The Client and Its Challenge
This hospitality client had tried to implement a return-to-work program, but with limited success. The relationship between employees and managers was contentious. Local physicians and union representatives had little incentive to help the client bring injured employees back to work. As a result, workers’ compensation claims and associated costs increased dramatically. The client was forced to move off of a guaranteed cost program into a retrospective rated plan that would potentially cost the company significantly more.

The Risk Consulting Solution
After reviewing the client’s workers’ compensation data and interviewing key stakeholders, Marsh consultants determined that an employee management program (EMP) could be used to lower workers’ compensation costs and return employees to work as soon as they are medically able.

EMP is a structured process that places operational management in charge of returning employees back to their full-time, regular assignments after a workers’ compensation injury. To accomplish this, supervisors create the transitional duty work assignments that accommodate restrictions until their employees are ready for regular work. EMP teaches managers to align their actions with the workers’ compensation system, union representation (when appropriate), treating physicians, and employees. Direct and regular communications with the injured employee is a critical success factor.

The client-Marsh team began the project by securing senior executive support for the initiative and then communicating the benefits to all employees and supervisors. The team then reviewed the client’s current policies and procedures and, where necessary, developed new processes and redefined team member roles. This was followed by extensive training to provide all supervisors with the tools they needed to work more closely with their employees, clinic administrators, and claims examiners to return employees to work as soon as they are medically able. All of these measures led to a cultural change, which positively impacted the work environment.

Results
The EMP has helped to create a more cooperative environment between managers and employees. Executive feedback on the EMP program has been extremely positive. More importantly, the client is seeing solid results. Since the implementation of the program, workers’ compensation incurred costs are one-third that of the previous two years.