Navigating Workers' Comp in 2019: How To Balance Cost Management & Create a Human Experience
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2017.
Traditionally, keeping injured employee costs down has been the driving priority for employers. But as organizations increasingly shift to “people-first” strategies, a new and important value has emerged: creating compassionate, human experiences for employees. Especially when they’re injured.
From the outside, managing costs and creating more human experiences are often viewed as opposing forces. Doesn’t creating a human experience for injured employees essentially mean spending more time and resources on their care?
In this article, we explore organizations’ increased focus on humanizing the workplace, the benefits of empathy in workers’ comp cases and three ways employers can balance cost management and create human experiences when dealing with injured employees.
Why Are We Humanizing?
There are two reasons organizations are gradually shifting from an “organization-first” strategy to a “people-first” strategy.
First, the fight to win and retain top talent has never been more fierce. Organizations are hiring in greater numbers with less candidates to choose from, making it a candidate-driven market. This competitive hiring ecosystem means that executives are looking for new and more compelling ways to entice employees to join and stay with their organizations.
At the same time, and even more importantly, employees values are shifting. Where competitive benefits, paid vacation and workplace perks once dominated the talent market, people are now looking for an aligned company culture, meaningful work and to feel appreciated. A study reported by Harvard Business Review found 9 out of 10 people would earn less money if it meant they could do more meaningful work. A separate study found that 79% of people who quit their jobs do so because of “lack of appreciation.” Finally, a 2019 study by Businessolver found that 90% of employees are more likely to stay with an organization that empathizes with their needs.
The Benefits of Empathy in Workers’ Comp
So how does an increased focused on empathy in the workplace translate to caring for injured workers?
Studies by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, LM Research Institute and AON Hewitt studies have found that employers who approach employees with empathy in the workplace have experienced:
15% greater employee productivity
40% decrease in average claim costs
58% decrease in average duration days
31% decrease in medical claim costs
What nurse case managers have always intuitively known—that showing compassion and building trust with injured employees significantly expedites the recovery process—research now backs up.
How to Balance Cost Management + Create a Human Experience
Despite how it might first appear, managing costs and creating human experiences for employees are not at odds with one another—in fact, they go hand-in-hand. Here are three ways to balance cost management AND create a human experience for employees:
Work with medical case managers
Medical case managers exist to help guide employees through the care and recovery process—ensuring they get the right care when they need it. Studies show that when companies use medical case managers, cases are resolved and injured employees return to work more quickly. Companies also save money in the long-run on unnecessary procedures, prescriptions, doctor’s visits and other medical costs. At the same time, offering injured employees a dedicated medical case manager gives them an advocate and trusted resource during a stressful and vulnerable time.Invest in upfront, comprehensive job training
Spending time and resources getting employees fully trained on the job is an upfront cost—and one that pays out in spades in the long-term. As reported by Safety and Health magazine, “employees in their first month on the job have more than 3 times the risk for a lost-time injury than workers who have been at their job for more than a year.” Scientists say this may be due to employees performing unfamiliar tasks and/or feeling uncertain about when to speak up about a potential safety hazard. Offering employees comprehensive job training focused on how to perform the job and how to identify and communicate safety issues is an important and proactive step in managing costs. It also goes a long way in building trust and helping employees feel safe, further humanizing their workplace experience.Leverage technology
As organizations look for ways to both manage costs and create more human experiences, technology can offer interesting solutions. From industry-specific workplace safety apps to wearable technology that monitors employees physiology and potential hazards, technology offers organizations endless opportunities to better integrate safety training and prevent costly injuries. At the same time, these technology platforms create the type of modern, customized experiences employees are used to in their personal lives, only underlining the organization’s commitment to creating human experiences in the workplace.
Bottom line: Managing costs and creating human experiences for your injured employees is not an either/or choice. As the workers’ comp landscape continues to shift, it’s critical that organizations look for opportunities to deliver on both.