NEW ORLEANS–A series of industry surveys released here finds that rising medical costs, the health of their employees and an aging workforce are of major concern among risk managers.

The studies, disclosed at the annual conference for the Risk and Insurance Management Society, were part of a research and education effort conducted by Hartford, Conn.-based Specialty Risk Services (SRS), a property-casualty third-party administrator for workers' compensation and liability claims.

When risk managers were asked about their immediate concerns, “a key factor is the aging workforce,” said Ken Martino, senior vice president, account management, with Specialty Risk Services.

He said this plays into other concerns, such as what will happen as the “boomer” generation begins to retire, including the knowledge gap and the impact of productivity.

“But there is also the issue of people working into their later years,” he said. “Some results of this may be injuries–which applies to both employees and customers.” In an office or retail setting, for example, issues such as depth perception, elevation changes and ergonomics come into play, he said, which can create liability issues.

Another point that came up, he said, is workers' health. “When you talk about eating habits and behavioral issues, people are gaining weight,” commented Mr. Martino, noting that this affects industries, such as airline and automotive, for example, with seat design.

His advice to risk managers is to look at their employee populations and start planning now, as the aging population affects not only risk but productivity factors. “As people retire, where are you going to get your workforce in the future?” he asked.

Mr. Martino said that upcoming generations of workers may be trained technically, but they also work very differently. “They're coming up with a whole different idea of what it is to work, what structure works, the communication tools they're using and the way they like to work,” he said.

Along these lines, he said, older workers will more often be managed by younger workers. “Will those people who are Internet/text messaging/IM savvy relate with those people and be able to work with them? That's going to be a challenge” he predicted.

He added that as the population ages, issues of weight will move to the forefront as medical costs rise. He said one approach to this is building in incentives. For example, his company and others are rewarding employees who get regular health appraisals–such as cholesterol and blood pressure screening–with monthly credits on health care insurance.

The studies found that 52 percent of respondents worry about rising medical costs and 12 percent ranked pandemics as their biggest concern.

Privacy issues and unhealthy employees tied for third with 6 percent each. Looking ahead five years from now, risk managers' worries shift to talent management and an unhealthy employee population, which topped the list of biggest future concerns at 37 percent, followed closely by rising medical costs at 34 percent.

Fifty-nine percent of those polled said they considered overweight employees to be at greatest risk for workplace injuries in the future, followed a far second by depressed employees at 20 percent and the aging workforce at 13 percent.

More than 51 percent of those surveyed expect their workforce to increase over the next 24 months. When asked if they had strategies in place to tackle workforce challenges of the future, 47 percent said they have some plans in place for the future, but only 9 percent strongly agreed that their company was prepared with workforce planning strategies in place.

“Preparedness is critical,” Mr. Martino said. “Risk managers should really be asking themselves now what their vulnerabilities are both today as well as five, 10 or 15 years from now. Where are your exposures geographically, and what are they in terms of the make-up of your workforce?

He advised they should also consider whether they have plans in place for a disaster, such as a natural catastrophe, terrorism event or workplace violence, and whether they are leveraging technology advances to increase productivity and effectiveness.

Mr. Martino said that simple steps such as re-engineering job tasks and sites for older workers or people with disabilities can pay off tenfold in the long run.

In terms of return-to-work challenges, SRS clients said motivating an employee to come back to work following an injury ties with motivating supervisors to play a critical role in the process. Both received 33 percent response. Lack of transitional duties fell second at 23 percent.

SRS said it is currently conducting a targeted survey on returning employees to work and the best practices used by clients. Results are expected by the end of next month.

Special Reports /

Medical Costs A Top Risk Manager Concern

Related Stories

Recommended For You