Now that summer is over; it is time to reevaluate how your company operates.  It is a time to set goals, benchmarks, implement new techniques, and purchase new materials.  It is also an occasion to focus on being a better team and focus on your company’s most important capital – its employees.

There are many ways interested stakeholders can improve their program and increase workplace morale.  Here are some steps that can be taken:

1. Provide the best tools so employees can perform efficiently.

If you drive cars, this does not mean that all drive a top of the line Cadillac.  This is meant more to show how to provide the best output for employees.  Ways to do this include making workstations adjustable so employees can perform at the levels they need to.  This will increase output and performance, as well as reduce the chance of injury.  Extra lighting can provide clarity and precision.

2. Do not run your company like a prison.

The workplace does not have to run hard-nosed and rigid.  Employers should consider flex work hours, rotating job tasks, and allowing hourly breaks to best utilize employees time at work for production.  Allowing for job rotation can provide breaks for those that do heavy-duty work day in and day out.  It will also reduce injury from heavy, repetitive movements.

3. Keep an open mind.

This requires an employer to listen and see if suggestions from employees can drive change.  Discuss alternative job tasks and how things could be done quicker and easier.  If someone knows that you will take the time to listen to them, you may get an idea that you can implement.  Not everyone will hit the ball out of the park every time, but you could stumble upon something that can make a difference.

4. Encourage healthy lifestyles and reward those that make a change.

A healthy body is one that comes ready and able to work.  Healthier employees have less sick time away from work and fewer injuries.  Companies now offer discounts to local gyms, reduced medical premiums for wellness exams, and smoking cessation programs for free.  Be sure to provide incentives for the employees who participate.

5. Launch a return to work program.

The longer a person is out of work, the harder it is to get them back to productive employment.  Older employees also take longer to heal than younger ones, so consider home-based employment.  If you provide some light-duty work, employees know that even though they have an injury, they can still work and make a difference.  This will help them transition back into full-time work once they are released from medical care.

6. Establish a mentoring program.

Mentoring programs allow less-experienced employees in gaining valuable skills and knowledge of how a company operates.  It also develops relationships that increase company morale and increase productivity.  A successful mentorship program should also include on-the-job “shadowing.”

7. Do not be afraid to hire experienced employees.

There are many benefits to hiring experienced employees. These employees already have sound work habits, years of experience in the field, and the skills the company needs to take you to the next level of competition.  These employees also have less out of work distractions, such as needing more time off for childcare or more time off for school commitments.  Experienced employees will also add some diversity in workforce, contributing their ideas and experience to the team projects and ideas.  If you utilize their assets, the workplace will benefit.

Conclusions

Now is the time to reflect and focus on what you can do better before the end of the year.  This requires interested stakeholders to bring veteran employees to the table and generate ideas.  Experienced employees are a great untapped resource, and their ideas and work ethics can be beneficial in many ways.  Listen to their ideas, and make the management team approachable when someone has an idea about how something may be able to be done better.  If you make this one of several things to focus on, accomplishing the rest of the goals could be that much easier.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2019 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.

A major mistake made by employers in handling workers’ compensation claims is the failure of the employer to build and maintain rapport with the injured employee. Wikipedia defines rapport as “when two or more people feel that they are in sync or on the same wavelength because they feel similar or relate well to each other”.

Employer Should Contact Injured Worker To Begin Caring & Trusting Relationship

The employer’s workers’ compensation coordinator should be in contact with the injured employee the day of the injury to begin to establish a caring and trusting relationship with the employee. By answering all of the employee’s questions about the workers’ compensation process and by showing the employee that the employee is important to the employer, the employee is much less like to develop animosity toward the employer over the accident.

Few employees will openly admit to themselves or to anyone else that it was their own carelessness that caused their injury. When there is no rapport between the employee and the employer, it is much easier for an employee to blame the employer for the injury, rather than to say ‘it was my inattention to what I was doing that caused me to get hurt’. When proper rapport with the claimant is established, the injured employee is much more objective about the cause of their injury.

When the workers’ compensation coordinator actively works with the injured employee to schedule medical care, to arrange light duty work, to answer any questions the employee has about the workers’ compensation claim process, and to reassure the employee that the employer has the employee’s best interest at heart, the course of the workers’ compensation claim is much smoother.

