I love the workers’ compensation space. I feel like I was born into it. I grew up watching my father beat his body up as he worked manual labor (and continues to do so well into his 70s). I had an emergency door handle pierce the skin of my upper thigh while I was working at one of my very first jobs which required a plethora of sutures. I began…
Effective communication is vital in every aspect of our lives, including the workplace. In the context of workers' compensation, communication plays a crucial role in setting expectations, fostering positive interactions, and achieving desired outcomes. This article explores the significance of communication in workers' compensation, the various communication channels employed, the impact of non-verbal communication, and the importance of maintaining professionalism. Additionally, we delve into whether people are becoming more "whiny"…
Regarding workers' compensation claims, having a solid and capable claims team is essential for ensuring a smooth and successful process. The internal culture will create the dynamic nature of how external parties feel throughout the workers' compensation claims administration process. The top-performing claims teams possess certain key traits that set them apart from the rest. These traits, when combined, create a foundation for empathy, communication, knowledge, problem-solving, advocacy, proactivity, respect,…
Regarding workers' compensation risk management, there's a game-changing tool that can make all the difference: a comprehensive loss trend analysis. This article will explore how an excellent loss trend analysis can revolutionize workers' compensation risk management. It's like uncovering hidden treasure in your data, allowing you to spot trends, measure the effectiveness of safety programs, and get to the heart of what causes injuries and incidents. Get ready to embark…
Scorecards have long been utilized in the workers' compensation industry to measure performance and manage claims. While they provide a simple and objective way to establish metrics, they often lead to a narrow, short-term perspective that hinders collaboration and fails to consider the more significant objectives. It is time to adjust key performance indicators (KPIs) in the workers' compensation industry to shift the focus towards a more substantial impact on…
Strategic alignment: To ensure consistency in the initiatives implemented from the executive leadership to the operational level of the organization. Does this exist in workers’ compensation? Looking back on the history of workers’ compensation over the past 100+ years, not a lot has changed. It is far beyond time that it does. With over 400,000 open positions in the insurance space, is it a wonder why people do not want…
Have you ever been on the flip side of a workers’ compensation claim? Where you were the injured worker? If you have not, have you ever put yourself in the injured worker’s shoes? Or had a family member experience the process? In case you guessed it, this process is not the easiest one. Ahh, but there is so much we can do about it to make it better!! Anyone can…
I love the workers’ compensation space. I feel like I was born into it. I grew up watching my father beat his body up as he worked manual labor (and continues to do so well into his 70s). I had an emergency door handle pierce the skin of my upper thigh while I was working at one of my very first jobs which required a plethora of sutures. I began…
As an eternal optimist, I understand the times when people tell you to stay positive, look on the bright side, or it could have been worse. I get it. I continuously practice it. And even post injury, post work-injury, I am grateful it was only ‘so bad’. There are times you may think being positive is the only way to get through difficult or challenging circumstances. To always see the…
Empathy, noun, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The workers’ compensation system was designed to restore the lives of humans who were injured during an unforeseen circumstance while at work. Helping people during these vulnerable moments, once injury has been sustained, should provide an opportunity to create a trusting relationship between an adjuster and the injured worker. The adjusting role should be looked at as the…
