Organizations that consistently reduce workers’ compensation costs understand that distinction. They don’t simply monitor claims. They measure the behaviors that produce claim outcomes.
Claim Management Looks Backward
Every claim review naturally includes status updates.
Has the employee returned to work?
Has surgery been scheduled?
Has physical therapy been approved?
Has the adjuster completed the investigation?
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“Workers’ Comp Claims Review Checklist: 9 Must-Have, Serious-Impact Elements”
Those are important questions. Every claim needs to be managed appropriately. But those questions only describe where the claim is today. They don’t explain why the claim arrived there. Without understanding the “why,” employers often find themselves having the same conversations month after month with different claims but identical problems.
Performance Management Looks Forward
High-performing workers’ compensation programs ask different questions. Instead of focusing only on claim status, they evaluate whether the injury management process is functioning the way it should.
For example:
- Were injuries reported immediately?
- Did supervisors contact injured employees on the first day?
- Did employees receive prompt medical care?
- Was return to work initiated as quickly as medically appropriate?
- Were communication expectations consistently followed?
These questions don’t simply evaluate a claim. They evaluate the performance of the workers’ compensation system. And systems determine outcomes.
Every Claim Creates Data
One claim rarely tells you much. Twenty claims can tell you everything. Perhaps one claim was reported four days late. That happens. But if twenty percent of injuries are being reported several days after they occur, the issue isn’t the individual claim. It’s the reporting process.
Maybe one supervisor forgot to contact an injured employee. That’s unfortunate. If several supervisors consistently fail to communicate after injuries, the organization doesn’t have a supervisor problem. It has a training or accountability problem.
Individual claims create data. Patterns identify opportunities for improvement.
Measure the Behaviors That Matter
Many organizations spend considerable time measuring outcomes while paying very little attention to the behaviors that create them. Outcomes matter. But leading indicators are often far more valuable.
Questions such as:
- How quickly are injuries reported?
- What percentage of employees return to work within the first few days?
- How consistently are supervisors communicating with injured employees?
- Which departments consistently follow established procedures?
These measurements provide early warning signs long before rising litigation rates or increasing claim costs appear on a loss run. By identifying operational breakdowns early, employers can correct them before they become expensive claim trends.
Performance Creates Predictability
One of the greatest advantages of measuring performance instead of simply managing claims is predictability. Organizations stop reacting to problems after they become expensive. Instead, they begin identifying small execution failures while they’re still easy to correct.
A delayed injury report. A missed supervisor phone call. A breakdown in communication. A return-to-work delay.
Individually, each may seem minor. Collectively, they often explain why one employer consistently outperforms another despite operating in the same industry.
Build a Scoreboard, Not Just a Claim List
The most successful employers don’t simply maintain a list of open claims. They maintain a scoreboard. That scoreboard tracks the operational behaviors that influence claim outcomes.
It allows leadership to identify patterns. It creates accountability. Most importantly, it gives the organization something it can actually improve. Claim costs are an outcome. System performance is something employers can directly control. The organizations that consistently lower workers’ compensation costs understand this principle.
They don’t just ask:
“What’s happening with this claim?”
They also ask:
“What is this claim teaching us about the performance of our workers’ compensation system?”
That’s the question that drives continuous improvement. And over time, continuous improvement produces consistently better claim outcomes.
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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