REWARD Report A wake-up call beyond the bottom line.

Embracing Changes in our Industry

by Mollie Kallen

Brewing underneath the mantle of workers' compensation have been a movement and spirit of change. This has been ruminating for quite a while, and I think Covid forced all of us to look at our lives with clean eyes, hearts, and minds. We examined what is and what is not important in our lives; what we can and cannot do without. It caused a realignment of our priorities and focused on much needed self-care, family, and friends. This transcended generations, cultures, industries, genders, and all levels of workers. We took stock of our lives and knowing what doesn’t work or serve us is just as important as knowing what does. Vision boards manifested into clear patterns of thought and direction, whether you were consciously aware of it or not. Everyone took a long hard look at what is meaningful for them in life and in work.

In our industry, as in many others, we are oftentimes slow to change. It took this cataclysmic event to push our industry forward while taking a step back to look at what has and has not worked. My personal list of what has changed and what is still needed to change in our industry is below – see if you agree or if you have others:

1. VALUE PEOPLE

This means changing the lens of how we look at employees, interested parties in our industry, and most importantly injured workers. We are now experiencing employment shortages at all levels, so retaining your workers is more important than ever.

What are you doing to differentiate yourself from other employers? What are some simple things that you can put into place to retain/motivate your team? Do you do quarterly assessments with your team to see what is working for them or what is not? Are you simply asking the question, “Are you happy in your position? What changes can be made to assist you in being more productive but most importantly, happy and empowered?”

Doing this will also assist in preventing malingering in comp claims and foster a happier work environment that people will want to return to and might miss from working at home.

2. FOCUS CHANGE TO SUPPORTIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Our industry needs to shift the focus from the top/down dollar to the lateral partnership concept. If an injured worker feels empowered, educated, understood, and empathized with, the bottom line will of course be affected positively.

Yes, we are in a business and yes, it is about cost containment. But the best tool I have found to prevent legal, to prevent psych, to prevent medication abuse, and to foster earlier/safer return to work is by putting the injured worker first. Making them an active team member and educating them about all the interested parties and their roles, and making sure they have a realistic perception of their injury and treatment program and their role in it.

As a case manager, we see disenfranchised injured workers all the time who feel disconnected from their work culture and pushed through gates of care they do not understand. It is our job to adopt a more patient- centric approach and educate all the stakeholders, so that everyone is on the same page.

So, how do we get there? How do we become more supportive as an industry? How do we facilitate valuing people and supporting others?

The concept of paying it forward works. It works in life, and it works in business. There may be many who operate from a unique perspective and emerge from a place of perceived altruism, but it is clearly couched in self-gain. These ideas I propose do not speak to them, as it is a black/white world when it comes to helping others; you either do or you do not. Ideally you do it not for self-promotion, but for the greater good and the warm feeling of assisting others at all levels of life.

Collectively as an industry, we need to take the focus off money and put it more on people: people who get injured; people who are trying to help those injured workers; people who adjust the claims; people who manage the risk, etc. It all stems from a unified message that needs to start from the top down in any organization. Each industry needs to clearly define their culture and message and this trickles from the top down. How can you expect an adjuster to foster a sense of value and support to injured workers if their supervisor or upper management do not buy in? Likewise for employers – every move you make in your risk management program speaks to a higher vision and approach/philosophy as to how you take care of your workers.

How can you expect an adjuster to foster a sense of value and support to injured workers if their supervisor or upper management do not buy in?

When all of this is aligned internally, then you need to seek out vendors that mirror these philosophies and become true partners in your vision and program, and you need to hold them accountable. If all the above can start to happen, then naturally and organically your retention of employees (both in the company and in our industry in general) will increase, and this all affect the bottom line.

There is a great deal of work to be done. Having these types of conversations is a start.

ABOUT MOLLIE KALLEN

Mollie has over 30 years of professional experience in the worker’s compensation industry. She has worked in the industry from all perspectives, culminating in building a national case management company of over 400 case managers. She started her career as a public school teacher and then moved towards counseling and psychology at a master’s degree level. Her introduction to workers' compensation was providing group and individual counseling to injured workers and their families in the private clinical sector. She then started her case management career with the first national case management company, Intracorp, and quickly became one of their highly successful and most requested case managers. Mollie transitioned to CorVel as a senior case manager for 13 years and became noted in her field in South Florida. She started her own company as a sole practicing case manager, giving customers the highest quality care. MKCM now has over 500 national case managers. Mollie formed MKCM (Mollie Kallen Case Management, Inc.), emphasizing strong customer service, transparency, ethics, quality, and using only experienced case managers. MKCM was acquired on 8/1/22 by The IMA Group. Mollie has become a leader in our industry and speaks at many national and regional conferences, webinars and does a great deal of training in our industry. She is involved in many industry-wide organizations and believes strongly in mentoring young professionals and case managers. She is also a professor at WorkCompCollege, serves on many advisory boards, and believes strongly in the importance of a holistic approach to claims and the empowerment and education of injured workers.

R.E.W.A.R.D. PROGRAM: RETURN EMPLOYEES TO WORK AND REDUCE DISABILITIES

Trust and rapport are also developed and improved after an injury by intentionally establishing and maintaining connections between the company and the injured worker. Supervisors and return-to-work coordinators should contact injured workers often to show concern and maintain relationships, as well as keep them connected to their co-workers. Read more in the REWARD Program Toolkit.

MEET WITH LIKE-MINDED EMPLOYERS

1. Brunch in Murfreesboro. Employers are encouraged to attend the annual (in-person only) REWARD Employer Group meeting that is scheduled right before the Bureau’s Annual Conference begins in Murfreesboro at the Conference Center at Embassy Suites on Wednesday morning, June 11th at 9:45 AM (Central). Brunch is included. Please RSVP. No fee is required to attend this pre-conference REWARD Employer Brunch. The 2025 REWARD Honor Roll for Employers will be announced at the meeting.
2. Virtually Meet the Author. Also, save the date message for the next virtual REWARD Employer Group meeting set for August 5th at 1:00 PM (Central) with this issue's author, Ms. Mollie Kallen. We hope you'll join the discussion.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in the REWARD Report are solely those of the authors and may not reflect the official policy or position of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims, the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, or any other public, private, or nonprofit organization. Information contained in the REWARD Report is for educational purposes only.