Workers’ compensation is an essential part of any business—no matter how many employees you have. If one of your workers is injured on the job, workers’ compensation insurance provides monetary reimbursement for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and lost wages while they’re recovering. Workers’ comp also helps prevent you as a business owner from having to pay out of pocket if an employee gets hurt on the job.
While workers’ compensation is crucial for your business, it can also be expensive. This is particularly true for high-turnover rate industries like construction, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and hospitality. Let’s take a look at the challenges of managing workers’ comp costs in high-turnover industries, strategies for reducing workers’ comp expenses, and the role of PEOs in cost management for those sectors.
Challenges of Managing Workers’ Comp Costs in High-Turnover Sectors
Workers’ compensation costs can add up—especially in high-turnover sectors. As a business owner or manager, you’re likely faced with some challenges when it comes to managing those costs.
Frequently hiring new employees means it can be difficult to keep everyone up-to-date on safety training and procedures. Consistent employee training creates the foundation for a safe work environment so that your team members feel comfortable to dive into their new role.
Employees become more familiar with their job and safety procedures as time passes, but when the turnover rate is high there often isn’t enough time for workers to really establish safety awareness. This lack of experience can be the catalyst for accidents happening in the workplace.
Strategies for Reducing Workers’ Comp Expenses
While there are challenges to managing workers’ comp costs, there are also strategies businesses can put in place to help lower those expenses.
Implement safety training programs
Employee training programs build a strong foundation for safety practices and procedures in the workplace. It’s important not only to implement safety programs when new employees are hired, but also throughout each existing worker’s time at the company. Training programs are crucial for keeping protocol fresh in your employees’ minds, ultimately helping prevent workplace injuries from happening in the first place.
Conduct safety audits regularly
Safety audits are a great way to see where employees are thriving in terms of safety protocol and where they could use a little more support. When you have a clear picture of how your business is doing, you have a better understanding of what steps to take to help get everyone up to speed.
Establish return-to-work programs
Return-to-work programs are essential for helping keep workers’ compensation costs at a minimum. When an employee is injured, a return-to-work program establishes a plan to ease them back into their role as the near the end of their recovery process. These programs help your workers feel valued and excited about getting back into the swing of things after they heal.
Role of PEOs in Cost Management for High-Turnover Industries
Professional employer organizations (PEOs) are co-employers that step in to handle the administrative tasks for businesses. When it comes to cost management for high-turnover organizations, PEOs offer HR solutions for saving money on workers’ compensation.
PEOs start by offering comprehensive onboarding processes to all new employees—which is especially important in high-turnover industries. This includes safety training programs that help get your workers on the right track toward creating a safe work environment. They also implement safety training programs for existing employees as refresher training or to teach new protocol.
PEOs also offer safety audits as a way to gain a better understanding of what your employees need in terms of safety training. Using the data from these audits, PEOs can create and implement training programs that meet the exact needs of your business.
Reintegrating employees back into the workforce is essential after they’ve healed from an injury, and it’s imperative for employee retention. PEOs establish strong return-to-work programs that comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. PEOs can help employers create modified roles that allow injured employees to ease back into their job, ultimately helping them get back to work sooner.
Achieving Cost Savings in Challenging Environments
High-turnover industries can be costly when it comes to workers’ compensation. Partnering with a PEO can help you manage those costs by implementing safety training programs, conducting safety audits, and establishing strong return-to-work programs. If you’re ready to achieve cost savings in a high-turnover environment, reach out to OCMI workers’ comp today!
Workers’ compensation insurance is essential for any business. It ensures financial protection for anyone who gets injured at work or becomes ill as a direct result of their job—providing monetary coverage for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and any lost wages during the recovery process. Workers’ comp plays a pivotal role in alleviating the financial burden of a work-related injury, so that the injured employee’s focus can be solely on their healing process.
Beyond the monetary protection of workers’ compensation insurance, employee assistance programs (EAPs) also have a huge impact on how supported your employees feel. EAPs can be used not only to help employees navigate feelings of stress and overwhelm, but they can also be used to support employees through their recovery process after an injury.
Integrating workers’ comp payroll with EAPs is a great way to ensure your employees feel taken care of at work as well as save your business money in the long run. Let’s dive into the benefits of combining workers’ comp payroll with EAPs and how PEOs facilitate EAP integration.
Benefits of Combining Workers’ Comp Payroll with EAPs
While workers’ compensation benefits and EAPs are entirely different entities, they do go hand-in-hand. When they’re integrated together, they can have an incredibly positive impact on the well-being of your employees and their healing process.
First and foremost, EAPs help improve overall wellness within the company, which can have a significant impact on the number of workers’ compensation claims filed in the first place. In general, stress management is essential for concentration and staying focused at work. Ultimately, better mental health means fewer workplace accidents.
When an employee is injured at work, EAPs offer a holistic approach to their recovery process. Getting injured at work can be a traumatic experience, and in many cases it can have a negative effect on your employee’s mental health. EAPs provide counseling services to help injured workers move through feelings of stress and anxiety, so that they’re able to fully heal.
