Adecco's safety expertise strengthens employer partnerships
A staffing company that promotes safety in multiple locations is the second of three winners of the 2021 Workers' Comp Risk Management Award. (Part 2 of 3)
Widening its lens to help mitigate — not just identify — risks has opened doors for the risk management team at Adecco, a temporary staffing and workforce productivity company that places 70,000 associates with 700 clients weekly in all 50 states.
Work that helped rebrand the team as a valued organizational partner continues to keep associates safer and saved $59 million in a four-year period. Adecco also is a recipient of the 2021 Workers’ Comp Risk Management Award for Excellence.
It started in 2016 when the department moved from New York to Florida.
“We did a lift and shift and then started examining every part of the program to make operational changes, improvements, and aim to make it a best-in-class program,” says Susan Shemanski, vice president of corporate risk management.
The team did just that as noted by its experience modification factor. It dropped from 1.48 to 0.91, which is beneath the coveted 1%.
“It’s a huge achievement, especially for a staffing company” that doesn’t control work sites.
After evaluating five years of claims data, the team acted on opportunities to reduce the frequency, severity and total cost of risk with three programs and the creation of an app. “Our goal was to pick that low-hanging fruit first and then look at every aspect of the program,” Shemanski says.
These initiatives not only saved millions of dollars between 2016 and 2020, they resulted in significant collateral role requirement reductions, which is a frequently overlooked opportunity to free up funds.
These changes illustrate the success of a strategic shift from a “no culture” environment when evaluating high-risk clients to a “know culture” workplace committed to identifying mitigation strategies to bring clients on board successfully.
For example: Before 2016, the risk management team might have rejected a client that required respirators to protect associates from toxic dust at sites. Now they seek such solutions as asking for industrial hygiene studies and including Adecco in cleaning and storage programs, which proves that “risk can help grow the business while keeping our workers safe,” Shemanski says.
“It helped us position the risk management department from a back-office service to more of a front-end service,” she adds. “We went from being the people who say ‘yes or no’ to [the people, who say,] ‘let me help you understand this.’” This ultimately helped create more successful partnerships.
Six degrees of separation
In 2016, the team deployed a behavior-based safety program using a mobile app to analyze survey information and customize interventions within Adecco’s sphere of influence. With 6,000 surveys done annually, the ability to turn a process that took up to a week into one that delivers results within minutes paid off. The secret: Artificial intelligence built into the app directs survey data into the company’s risk information system and analyzes results using a proprietary scoring system. “It really had an impact on how quickly we could assess the risk,” Shemanski explains.
One common message: All movements required for tasks should be at core body level. “Things you touch the most each day should be in arc of your reach” so you don’t have to bend or twist, Shemanski says.
To identify issues, associates wear SmartBelts to measure how many lifts, twists and turns are required to complete a job. This flags risks. Mitigation efforts can be as simple as moving a product on a warehouse shelf or a tool in an office to avoid bending at an angle greater than 60-degrees. “It’s amazing what you can see,” she says.
These types of behavior changes resulted in a 46% decrease in accidents from 2016 through 2020, and a 51% decrease in claims.
While every job site is unique, the top three loss-producing jobs are similar and many fall within the picking, packing and moving materials realm. Sprains and strains caused by improper lifting as well as trips and falls caused by tight areas are common. So the team created “Plan your route” training to help map out and maneuver through workspaces.
Getting a firmer grip
Once the process was inked for safer sites with a plan for continuous quality improvement, the focus turned to claims. A new partnership with Sedgwick, the third-party administrator, helped reduce pending claims from 2,880 to 1,044 from 2016 through 2020, and develop a centralized claims unit to increase advocacy efforts. The results speak for themselves: The team closed 147 pending litigated files in 2021, decreased pending reviews by 11.5% and decreased claims in the aged pending category by 9.2%.
Two out of the department’s seven-person team continue to focus on claims and work closely with Sedgwick.
Investment in recovery
To round out its prevention efforts, the team initiated a program to help injured workers develop and enhance skills during recovery. It pairs injured associates, once they are cleared by healthcare providers, with not-for-profit organizations to do similar, light-duty work that supports the healing process.
“We don’t want them to be sitting at home and worrying about when they’re going to get their next paycheck,” Shemanski says.
For example, someone who is familiar with a retail/distribution center may work with Goodwill to sort clothing. “We really care about getting them back to their pre-injury position and keeping a paycheck coming in for them and their families,” Shemanski says.
The program helped Adecco reduce lost time by 15.25% during a two-year period and close claims more quickly. During COVID-19, the team extended this program to find virtual opportunities to protect health and safety.
Ongoing upskilling and reskilling efforts help build confidence and can lead to higher-paying jobs. For example, virtual reality training for forklift operators helps fill positions with line workers, who are paid to get certified and often see a $2-$3 raise with their new roles. It helps clients find talent, which is increasingly difficult, and gives associates opportunities for growth. “A lot of times with temp workers there’s not a career path, and we’re trying to build that,” Shemanski says.
The team brings equipment onsite so associates can test out the virtual reality training while getting a feel for what the work entails.
“It really feels like you’re on an actual piece of equipment, which is great,” says Shemanski. “It’s effective and the clients love it.”
The program’s success might lead to more online training in 2022.
“We’re realizing reskilling and upskilling is really the future of work. We’ve gotta get people trained to keep up with the way things are changing,” she added. And with a solid foundation for building effective programs that encourage collaboration, capitalize on the team’s ingenuity, and emphasize the human element to successful work, Adecco’s risk management group is poised for ongoing success.
Heather Grimshaw is a Colorado freelance journalist.
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