Reference no: EM133421807

Case Study: The company for which I currently work uses a combination of different strategies for cost reduction. One of the most impactful strategies is combining case management with care management. Care management is exactly what it sounds like - ensuring the employee is taken care of, feels they are taken care of, and the knowledge that the company is concerned more about their welfare than writing them off as a loss or rushing them back to work before they're ready. We basically use a little bit of each strategy. Supervisors are expected to know their workers well enough that if an employee isn't 'switched on' at work then the supervisor needs to find a way to have the conversation with the employee to make sure he or she is not so concerned about things going on outside of work that they cannot concentrate on their work and risk getting themselves or someone else hurt. Should an employee get hurt at work, there is an onsite medical staff who administers the return-to-work program with the understanding and help of supervision. Supervision is expected to keep in touch with an ill or injured employee, no matter whether it is work related or not. The medical staff will evaluate the employee and determine what tasks they can or cannot perform. This information is shared only with the supervisor and the employee to ensure confidentiality and so that the employee is not being put back to work on tasks that will keep them from recovering fully. Each employee is made aware that they have the right to seek care from a physician of their choice, but they have to see the onsite medical staff prior to being taken off site.

The safety culture at the company has strengthened and deepened significantly over the last 15-20 years. The safety culture has been a behavior-based system for at least the last 10 years, but it has evolved from a simple behavior-based system to one run by Human Performance Principles that are the core principles in every investigation and discussion regarding any type of work. First and foremost is that people make mistakes and the harder we work to understand the why and how behind those mistakes, the closer we come to understanding how to keep from repeating those mistakes. Not because we "punished" the employee, but because we are closer to understanding what conditions were in place to keep the employee from working as safely as possible. This helps employees speak more open and honestly during an investigation because they know they will not automatically be blamed for being in a situation in which the majority of the workforce would have made the same decision due to forces outside of their control.

In this way, the company has combined integrated care management, safety culture and helped to cultivate job satisfaction which, in turn, helps with cost reduction for workers' comp claims.

Question: Of the cost reduction strategies for workers' compensation mentioned in the required readings, which one do you think would work best in an industry you work in or an industry you are interested in working in? Why do you think this method is the best for your chosen industry?