As mentioned in Cutting Costs: by Adding Safety to Your Strategic Initiatives, Mt. Macrina Manor reversed skyrocketing insurance costs by revitalizing a complete team approach to keeping employees safe and healthy.

The Challenge

When faced with the challenge of changing a culture in an organization of 100 or more employees, an all hands on deck approach was needed.  Mt. Macrina Manor partnered with Henderson Brothers Risk Control to complete a baseline assessment of their current program to identify possible weaknesses that would be the focus of this shift.

Henderson Brothers, Inc. provides a wide ranging suite of services to their clients.  One of these in the Commercial Insurance Lines Division is having access to three Risk Control Specialists with combined 65 years of risk control experience.

A Baseline Assessment

The focus of the baseline assessment established was to look at all of the current available modes of communication and the staff team members who are tasked with delivering a safety message.  These individuals would be held accountable as the culture shifted. Together, we used baseline assessment’s finding to uncovered general and specific goals that were challenging but yet obtainable.  The team agreed that all employees would need to know what is expended of them with completing their daily tasks.  This would be established through the safety policies and procedures.

We all agreed to focus on these safety programs :

• Repositioning and No-Lift Resident Handling Policies
• More frequent safety committee facility assessment
• Pre-shift staff meetings to infuse a safety message into the agenda
• Leveraging in-house expertise for injury prevention

We did not need to reinvent the wheel; instead, we revitalized the current safety program with a new emphasis on communication.

Communications Solutions

Leadership wanted to foster an environment of communication and not dictation.  If the frontline employees are completing these tasks day in and day out, they should be able to offer input on the safest way to complete them. We utilized their expertise in developing and updating the safety programs that were outdated.

The supervisors that were tasked with running the program on a day-to-day basis were supplied with the tools through training and a better understanding of the claims reporting process.  Some of the other trainings were incident investigation and overall insurance cost.  These employees, with leadership’s support, were the ones that affected the culture shift at ground level.

The frontline staff now understands why each policy is in place and that they have the ability to make suggestions through frontline supervision or through the safety committee regarding policy enhancements.  Involving them in the process provided them the ownership of the policy which increased daily accountability efforts.

A flexible safety program is the key to long-term success

A safety program is never a “one and done” type of service.  Effective safety programs live, breathe, and change with your organization’s needs.

The foundation to the success for Mt. Macrina Manor was utilizing our partnership to foster relentless communication driven by accountability from both halves; Henderson Brothers was able to guide this culture shift from day one. We worked with Mt. Macrina Manor to successfully set obtainable expectations, and to provide the resources and training for them to follow their plan every day.

Our Risk Control Specialists have years of experience in multiple industries.  We did not just drop off a report of what we found; we supported their efforts from day one and continue to work with them closely to this day.

An effective Safety Program that will strategically reduce cost and keep employees safe is an ongoing process.  To this day, we are still in constant communication regarding insurance program structure, claims management, and risk control assessments.

Please contact me if you’d like to learn more or if you are interested in learning about how Henderson Brothers, Inc. could help you review your safety program too.

Please note that the information contained in this posting is designed to provide authoritative and accurate information, in regard to the subject matter covered. However, it is not provided as legal or tax advice and no representation is made as to the sufficiency for your specific company’s needs. This post should be reviewed by your legal counsel or tax consultant before use.