Can Injured Employees Return to Work Successfully?

Feb. 6, 2008 - PRLog -- Employee retention, employee engagement and talent management are the buzz words in the Human Resources and Business Community. Every major publication predicts a dire staffing and talent shortage, yet every year employers in the United States allow trained talent to walk out their door after an occupational injury. Historically, the workers’ compensation laws have not adequately supported the return to work process – it is much easier to offer injured employees a settlement than it is to provide them with the opportunity to return to gainful employment.
   
From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee (ISBN:978-0-9789407-6-8, DCRC Training Group Publishing), a new book by author and workers’ compensation expert Margaret Spence, challenges employers to implement proactive return to work programs that retain employees rather than eliminating them from the workforce.

The key reason why employers do not make a valiant effort to retain injured employees – Fear. Fear of re-injury, fear of litigation or just the fear of workers’ compensation. When Margaret made the decision two years ago to write this book, she immediately recognized that she would have to change the way employers view light duty before she could motivate them to implement proactive return to work programs. The book had to accomplish three things:

1.   Change the perception of light duty.
2.   Quantify the cost of not implementing a return to work program.
3.   Provide employers with clear steps that will result in a positive return to work experience.

From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee, definitely accomplished these goals. The book is packed with step-by-step instructions, handy checklists, to do lists and hundreds of valuable tips and techniques employers can implement immediately.

All too often, an injured worker is not put back into the workforce for one of three reasons. First, employers do not feel that they can offer the employee a limited but meaningful job. Or second, they worry that the recovering employee, who is not up to “full speed”, may re-injure themselves and create additional injury claims. Third, the employer lacks the resources and knowledge to systematically manage injuries.

Litigation, manipulation and lack of knowledge reinforce employer’s reluctance to bring injured employees back to work. Most employers do not want to deal with the attitude problems, productivity issues and the morale drain that can occur when injured employees do not want to be at work. Despite all of the negative connotations about injured employees, Margaret feels that From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee provides employers with the only step by step guide to ensure that injured employees successfully return to work after an accident.

This book is a complete how to manual, it is a precise road map that systematically incorporates pre-injury policies and procedures with post accident injury management and human resources best practices. From Workers Comp Claimant to Valued Employee is on sale now at: http://www.workcompseminars.com/bookstore/  it will be available on Amazon.com starting in March.

To interview Margaret Spence, contact her publicist Patricia Campbell at 561-795-3036 or by email at pcampbell@workcompseminars.com

About Margaret Spence, CWC:

President and CEO of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc. and WorkCompSeminars.com.  She is a Board Certified Workers' Compensation consultant, speaker and trainer who ranks among the experts in the field of injury management and return to work implementation. For more than two decades, she has managed workers' compensation claims for Fortune 500 Corporations, Public Entities and small businesses. Margaret is an expert at showing companies how to slash their workers' compensation cost by implementing strategies that drastically reduce injury rates, increase productivity and energize employees to work safely.

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About DCRC Training Group Publishing:

DCRC is the publishing division of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc. a Boca Raton based workers’ compensation consulting and training company.

Website: www.workcompseminars.com/bookstore