Fear Is Primary Reason An Employee Hires Attorney

Fear is the primary reason an employee hires an attorney following an injury. The employee can be fearful of one or more of the following concerns:

• The inability to support or provide for their family during the recovery time of the injury
• The inability to support or provide for their family in the future
• Losing their job due to their inability to work
• Being ostracize for causing the accident and the resulting injury
• Having a permanent impairment
• Having to pay the cost of the medical treatment
• Not knowing what to expect

It is often said the easiest way to lose control of the claim is to ignore the injured employee after the injury occurs. When the employer does not maintain rapport with the employee following an accident, the employee will find someone to answer his or her questions about the workers’ compensation claim process. If the person providing the answers to the employee is an overzealous attorney whose primary concern is maximizing the attorney’s income, the answers provided to the employee will be designed to drive a wedge between the employee and the employer. The attorney knows the employee may have some sense of loyalty to the employer, and it is important to the attorney to diminish that sense of loyalty, and to encourage the employee to try to get the maximum amount possible for the injury.

Communication Needs To Be Ongoing

Immediately following an injury, most employers reassure the employee that everything will be alright, that every problem will be taken care of. Unfortunately, most employers return to the daily activities of their business the day following a workers’ compensation injury, while the employee continues to deal with the injury aftermath for weeks or even months following the injury occurrence.

Rapport is maintained by regular, on-going contact with the injured employee. One of the Best Practice used by professional workers’ compensation coordinators is to request the injured employee to call in after each doctor’s appointment with a status update. This accomplishes several things:

• It keeps the employee in touch with the employer during the medical recovery process.
• It keeps the employer informed as to the exact medical status of the employee.
• It reassures the employee that the employer is concerned about the employee’s well-being.
• It allows the employer to coordinate the modified duty work with the limitations imposed by the medical provider.
• It keeps a high level of rapport between the employee and the workers’ compensation coordinator
• It allows the workers’ compensation coordinator to address any issues or concerns of the employee that develop during the course of the claim

When the employee has a high level of rapport with the employer’s workers’ compensation coordinator, there is a much lower chance that the claim will be contested. By establishing and maintaining rapport throughout the claim, the employer will experience a better overall outcome of the work comp claim.

Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the co-author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact:.

Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

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

©2019 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.

Creating confusion costs you money. Creating confusion costs you and your organization or your clients organization money. Hello, my name is Michael Stack, I’m the CEO of Amaxx. And today I want to talk with you about the language we’re using to communicate with our injured workers. The language we’re using to communicate with our injured workers. Are you causing confusion? Are you causing them to be fearful of the words you’re using?

Workers’ Comp Abbreviations and Confusion

So let’s go over an example. Say an injured worker gets hurt and you tell them, “We’re going to pay you TTD until the time at which point you’re able to return to work. And then we’re going to work on your medical until you reach MMI. And then at that point, you may need to go see an IME in order to help us establish a permanency rating to settle your case. And depending on the severity of your injury, you may need to then apply for SSDI.” Excuse me? I’m sorry, what was that that you said? We tend to forget that the terminology and the abbreviations and the words that we’re using that are specific to our industry, just like any other industry, are not commonplace among everyone else outside of our industry.

Clear and Simple Communication

So I want you to establish this idea of clear and simple communication. First off, are you calling your injured workers or injured employees claimants? Does that sound very nice? Does that present a very welcoming picture that you’re going to take care of them, that there’s going to be an established level of trust? I think not. So let me challenge your communication and that verbiage that you’re using.

Next piece, I want to outline very simply for you this employee brochure. So when an employee gets injured, you want to establish that trust, that communication right out of the gates. I want to give you a little bit of framework, three-part framework here, or simplified three-part framework for this employee brochure. And you can download this value piece below here, The Nine Elements to Employee Brochure, that I’m going to dive into this a little bit deeper. I want to outline this very quickly.

