From Workers´ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee – Injured Employees Can Return to Work – Successfully

Employee retention, employee engagement and talent management are the buzz words in the Human Resources and Business Community. Every major publication predicts a dire staffing and talent shortage, yet every year employers in the United States allow trained talent to walk out their door after an occupational injury. Historically, the workers´ compensation laws have not adequately supported the return to work process – it is much easier to offer injured employees a settlement than it is to provide them with the opportunity to return to gainful employment.

During my years as an adjuster, I made countless phone calls to employers asking them if a light-duty job was available so we could bring an injured employee back to work. Nine out of ten times, the employer said, "No! We have nothing available. The employee cannot come back unless he or she is full duty." This was one of the most frustrating parts of the job. I finally started to ask, "Why can´t you make an effort to get the employee back to work?" The employer would inevitably respond, "I am afraid he or she will file another claim." Through these conversations, I came to realize that employers do not understand the true impact of injuries on their ability to run a profitable business. Nor do they have the resources or guidance to implement an effective return to work program.

When treating physicians issue light duty restrictions, most employers do not have a well defined return to work plan with specific procedures they can apply immediately, to insure that the injured employee is assimilated back into the workforce.

Light duty immediately invokes negative feelings for most employers. I have heard countless stories from employers recanting the horrible experiences they have had as they attempted to bring injured employees back to work. I have witnessed the frustration and the surrender that occurs when injured employees manipulate the system and I have been involved in countless cases as an adjuster that made me wonder, "Why are we even doing this?" Despite all of the negative conotations about injured employees, I feel that I can, through this book, outline the steps that you, the employer, should follow to ensure that injured employees return to work after an accident.

The Challenge—Changing Employers Perception of "Light Duty"

As I made the decision two years ago to write this book, I recognized that I would have to change the way employers viewed light duty before I could motivate them to implement proactive return-to-work policies. This book had to accomplish three things:

1. Change the perception of light duty.

2. Quantify the cost of not implementing a return to work program.

3. Provide the employer with clear steps that will result in a positive return-to-work experience.

The critical steps for any employer are to understand the system, to learn the pitfalls and to set up appropriate procedures for returning injured employees to work as soon as possible. Many companies have return-to-work programs but few realize the full benefits of the program because they omit or overlook key elements of the process. To be effective a comprehensive return-to-work program has to be implemented as a key component of a broader injury prevention and injury management program.

Employers — are you ready for the challenge?

I would like to challenge every employer to reduce their lost work days by 25 percent each quarter. You can do so by implementing the steps you will learn in this book. It is up to us to stop the workers´ compensation cycle by giving employees the opportunity to continue to contribute even if they are injured.

Employees generally do not want to be at home. And, even if they do want to be there, it is your job to remind them that they are still gainfully employed and that watching TV is not an acceptable benefit from the injury.

From Workers´ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee is available at http://www.workcompseminars.com/bookstore/ and it will be available at Amazon.com starting on May 2, 2008.

About The Book:

From Workers´ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee – Employer´s Guide to Implementing a Proactive Return to Work Program – Florida Edition (ISBN: 978-0-9789407-6-8) DCRC Training Group Publishing – 150 pages, soft cover.

This book is a complete how to guide. Step by Step – Chapter by Chapter, employers will learn how to implement an effective return to work program in Florida. Simply follow the practical instructions and smart tactics. Packed with handy checklist, to do lists and hundreds of valuable tips and techniques employers can implement – Immediately.

What others are saying about this book:

"Simply put, this book is a "must-read" for any employer doing business in Florida. It provides those companies with those proven strategies which, can and will result in lower workers compensation premiums, lower workers compensation settlements, and far better control of their annual costs". Kurt Wyland, Esq. – Walton Lantaff

"The book takes a step-wise, common sense approach to an emotional topic. It spells out how to minimize the costs and headaches of work-related accidents in an easy to understand format, which can be implemented". Richard Spirer, MD, Acting Medical Director – Physician´s Health Center

"This book is a must read for all employers – it is simple, practical, comprehensive and get the point across immediately". – Kay Richardson, COT/A, CEAS, President – Work Smarter with Ergonomics, Inc.