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Emerging Issues

SECTION 9

15 This is intended as a general description of certain types of managed care services available to qualifed customers through Zurich Services Corporation,

an individual member company of Zurich in North America. Zurich Services Corporation does not guarantee a particular outcome, reduction in costs or improvement in administration and further assumes no liability in connection with the providing of these services. ©2011 Zurich Services Corporation

Zurich

1400 American Lane, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196-1056 800 382 2150 www.zurichna.com

An increase in hiring is a welcome sign after a recession, but along with it might come an increase in workers’ compensation claims. As industry data indicates, newly hired employees can drive up your workers’ compensation costs – even in a stable economy. Most employers have probably seen their workers’ compensation costs remain steady or even decrease during the recession since current workers’ compensation costs refect an experienced workforce, declining injury frequency and relatively stable system costs for most states. However, these costs might increase as new employees become a greater proportion of the workforce. The way to combat these challenges is with effective tools, education and best practices. The overall goal is to be proactive and help employers manage these risks, keep costs in check and reap the full beneft of expanding their workforce to help grow their businesses as the economy recovers.

Additional information

Click here to learn more about Zurich’s 5 Point Plan

1. Hiring in a Recovering Economy

Zurich’s Five Point Plan

Operating in a recovering economy doesn’t have to mean having your expected increase in proftability drained by higher workers’ compensation costs. With Zurich’s help, you can start taking action right now to minimize the negative impact and increased costs associated with growing your workforce. Five key actions can help put you in control:

Point 1: Job Analysis. Before you ramp up your hiring efforts, you should conduct a thorough job analysis for each position, including physical job demands, and make sure they’re kept current and referred to during the hiring process.

Point 2: Recruiting and Interviewing. Make sure your recruiting practices are designed to set realistic expectations and attract qualifed individuals who ft your organization.

Point 3: Regulatory Compliance. Maintain hiring policies and practices to assure compliance with current employment law and ensure that managers and supervisors have the tools and guidance necessary to select qualifed candidates in compliance with employment regulations.

Point 4: Pre-placement and Post-offer Testing Strategies. Use conditional offers combined with pre-placement, post-offer testing to help you validate applicant qualifcations and assure successful job placement in compliance with employment law.

Point 5: Orientation and Training. Employee orientation should include acknowledgement of employment policies, including job safety requirements. Training for new employees should refect current job processes and focus on worker and workplace safety. New employees, regardless of experience, should be mentored and monitored to assure safe, successful performance.