Set Expectations with Employee Brochure

So first off, first piece, you want to establish when an employee gets injured, even before they’re injured, the time prior you’re going through this with them and then at the time of injury you’re running through it. Work comp 101, what it is, what they can expect from you as far as their benefits. This includes, their wages, how are they going to get paid and are you calling this an indemnity, are you calling it wages? A lot of people don’t know what the heck indemnity means. So are you calling it your wages or wage loss? Your medical and their pharmacy, how are they going to get medical treatment? How are they going to get their prescription drugs et cetera. Establish these expectations. What does it look like as far as return to work? And don’t call it RTW, call it returning to work, getting back it the workforce. Use language that makes sense to people that are not in the work comp industry.

And then lastly, what you expect of them. We expect you to report to work, this is an established part of our organization, we expect you to communicate with us, we expect you not to commit fraudulent acts, et cetera, et cetera. You establish this expectation right out of the front using simple words that everyone can understand and it’s going to get you off to the races as far as getting that claim going in the right direction.

Again, my name is Michael Stack, I’m the CEO of Amaxx. And remember, your work today in workers compensation can have a dramatic impact on your companies’ bottom line. But it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s’ life. So be great.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2019 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.

Hey there, Michael Stack here with Amaxx.

If I asked you to think of a friend of yours, who immediately comes to mind? What value does that individual bring to your life?

This past weekend, I connected with some old friends of mine, some good friends from college, guys I’ve known for over two decades. We spent a couple of days together back at Indiana University where we went to college. It was a heck of a lot of fun. A heck of a lot of fun connecting with those very valuable relationships and longstanding relationships in my life, and it just gives you a little bit of a boost connecting with such good friendships and good connections.

Injured Workers’ Often Cut Off From Work Friendships

It got me thinking today about injured workers, and how in general, we as adults make our friends. A lot of times we’ll have old friends, old college friends like I did, that just connected with. But a lot of times as we grow older, as adults, we make those connections, a lot of connections, through the people we work with, kind of through those social connections. Then of course, through our kids and all that kind of stuff as that develops.

But that piece of the social fabric, those friendships and social connections at work, some of them stronger than others, oftentimes for injured workers, get cut off right at the time of their injury, at the time when they need it most. When we talk about that little boost, they need that little boost, but they’re not getting it, it often has that negative effect because they’re not connecting with those individuals in their life any longer.

Friendships Can Be Positive Support For Injured Workers’ Recovery

I want you to think about the meaning of that for that friend that came to mind when I asked you to think about that individual. Think about those social connections that you have at work, and the meaning that has in your life and the boost that sometimes that gives to you, and the importance of that in an injured worker’s recovery process.

I’m going to give you two techniques to foster that, to give that to those individuals when they could use that little boost as well. So let me give you these two techniques, and I want you to think about these and have them implemented in your program.

Visit Injured Workers at Hospital

The first one, very simple, go to visit that injured worker at the hospital. Go to visit that injured worker at the hospital, make that person-to-person connection with them when they’re in that recovery, immediately following that injury. Go to visit that person at the hospital. You talk about sending a get well card as well, this is really significantly more effective. Bring some flowers, bring something that they like. If they don’t like flowers, bring something else that they might enjoy.

Meet With Injured Worker Weekly at Company

Then number two is meet weekly at the company. So meet weekly at the company. We talk about weekly meetings with the injured workers. Have that weekly meeting be at the organization, physically at the organization. If it’s at the manufacturing plant, if you have a construction site, whatever it is that you have, wherever it is that you’re working, meet with them, personally have them come in, if at all possible, to the organization.

They can make some of those physical connections, those emotional connections, reconnecting with the fabric that may be for that person, a big support in their life that can really help draw them through which might be a very difficult recovery. If you can meet with them, stay connected with the company, stay connected with those relationships, it can not only give them that boost, but it can oftentimes help push them over the edge.

Don’t discount the importance of a lot of this impact on those injured workers, because it can be very, very positive and create very positive outcomes.

Again, my name is Michael Stack, I’m the CEO of Amaxx. Remember, your work today in workers’ compensation, can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line, but it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. So be great.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2019 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.

Hey, there. Michael Stack here, CEO of AMAXX. Our former president, George H.W. Bush, passed away recently at the age of 94. Mr. Bush was a tremendous leader who left a lasting impact and legacy on our nation. And more close to home for me, in my hometown where I live with my family in Kennebunkport, Maine, Mr. Bush and Barbara Bush’s impact on our small town here has certainly been felt.

