Many of our customers have come to us to try to help their employees understand the cost and impact of workers' compensation losses. They felt that the majority of employees have no idea the cost of workers comp insurance and the formula that is used to calculate insurance premiums. A few years back, we started advising our customers to make that information public and do it on a regular basis. Take the time to explain what an experience modification factor, schedule credit and what a loss ratio is. Show employees what the current state of their workers' compensation losses are on a quarterly basis and show how these losses will affect the employee and the company in the future.
Our experience has shown that employees feel that workers' compensation is an endless pool of money that employers pay the same amount into and the benefits are endless. Once an employee sees that a workers' compensation loss affects all their co-workers and the company, they will take safety more serious. They do not want to be responsible for the company going out of business or the downsizing of employees. We have found this will also reduce the amount of fraudulent claims because their fellow employees will hold them accountable.
Finally, make a chart that shows yearly losses along with the experience modification factor that correlates with that year and the cost you pay in insurance daily. This will give your employee a clear idea of how workers compensation works and the immediate impact of each workers compensation loss. The goal is to have them feel that this is a team effort and they are also being rewarded for a safe workplace.