What does it take to keep people from being hurt on the job and get them back to work as fast as possible when injuries inevitably occur--all while treating them with respect and concern, and without busting your loss control budget? To see how the best in the business handle such challenges, check out the profiles of this year's three winners in the second annual National Underwriter Award For Excellence In Workers' Compensation Risk Management. They share the secrets of their success in a series of profile in our WC RM Award section.
The winners--presented with their awards this week during the Workers' Compensation Educational Conference, as part of the National Trends program put together by NU--are role models for their peers:
o ServiceMaster, our "2008 Champion," provides pest control, disaster recovery, lawn care and landscaping, cleaning and restoration, as well as other services to 10.5 million homes and businesses annually via 35,000 employees--represented by David Hopps, vice president of risk management.
o Walt Disney Company, receiving an "Honorable Mention," is a diverse entertainment conglomerate featuring theme parks and resorts, TV, movie and theatrical productions, as well as consumer products and retail outlets--represented by Tim East, director of risk management.
o Select Staffing, another "Honorable Mention," is a privately held outsourcing firm with some 400,000 employees on call and 130,000 on assignment each week across the country--represented by Fred Pach?n, vice president of risk and insurance.
All three have impressive loss control and safety programs, but they have in common a number of key traits:
o The involvement of every stakeholder is essential, from top management right down to front-line employees. You need to make risk management part of the corporate culture, empowering all employees to take responsibility for their own safety and of those around them.
o Training is crucial, so everyone appreciates the risks they face, and understands how to limit them.
o Monitoring is vital, to identify the most injury-prone situations and to see who is best (and worst) at keeping exposures under control.
o Incentives are very helpful, to reward those who spot potential risks, and keep both their departments, and themselves, out of harm's way.
o Accountability is critical, to demonstrate there are consequences for failing to take safety seriously.
Our three winners will sit on a panel during the WCEC in Orlando this week to discuss the workers' comp threats facing risk managers in a down economy. They'll be asked how to deal with cost pressures putting loss control budgets in jeopardy, with risk managers on the spot to keep employers from being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Highlights will appear Oct. 6.
I would like to thank our three outside judges for their help:
o Gary Nesbit, representing last year's inaugural champion, Belk Department Stores. (Mr. Nesbit was promoted since winning our award, from risk manager to vice president of procurement, facilities and travel. Congratulations, Gary!)
o Kristy Burch, workers' comp supervisor at Darden Restaurants.
o Marc Salm, director and counsel for risk management at Publix Super Markets. (Both Kris and Marc helped me set the criteria for the award program.)
I also want to thank the National Council on Compensation Insurance for sponsoring our award program once again, as well as the Florida Workers' Compensation Institute, for helping brainstorm and launch the award at the WCEC.
If you have a unique risk management approach or success story, please enter next year's award program! I look forward to hearing from you.
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