11 Ways To Improve Your Workers’ Compensation Program
November 18, 2021Workers Compensation Belleville IL claims are costly for employers. The average cost of a workers’ comp claim is $4,000 to 5,000 dollars, and the total annual fee can be up to 2 billion dollars for some companies. If you’re looking at ways to reduce your workers’ comp costs, here are five tips that will help you get started!
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#1. Provide Workers With Information On Reporting Injuries Or Illnesses:
Having clear reporting guidelines will help ensure that all work-related injuries and illnesses are reported. Your workers’ compensation program should note whether your employees must report injuries within a specific time frame. Still, it is essential to provide them with information on filing claims if they do not meet the reporting guidelines.
#2. Consider Insurance Solutions That Can Help You Manage Costs:
You might be able to cut costs by using technology or business data analysis to determine where improvements can be made in your workplace safety efforts. Additionally, several different types of workers’ compensation insurance policies are available, so you can choose one that best suits your company’s needs. Talk with an agent today about what types of plans are available in your state!
#3. Empower Frontline Management To Act As Liaisons For Injured Workers:
A big part of getting claims filed by your state’s reporting guidelines is making sure that employees feel comfortable coming forward to report injuries. Your frontline managers are the best people to educate workers on what they need to do if they’re injured or see an accident at work; you can also encourage them to act as liaisons for injured workers and help direct them towards the right resources.
#4. Educate All Employees About Workplace Safety Policies:
If your company has an established safety culture, it will be easier to get everyone on board with reporting injuries when they occur. You may want to consider providing formal training or presentations on safety awareness for different employees, especially new hires!
#5. Guide For Supervisors:
To get the most out of your workplace safety efforts, everyone needs to be on the same page with how injuries are reported and managed. Develop a protocol for supervisors to know precisely what to do when an employee is injured at work.
#6. Re-Evaluate Your Company’s Reporting Process:
If you have gone through all the above steps but are still having trouble keeping accurate records of time lost due to injury or illness, re-evaluating may be time. Take a close look at your protocols again with fresh eyes and tweak as needed until you’re sure everything is correctly done. At this point, you should be well on your way to improving your workers’ compensation program!
#7. Increase Your Knowledge:
The more you know about workers’ compensation, the better you will improve your program. There are countless informative websites and articles on the subject, so do some research and see what’s out there!
#8. Promote Awareness Within Your Company:
Workers’ compensation is everyone’s business in an organization-not, just the HR department. Ensure employees understand it fully, so they don’t put their benefits at risk through neglect or ignorance.
#9. Check For Adequate Staffing Levels:
When demand increases but your workforce remains flat, worker’s comp claims rise with them because overworked employees are more likely to get injured. Allow for periodic reviews of workforce levels to ensure that you’re able to meet company goals without compromising worker safety or well-being.
#10. Learn To Anticipate Problems:
Any business element that can affect your workers’ comp claims is fair game for scrutiny, including building sites.
- work methods
- training
- policies
- health promotion campaigns
- leave requests
Identifying potential problem areas before they become issues helps prevent injuries and claims.
#11. Ensure Compliance With All Regulations:
Among other requirements, you must provide information on laws governing workplace safety. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration provides this information through its Website. Knowing the content of these regulations will help you maintain compliance with your company’s operations.
All of these steps can be customized to fit any size of the company. The idea is that if you are willing to put in the effort, your workers’ compensation program will improve drastically and save you money!
A poorly run workers’ compensation program can cost you thousands, if not millions of dollars in lost wages and expenses. If your workers’ compensation program isn’t running as efficiently as possible, it may be time to take a hard look at how it’s being run and make sure that everything is up to code.
Your workers’ compensation program might seem complex and tedious, but if you have competent professionals on your side, it will be much less complicated than you imagined.