Honor Life & Legacy of a Great Leader

When we look at the life of a great leader, we look at their legacy. We need to look at what are those lessons that we can learn from them and apply to our lives to improve our outcome, to improve our situation, and more specifically, for our purposes today, improve our work comp programs.

Power of Personal Notes

I want to draw your attention to one of Mr. Bush’s best practices, which was writing personal notes. It’s looked at an old-fashioned practice, but he would write notes to foreign leaders. He would write notes to celebrities if he sat by them at a dinner. He even wrote a note to his granddaughter when his granddaughter was born, and passing around the internet, the letter that he wrote to the incoming president, Bill Clinton, you can see and read the spirit of how he lived.

Send Get Well Card to Injured Workers

When we look at our work comp programs, when one of your employees gets injured, can you take the time to write them a get well card? Say, “Hey, John. I’m sorry you got injured. We look forward to having your spirit back as part of the team as soon as possible.” Something along those lines. Taking the time to put pen to paper, there is no better way through written communication to make that personal connection.

It’s not sending a text. It’s not sending an email. There’s something magical about putting that pen to paper and dropping that card in the mail. Take that lesson from Mr. Bush’s life and legacy. Apply it to our programs, and you will see dramatic results.

Again, I’m Michael Stack, CEO of AMAXX, and remember your work today in worker’s compensation can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line. But it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. So be great.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2018 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.

Have ever been watching a sports game whether on TV or in person, and you see and feel the momentum shift? The team with the positive momentum can’t seem to do anything wrong. And the team with the negative momentum can’t seem to do anything right.

Hello, my name is Michael Stack, CEO of AMAXX, and this concept of momentum I believe is the most underrated and powerful force in our world today. And if we can harness this power of momentum, and if we can understand it and apply it to our work comp programs, the benefits can be immeasurable.

Positive or Negative Starts At First Reaction from Supervisor

How this plays out is really right at the start of that claim. That interaction between the employee and the supervisor. That’s going to set the tone for how the entire claim is going to go. So, you need to train your supervisors on how to respond accordingly. And the good part is, it’s really not that difficult. There’s a couple of simple steps that they need to do, that they need to take, that they need to have the right mindset in how to respond to those injuries, that can start building that positive momentum in your favor.

Step #1: Demonstrate Care

So let’s talk about hat these couple of simple steps are. First thing the supervisor needs to do is demonstrate care. First thing they need to do is demonstrate care. How are you feeling? I’m sorry you got injured. Is there anything I can do to help? And then listen and problem solve. Again, listen and problem solve. Very simple as far as responding to their injury. Demonstrate care.

Step 2: Set Expectations

Next piece here, set expectations. Set expectations for what’s going to happen, and how this work comp program is going to work for that employee, answering some of these simple questions, like how is the employee going to get paid? Are they going to be able to return to work? How is that all going to work. And then how is the medical treatment going to work? How are they going to get their treatment? What doctor are they going to be able to see? How are they going to get their prescriptions filled? Are they going to have to pay a deductible?

I heard a lot of stories from my cousin that got injured, and that didn’t really go to well for him. So, set those expectations, answer those questions. Really let them know what’s going to happen.

Step 3: Facilitate Medical Care with Injury Triage

And then the final thing is facilitating the medical care. Coordinating and facilitating that medical care. And the best practice here is to really make this very simple for your supervisors, but I’m just going to guess they’re probably not trained as medical professionals. They probably don’t know exactly what to do with a shoulder injury. Leverage a third part injury triage provider. Have that supervisor and that employee call the nurse hotline together. They’ve walked through millions of calls on how to handle that shoulder injury, and they can get to that individual employee to the right treatment in the right time frame.

Very simple steps for your supervisors to follow at the time of injury, that can build that positive momentum for that claim. Again, my name is Michael Stack, CEO of AMAXX. And remember, your work today in workers compensation, it can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line. But it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. So, be great.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2018 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.

Do you ever feel like the message just isn’t getting through to employees about your workers’ compensation program? They don’t understand what to do if they are injured, don’t seem to trust you or the company to do right by them, and have unrealistic expectations?

You’re not alone. Those are some of the biggest challenges employers cite in implementing their injury management programs. Thankfully, several low-cost, easy-to-implement strategies can ensure your workers understand the system and are on the same page with you.