Pairing this with workers’ compensation can help improve employee morale and retention rates. Mental and emotional well-being is crucial—particularly during the rehabilitation process after an injury. Supporting your employees with their mental health after a work-related accident can mean helping them feel more prepared to come back to work after they’ve recovered physically.
How PEOs Facilitate EAP Integration
PEOs are professional employer organizations that specialize in the administrative tasks of a business—primarily payroll, workers’ compensation, risk mitigation, and benefits management. This allows business owners and managers to focus on strategy, growth, and strengthening their relationships with their employees rather than the time-consuming administrative side of running a company.
Many PEOs also offer EAPs to assist employees before, during, and after work-related injuries or illnesses. Because PEOs already handle workers’ compensation, it makes sense that they would integrate the two together. PEOs will ensure that if an employee gets injured at work, not only is their paperwork completed and claim filed correctly, but that they’ll also receive the support they need during their recovery period.
Partnering with a PEO to integrate workers’ compensation and employee assistance programs creates a seamless experience for your workers, which ultimately impacts how supported they do or don’t feel as they heal. A positive experience during recovery can be the deciding factor on whether or not your employee comes back to work after rehabilitation.
Enhancing Employee Support with Integrated Solutions
Properly integrating workers’ compensation with employee assistance programs is a fantastic way to enhance employee support. Not only does it help ensure your employees feel valued and taken care of, but it also helps save your company money in the long run. High employee morale leads to increased productivity and retention rates—so the more supported your employees feel after a work-related injury, the better.
PEOs can help streamline this process, allowing business owners and managers more time to connect with their employees. For business owners or HR managers who are ready to enhance employee support with integrated workers’ compensation and EAPs, reach out to the experienced team at OCMI workers’ comp today!
If you own a business or manage an HR department, you know just how important workers’ compensation is. No matter how safe the environment is, work-related accidents happen daily, and it’s essential for workers to have the financial protection they deserve.
Laws protecting workers in the event of bodily injury date back as far as 2050 B.C. in ancient Sumeria. These laws were in place to compensate workers if they experienced some type of physical injury—from losing a finger or limb to fracturing a wrist or ankle.
Workers’ comp laws weren’t seen in the United States, however, until the early 1900s. These laws have continued to evolve over the years, having a major impact on payroll. Let’s take a look at some of the key changes in workers’ comp legislation, the impact on payroll solutions and management, and the role of PEOs in navigating legal changes.
Key Changes in Workers’ Comp Legislation
While workers’ compensation legislation is still rooted on the same foundation—to support workers who become injured or ill as a direct result of their job—there have been some key changes over the years.
Mental health coverage
In the past, workers’ compensation insurance has primarily covered physical injuries or illnesses. In more recent years, the importance of mental health has become more prevalent than ever. Workers’ comp laws are now expanding to include mental health coverage for work-related injuries that may go deeper than the physical.
Telehealth options
Telehealth and telemedicine have become an essential part of wellness—particularly after the pandemic in 2020. These virtual options for support have helped improve the efficiency of the healthcare system, allowing individuals who become injured at work to get the help they need for non-emergent issues in a more timely manner.
Increased benefits
Inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, and workers’ compensation benefits have needed to increase in order to properly support injured workers through their recovery.
Remote work and the gig economy
Working from home or on a project-by-project basis has gained popularity in recent years. This has created questions around workers’ compensation laws and what dictates a work-related injury. Additionally, while full-time employment has been a requirement for workers’ comp in the past, coverage has started expanding into the gig economy as well.
Impact on Payroll Solutions and Management
As workers’ compensation laws continue to evolve, it’s necessary now more than ever to maintain updated workplace policies. Training your employees on these new policies is imperative, so that no questions are left unanswered. This helps keep your team informed and adaptable as things shift, which ultimately helps improve safety and morale.
For HR managers, keeping your team up to date with current laws and regulations is an essential part of the job. The more prepared your workforce is, the easier it will be to navigate challenges that might arise with any new claims that are filed.
Role of PEOs in Navigating Legal Changes
Professional employer organizations—or PEOs—play a pivotal role in helping employers navigate legal changes. PEOs handle the administrative tasks of a business, such as payroll and workers’ compensation.
Not only are PEOs well-versed in payroll and claims processes, but they are also compliance specialists. It’s their job to stay on top of ever-evolving workers’ comp laws. Rules and regulations change constantly, and they also differ state-to-state—depending on where your company or workers are located. PEOs help ensure that your business remains compliant with these laws no matter where you or your workers are located.
PEOs also help implement training programs focused on anything from workplace safety to compliance. These training programs can help your employees stay up to date on rules and regulations when it comes to workers’ comp laws.
Staying Ahead of the Curve with Updated Payroll Solutions
Workers’ compensation laws have continued to evolve over the years. That evolution has created a need to stay ahead of the curve with updated solutions. Partnering with a PEO can help your business navigate the legal changes and ensure compliance with workers’ comp laws.
If you’re ready to simplify compliance and stay ahead of changing workers’ comp laws, OCMI Workers’ Comp is here to help. Our expert PEO solutions provide the guidance and support your business needs to navigate legal updates with confidence. Contact us today to ensure your payroll and workers’ comp solutions are always up to date!
