Corporations looking for improvements in their workers'compensation loss trends should consider employing behavioralsafety procedures that aim to train workers to make safer choicesin the workplace, an insurance broker executive said.

Pressure to boost productivity in the workplace causes workersto take shortcuts that are often “easier, faster and morecomfortable” than following safety procedures, said Leo Carlin ofMarsh's Behavioral Services practice. These shortcuts preventcorporations from making greater improvements in their workers'comp losses. Behavioral systems can be put in place, however, thatencourage workers to make better, safer choices and help reducelosses, he said.

His observations came as part of insurance broker Marsh'songoing series of panel discussions on The New Reality of Risk.Today's presentation was titled, “Workers Compensation: Pre-lossSafety Issues.”

Mr. Carlin said that while companies can reach certainbenchmarks, often they have trouble going beyond those benchmarksand making additional improvements. Behavioral solutions aim tohelp employees make better decisions and follow procedures whilebalancing the pressures of productivity they face daily.

Punitive procedures have limits on what they can accomplish, Mr.Carlin pointed out, and do not have the desired effect ofcontinuing to improve performance.

“We want to make it more likely that folks will take the safepath at every choice point,” said Mr. Carlin. “We are talking abouta positive method that is driven by frontline workers.”

The process is a group effort, where employees measure oneanother's safety and discuss the best way of completing a tasksafely. They not only measure, but celebrate the success of theirefforts as loss safety improves.

There is also a buy-in from management; managers support theprocess and listen to workers, jointly supporting the goal ofcreating a safer workplace.

“There is a learning period for all involved–for workers andmanagement alike,” said Mr. Carlin, but once it is up and runningit is not a labor intensive process.

He said he believed there are no limitations to theimplementation of this process in any workplace.

“Changing behavior is hard work,” observed Mr. Carlin. “It iseven more difficult to produce lasting change in behaviorparticularly in environments that produce the behavior that we donot want.

“Changing behavior requires a change in the behavior's supportsystem,” he continued. “We have to balance the system that alsosupports safe behavior.”

A complete re-airing of the panel discussion is available on theWeb at www.marsh.com.