Why Communication is Important

In addition to the frustrations that you feel when communication with injured workers is not smooth, it also costs you money. Research studies show a direct link between poor communication and workers’ compensation claims outcomes.

For example, Liberty Mutual found a decided difference in outcomes when supervisors responded positively rather than negatively to a worker reporting an injury. Positive responses, along with an injury triage system to report injuries were associated with an average of 40 percent lower claim costs and 58 percent shorter disability durations.

Supervisors’ responses that were deemed as ‘negative’ and drove poor outcomes included:

• Lack of support
• Blaming the worker
• Expressing anger
• Questioning the validity of the injury
• Encouraging the worker not to file a claim

Positive outcomes were reported when the supervisors were flexible and open to talk with the worker, responded quickly, and expressed genuine interest in the worker’s overall well-being. Setting realistic expectations was cited as one of the most important best practices to communicate well with the injured worker.

Return-to-work coordinators said they were most effective in their jobs when they practiced:

• Active listening
• Communication
• Ability to relate well to other stakeholders
• Problem-solving
• Having confidentiality

These so-called soft skills were more strongly associated with positive outcomes than having technical knowledge of the workers’ compensation system. The first step to change supervisors’ negative responses to positive ones is to show them the financial impact each has. Beyond that, there are several ways organizations can demonstrate genuine caring for their injured workers.

Effective Communication Strategies

Injured workers need to have at least a general understanding of how the workers’ compensation process works. This can be accomplished through

1. Employee brochure. This proactively sets employees’ expectations in the event they are injured. It should communicate briefly how the program works, including the transitional duty program and RTW. It should clearly state that the company will take care of them and help them return to work. It should be written in a positive tone.

2. Wallet card. Once an employee does become injured, he most likely will have forgotten the details in the employee brochure. A simple wallet card or posted notice should be readily available and should explain the post-injury steps:

• How to report the claim
• How and where medical care will be provided
• The RTW process
• Expectations for weekly meetings with you and/or others

Injured workers are often frightened and confused. The actions undertaken immediately following the injury set the tone for the entire process. Several tactics put the claim on the path for a positive outcome.

3. First-day phone call. If a friend has been in an accident or is suddenly injured, you would probably contact him to let him know you are thinking about him, find out how he is doing and see if there is anything you can do to help. Injured workers are no different. A supervisor, or manager who has a positive relationship with the worker should call the worker as soon as possible, preferably the first day. The conversation does not need to be more than a few minutes, but it should include messages such as

• We are sorry this happened
• We want you back at work as soon as you are able
• How are you doing?
• Do you need me to contact your family, bring you anything you may have left at work?
• Are there any questions about the workers’ compensation process I can answer for you?

The person making the call should make sure the worker knows what to expect — whether a claims adjuster and/or case manager will be in contact, how medical care will be provided for him, and that his job will be waiting for him when he returns.

4. Get-well card. In addition to the initial contact from the supervisor or manager, coworkers should also convey their well wishes to the injured worker. The easiest way to do this is by sending a simple get well card, signed by the worker’s colleagues. Their messages can be simple expressions of support.

5. Weekly Meetings. Communication with the injured worker should not stop after the initial contact. There should be ongoing, regular meetings via phone or in person if possible. these conversations serve two purposes:

1. They let the injured worker know you are there to help.
2. They help you gauge how well the worker is recovering.

These conversations should continue to express well wishes and focus on the worker’s progress. The supervisor or manager can ask:

• How the worker is doing
• How his medical care is going — whether he likes his providers and if they are responsive to his needs
• What activities he is or is not able to do
• What questions or frustrations he may have

Conclusion

The workers’ compensation system has many moving parts and complications. By communicating well with injured workers, you can eliminate many of the frustrations and realize better outcomes and lower costs.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2018 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.

One of the biggest reasons injured workers hire attorneys is because no one has contacted them since the injury. They are in pain, not sure what to do or expect, and no one from the company has bothered to see how they are doing or even say ‘hello.’ They feel ignored and alone.

Attorney involvement is a huge cost driver, often more than doubling the cost of a claim. It makes sense to do everything possible to eliminate this reason a worker would contact an attorney — especially when it is as simple as making a phone call.

