The Manager Everyone Likes and No One Corrects

Every claim review team eventually runs into the same situation. One name keeps coming up. Let’s call him John. John is a good guy. He’s great with his crew, and everyone likes working with him.

But his injuries are reported late. His employees say no one checked on them after they got hurt. Transitional duty never seems to be available in his department. And the claims coming out of his area tend to run longer and cost more.

The team has talked to John about it more than once. Each time, he agrees, apologizes, and promises to do better. And each time, the next claim from his department looks exactly like the last one. Sound familiar? Most employers handle this situation the same way: another reminder, and then another. Here’s why that rarely works, and what to do instead.

Reminders Teach the Wrong Lesson

A reminder with no follow-up sends a clear message, just not the one you intended. When the same expectation is missed repeatedly and nothing changes except another conversation, people learn that the expectation is optional.

This isn’t about John being a bad employee. It’s about the system around him. If your workers’ compensation process lets someone skip key steps indefinitely without consequence, the process is the problem.

Think about any other part of the job. If a manager repeatedly failed to submit required reports, missed safety inspections, or ignored scheduling deadlines, there would be a clear response. Workers’ compensation responsibilities deserve the same standard.

Start With Facts, Not Frustration

Before escalating, confirm that you’re looking at a pattern rather than a feeling. This is where consistent weekly claim reviews pay off.

If you’ve been tracking the same front-end behaviors on every claim, you can look at John’s record objectively:

• How many of his injuries were reported the same day?
• How many first-day contacts happened?
• When his employees were asked, did they confirm someone checked on them?
• How do his claims compare with those from similar departments?

Compare two ways of opening the conversation. “Four of your last five injuries were reported two or more days late” is very different from “People feel like you’re not taking this seriously.” Facts keep the discussion about behavior, not personality.

Figure Out Why It Keeps Happening

Repeat breakdowns usually come from one of four causes, and each requires a different response.

He doesn’t know what’s expected. Maybe he was never trained, or the training happened years ago. The answer is training.

He doesn’t have the tools. Maybe he doesn’t know who to call, where the forms are, or what to say to an injured employee. The answer is simple tools, such as a reporting checklist, a contact script, and a clear list of available transitional duty tasks.

He doesn’t have the resources. Maybe he’s running a short-staffed shift and genuinely can’t step away to handle the process. The answer may be adjusting who handles certain steps.

He knows what to do, has what he needs, and still isn’t doing it. Now it’s an accountability issue, and it needs to be treated like one.

Don’t skip straight to the last category. But don’t stay stuck in the first three forever, either.

Build a Predictable Escalation Path

The most effective approach is an escalation path that everyone understands in advance. It might look like this:

1. Identify the miss in the weekly review and assign a correction.
2. If the miss repeats, provide targeted training or tools.
3. If it continues, involve the manager’s supervisor and document the expectation.
4. If it still continues, elevate it to the executive level as a performance issue.

That final step is why leadership involvement matters. Consequences require authority. An HR coordinator or claims adjuster can remind a manager a dozen times, but they usually can’t change that manager’s performance review. An executive sponsor can. When the path is predictable and applied consistently, escalation stops feeling personal. It becomes part of how the program operates.

Escalation Works Both Directions

The visibility that reveals John’s pattern also reveals the managers who consistently get it right. Think of the supervisor whose injuries are always reported the same day, or the department where every injured employee hears from someone on day one. Recognize those managers. Mention them in leadership meetings, and make their approach the example. Accountability isn’t only about correcting what’s broken. It’s also about reinforcing what’s working.

Stop Reminding. Start Resolving.

If the same name keeps appearing in your claim reviews, another reminder probably won’t change the outcome. Pull the facts, identify the cause, and follow a clear escalation path. Most repeat breakdowns can be fixed. They just can’t be fixed by hoping the next conversation goes differently.

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/

©2025 Amaxx LLC. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional.