When you ask Patti Colwell, workers' compensation programmanager for Southwest Airlines(SWA), what she likes most about her job, her response is simple:“I can't imagine doing anything else.”

One doesn't necessarily have to love managing a workers' compprogram in order to do the job well (after all, not everyone does),but Colwell's passion is sincere as she enthusiastically discussesher program.

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Colwell and her program receive complete support fromSouthwest's leadership, she says, and the workers' comp team has astrong business partnership with its service providers—one of thethings of which she's most proud. She stresses that all partieswork hard to ensure that everyone involved in the airline's WCprogram takes an ownership interest and responsibility foroutcomes. Which is essential, because SWA has about 48,000employees spread over six international and 94 domesticdestinations.

“We're here to serve the employees,” she says. “We do the bestwe can to mitigate difficult situations and make them as right aswe can make them.”

Southwest's corporate culture places great emphasis on customerservice, and the workers' comp team under Colwell's leadershipembraces a quite similar philosophy by putting the employee first.Her team, along with the corporate safety and security departmentof which they're a part, starts from the date of hire to educateemployees on the requirements of their jobs and how to performthose duties safely and successfully.

The most at-risk employees are the baggage handlers—which SWAcalls “ramp agents”—and provisioning agents who load the plane withbaggage, food and drinks, paper goods and snacks in addition tocargo. “I have been in the belly of the airplane, with knee padsand stacked bags, worked the customer service positions, opened theemergency exit door and deployed the slide—and even evacuatedduring a simulated emergency,” says Colwell. “We provide safetyprograms to highlight safe-lifting techniques and the importance ofstretching and bending before starting work. We also teach them howto properly climb and reach.”

The airline also invites physicians and otherhealthcare professionals to tour its operations areas. “Unless youunderstand the way our employees have to perform their jobs, youcan't really understand the physical stress on their bodies,” shesays.

Colwell has had orthopedic specialists get inside the bins ofplanes on their hands and knees to see what ramp agents have to doevery day, for example. They simulate stacking bags from floor toceiling, including overhead lifting, so they understand how backinjuries happen and what muscles are involved. Healthcare providershave found the visits beneficial in structuring treatment plans.“When employees get the proper treatment faster, they can heal andwe can get them back to work faster, too,” she notes.

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Southwest's return-to-work program was recently restructured.Previously, modified duty was voluntary; employees would receivefull salary continuation benefits even if they declined modifiedduty. Under the restructured program, modified duty is offered toall injured workers who aren't deemed temporarily completelydisabled. For non-union and some collectively bargained workgroups, there are now financial consequences to decliningmodified-duty work.

It's still early, but Colwell says she's seeing great success.“Studies show that employees heal faster if they're doing some sortof meaningful work,” she explains, “and we've seen that come tofruition. We're seeing employees released to full duty or regularduty jobs more quickly in those work groups than under thevoluntary program.”

Colwell is especially proud of how well Southwest compares tothe airline industry overall. Of the seven major carriers that metto do some benchmarking on WC costs, in the past six years SWA'saverage incurred and average paid-on-indemnity claims is about 40%less than other airline carriers; its litigation rate is about 40%lower than the other carriers; and its average lost work days perclaim is about 15 days fewer than other carriers.

Colwell has been told that the airline's WCapproach is much different than that taken by many of itscompetitors. “Our TPA, managed-care services and pharmacy benefitmanagers all work together,” she explains. The workers' comp claimsdata is integrated so that Southwest and its service providers aresure they're implementing the best programs to serve employees,help them heal and get them back to work in the most cost-effectiveway possible.

Although it's typical to have regular claim reviews, Colwell andher team approach the process with collaboration in mind: Southwestgathers claims adjusters and supervisors, the person on theworkers' comp team who is responsible for that particular area ofthe company, the airline's workers' comp attorney, outsideattorneys, the dedicated nurse supervisor, the managed care andpharmacy benefit managers, and occasionally leaders from theemployee's local work location if questions are raised aboutspecific claims.

“We talk about those claims and what it takesto get that employee the necessary treatment, what are theobstacles, what do we have to do to get that person well and backto work,” she says. “Of course we're interested in how much it'sgoing to cost, but our primary focus is the injured employee.”

If an employee injures his back, for example, many companies anddoctors might urge conservative treatment and a wait-and-seeapproach. But if a Southwest worker injures his back and an MRIwould help diagnose the injury sooner, then the airline authorizesthe MRI early on. She'd rather do that than wait six weeks and findout that the employee needs surgery, which they would have learnedearlier by authorizing the MRI immediately.

Colwell's advice for her fellow workers' comp managers issuccinct: Practice the golden rule—with employees, vendors,leadership and everyone you deal with.

“I believe this is an area where we can still make adifference,” she adds. “There's always something that can be donebetter to improve the program and something that can be done betterto help our employees. I strive for that every day.”

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