Why It’s Important

A worker who has been injured is suddenly thrust completely outside his comfort zone. His employer can easily allay his fears and concerns by contacting him. Calling the injured worker as soon as possible after the injury sets the tone for the claim.

Who Should Call

The most effective way to set a positive tone for the claim is by having a trusted colleague connect with the injured worker. In most cases, it is the supervisor. That person typically knows the injured worker well and is also in the best position to provide information about the company’s disability management process.

In some cases the supervisor may not be the best person to contact the injured worker; he may be unavailable or may have a frictional relationship with the employee. In those cases, someone else should be designated to communicate with the worker. It could be another manager who has a positive relationship with the employee or even a coworker who clearly understands the workers’ compensation process.

What to Say

A big reason some supervisors don’t contact injured workers is because they are not sure what to say. The conversation can be simple and friendly. With some basic, short training, the first-day phone call can be the most important aspect of handling the claim.

It’s important to understand the most immediate concerns of an injured worker are:

• How and when he will get paid
• How he will receive medical treatment
• Whether and how he will be able to work

The conversation should address those issues, and answer any additional questions the worker has. The tone of the discussion should be friendly and easy, expressing concern and understanding. It is also imperative that the caller convey the message that the company wants the employee back at work.

Here are examples of things to say to the injured worker:

Show caring and concern:

1. How are you? How is it going?
2. How are you feeling?
3. How was your first medical appointment?
4. Did you like the doctor?
5. Are/were you able to get the prescriptions you need?

Express support and understanding:

6. We are really sorry you got injured.
7. Is there anything we can do to help?
8. Would you like me to contact your family?
9. Do you need me to pick up any of your clothes, your materials, anything from the office?
10. We want you back at work.

In addition to asking questions, the caller should actively listen to what the injured worker is saying. That means letting him speak without interrupting him, even if he is angry and upset. What is important is that he is heard and that the caller expresses his understanding of the situation — even if the caller does not agree with what the worker is saying.

Conclusion

Workers’ compensation claims close quicker when the injured worker heals faster and gets back to work sooner. Engaging the worker in his recovery will expedite the process. Injured workers who feel their employer cares about their well-being and maintains a connection are more engaged than those who feel alienated.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2018 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.

One of the things I find most interesting about workers’ compensation is that at its core, it’s incredibly simple. But as you go further beyond that, it becomes more and more and more complex to the point that it becomes overwhelming.

Hello. My name is Michael Stack. I’m the CEO of AMAXX, and today I want to outline for you the four pillars of our best in class injury management system. But I don’t want to get into any of the complexity that may come long with return to work and injury response, procedure and system as well as working with your claims handler and your carrier or your TPA, your vendors or your medical providers.

I want to talk about one element, which is communication, which at its core is the simplest aspect of workers’ compensation management. If you do this piece well, it’s the blanket that’s going to lay over the entire system, and you’re at last 50% if not 75% of the way there towards producing those better outcomes for your injured workers and dramatically reducing your work comp costs. Let’s talk about these most simple elements of communication that can have the most dramatic results.

Proactive & Reactive Communication

There’s two aspects of communication. There’s proactive communication, and there’s reactive. Proactive, of course, the elements that occur before an injury happens. Reactive is those elements that occur after an injury happens. There’s a few different things that go into proactive communication including setting your policies, setting up elements with your medical providers, but the one that has the most dramatic impact on your employees is extremely simple to set up and will deliver those dramatic results is a simple employee brochure.

If you think about majority of your employees, they’ve never been injured before. They’ve never had an experience of workers’ compensation, and it can seem overwhelming to them. Put in your employee brochure these couple of different elements. What is work comp? Why does it exist, and what are the basics of what happens? We deal with this stuff every day, and most employees have never been inured before, so what is it.

Set Expectations with Employee Brochure

Set their expectations as far as what’s gonna happen. Let them know that you’re expected to return to work. Our policy is that we’re gonna accommodate the vast majority of injuries, so you’re expected to return to work. And we expect your cooperation in that as part of our team. We care about you, and we want you back to work. We want you to continue to be productive for yourself and for our organization.

