The Snowball Effect of Employee Satisfaction

If the words “employee satisfaction” incites eye rolls from your management staff, then share this post with them next time you discuss your workers’ compensation program. 

A 2011 prospective study of work-related low back injuries indicates that what employers do after a work injury can have a significant impact on the injured worker’s recovery level.

Loss reduction efforts that improve employee satisfaction may also improve the injured worker’s outcome.  This study found that injured workers who were both satisfied with their employer’s response to the injury and their doctor’s treatment experienced better scores on leg and back pain scales, tests of function, and quality of life scales.  It’s important to point out that it wasn’t because the doctor wrote them out of work or gave them a warm and fuzzy feeling – the study indicates that satisfaction regarding the effectiveness of treatment is what contributed to the reduction in symptoms and functional limitations. 

The effect of the employer’s treatment of the claim was just as important as the medical provider’s treatment of the injured worker at 6 months post-injury.  Even more interesting is that at 1 year post-injury, the importance of employer’s treatment of the injured worker continued to grow.

In practical terms, this makes sense.  Think about an injured worker who has been disabled from working for a period of 3 months as the result of a significant injury.  If an employer responds negatively, or fails to stay in contact with the injured worker, the relationship begins to deteriorate.  How would you feel if you were out of work for a significant duration and no one seemed to care?  An understanding employer who is willing to work with an injured worker will gain the reputation of an employer who cares about the well-being of their employees.  This reputation travels faster than the speed of light.  I’m sure you could name three places right now that you swear you’d never work – and not just because of the type of work, but because of how they reportedly treat their employees.  Fact or fiction, it doesn’t matter if potential, future job applicants hear this.

Using deductive reasoning, one could conclude that what is good for the injured worker’s recovery is also good for reduction of claim costs (and good for the company).  The authors report a 30 percent reduction in claim costs attributable to higher satisfaction with claim treatment and likely due to a reduction in lost time claims.

Reference:  Butler, R. J., & Johnson, W. G. (2011).  Loss reduction through worker satisfaction:  The Case of workers' compensation. Risk Management and Insurance Review, 14(1), 1-26.  doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6296.2010.01188.x

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New Year, new approach to RTW

Hopefully you found the holidays to be enjoyable, now it’s back to work!  If you’re one of the many resolution-ers out there, you may want to read this before going public with your resolution.  According to a study cited in a Forbes.com article, about 40% of Americans make resolutions and only 8% of them keep them. 

Resolve to improve your company’s workers’ compensation program.  Why? Because unlike a short stint at the gym or week or two on the South Beach Diet, improving your workers’ compensation program doesn’t require any special diets or new clothing.  Nope, you simply need some groundwork and a good team of people to support you.

The process of setting your goals has a direct impact on the likelihood of successfully attaining them.  Some simple considerations can go a long way.  Goals should be simple, attainable and measurable.

Simple

Stick to one or two goals for your RTW program.  A simple starting point for employers without a RTW program could be to identify 10 modified duty tasks for each department in your organization.  Creating a modified duty job bank is an essential step in achieving successful RTW outcomes.  Review your loss history to decide where to start if it seems overwhelming.  Try not to reinvent the wheel – use existing job descriptions for ideas. 

Attainable

Sure, every organization would like to eliminate all injuries or all lost time days, but that might not be very realistic.  You can’t prevent everything, so make sure you have a plan to deal with an accident when it occurs.  Review your past loss histories to identify trends and to set reasonable goals.  You can also look to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for comparison data.  Periodically re-assess the goals to determine where you are and if they need to be adjusted.

Measurable

As the old adage goes, you manage what you measure.  Once you’ve determined your simple, attainable goal, you must be able to measure it.  Some examples include:  reducing lost time days by 20%, reducing the number of lost time claims by 80%, getting every injured worker who has restrictions back to work within 7 days of their release to return to work.  If part of your goal focuses on providing training for supervisory and management staff on the importance and benefits of modified duty, consider setting a goal to require each staff member to attend training.  You could go the extra step and require them to score a 95% or higher on a post-training quiz.

Other considerations

Announce your goal to the organization.  Divulge your plans and then demonstrate the progress you make toward those goals.   Make it extremely clear how each employee contributes to this goal as well as how your workers’ compensation premiums impact the financial results of the company.  If your company has quarterly meetings, add this to the agenda.  Regularly post your progress in a visible area such as your mandatory postings board or break room.  If you don’t reach your goal, determine an objective reason why.  Use this information to realign your goals for the following year. 

We’re here to help you successfully implement a return to wellness program.  Check out our resources on www.eains.com/ecovery or contact us directly.

Best of luck in whatever resolution you take on this year, and if you’re one of the nearly 60% of Americans who don’t make New Year’s resolutions, we still wish you all the best for 2014.