in concrete terms, employees begin to understand that workers’ comp costs are not a “cost of doing business.” They are controllable.

Visible results create engagement. Supervisors become more proactive in reporting injuries. Managers support return-to-work initiatives. Senior leaders start viewing safety and claims management as profit-driving activities, not compliance tasks.

That cultural buy-in is the foundation of every successful program improvement.

Bringing It All Together

Metrics tell your story — but only if you write the narrative. Every chart and calculation should point to one overarching message: Here’s where we were, here’s what we changed, and here’s the measurable impact of that change.

Meaningful metrics make that story possible. They turn data into direction, and direction into results.

In the next article of this series, we’ll explore the two fundamental levers of cost control — the dual forces behind every workers’ compensation outcome: the number of claims and the cost per claim.

Michael Stack, CEO of Amaxx LLC, is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and provides education, training, and consulting to help employers reduce their workers’ compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is co-author of the #1 selling comprehensive training guide “Your Ultimate Guide to Mastering Workers’ Comp Costs: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%.” Stack is the creator of Injury Management Results (IMR) software and founder of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center. WC Mastery Training teaching injury management best practices such as return to work, communication, claims best practices, medical management, and working with vendors. IMR software simplifies the implementation of these best practices for employers and ties results to a Critical Metrics Dashboard.

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: http://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/

Injury Management Results (IMR) Software: https://imrsoftware.com/

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