Lastly, let them know how they’re gonna get their medical treatment. Are they able to choose their own doctor? Let them know that they don’t have to pay for a deductible. Do you choose the doctor for them? What is some basic information that you can provide to your employees prior to being injured? One of the elements that WCRI noted in this study was that the number one reason why employees hired attorneys is a fear of getting fired. If you let them know that you care about your employees, you want them back to work, this is how you get your treatment, we’re gonna take care of you, that odds of them hiring an attorney and that claim going off the track become significantly lower. Very simple element. Create employee brochure, disseminate it to your employees prior to injury.

Let’s talk about after an injury occurs. You set this expectation now with your employee brochure, now all you have to do is meet that expectation. You have to demonstrate that care to your employees. Get them to that medical treatment as soon as possible. If you let them know you care about them, they’re more likely to report the claim right away, more likely to get to that medical provider right away, more likely to get those medical restrictions right away to put them right into your return to work program.

Make Communication Simple & Effective

This care is demonstrated through a few different elements. One is letting them know and reminding them what to do at time of injury. You have a wallet card. You have posters. You have some different communication pieces around the organization, around your office that says what to do. Here’s steps one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. Maybe it’s also hanging on their lanyard. Something that demonstrates what to do at time of injury.

The next piece here is a get well card/a call/a visit. There’s a lot of advancements in our world today, a lot of automation, a lot of predictive analytics, a lot of information that comes from big data. Taking three minutes to have the supervisor write and sign a get well card–hey Tom, we care about you, we’re sorry you got injured, we can’t wait to have you back–will have more impact than all of the big data in the world on John’s emotions, on John’s motivation to return back to your company in a return to work program. You give that person a call. You let them now, hey, how are you doing, how’s everything going. You can assess that person’s attitude, you can demonstrate care, and you can get incredible claims management information, if they’re attitude is poor, if they’re very frustrated, if they’re having a lot of challenges with their medical providers. You can get on top of that right away by giving that person a call or going to visit them at the hospital.

Workers’ compensation is an incredibly complex system, but at its core, it’s incredibly simple. Follow these best practices of communication in order to start you on the path of realizing those dramatic results.

Again, I’m Michael Stacks, CEO of AMAXX, and remember your work today in workers’ compensation can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line, but it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. So, be great.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their work comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center. .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2017 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.

Part of managing your workers’ comp budget is reducing indemnity payments to your injured workers. There are a variety of reasons why some workers may not return to work as soon as they can, such as disagreements with the doctor’s recommendation, complications with treatment, and in some rare cases, employees simply trying to stay out of work.

Proactive Communication Improves Outcome & Limits Costs

Whatever the case, company administration must use proactive communication and monitoring of injured employees to ensure treatment is progressing well and the treating doctor has projected a return-to-work date. In cases of disagreements with either State workers’ comp claims or the doctor’s prognosis, help your employees to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. A quick resolution equals a quick return to work and limits your costs. Think: modified duty.

Some people may think — Why do I need to bother with such a plan, when the insurance company is paying off the claim?

The insurance company is paying the claim, but you still cover your deductible (or premium in guarantee cost). And, depending upon per incident costs, an employee suffering a moderate injury could cost as much as $35,000.00.

Take the approach of a well-informed and concerned employer concerned with both safety in the workplace, but also with the injured worker’s recovery and return to work after an injury. Weekly or monthly safety and work practices meetings help reinforce company policy and procedure for safe work related conduct and maintaining a safe work environment.

Five Things to Include in Your Workers’ Comp Communication Policy

Your communication policy as a part of your injury reporting and claims process must include:

1. A first day phone call or visit to the injured employee.
2. Communication with the doctor on prognosis, a reasonable treatment plan, and estimated date for a return to work.
3. Documentation of every accident/injury.
4. Investigate any claims raising “red flags” for potential fraud.
5. Close communication with your insurance claims adjuster to make sure all claims are reviewed before processing.

By getting your employees back to work before the mandatory waiting period for indemnity payments, you reduce your claims costs and protect your profit margin. Suspicious claims should be thoroughly investigated and brought to the attention of your claims adjuster.

Injuries occurring without witnesses or off company property while the employee was on duty may be hard to investigate. However, failure to do so could easily cost the company a substantial amount of money. That is not to say all accident claims falling into these categories are false or attempts at fraud, but in the event they are, investigating helps you to protect the company by detecting them before they affect your bottom line.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their work comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center. .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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

©2017 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.