Public risk pools and their respective member organizations continue to face critical challenges. In addition to financial pressures, they deal with significant risks and exposures, and must design emergency-response plans for potential disasters like the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 or Hurricane Katrina.

As a result, public entities are striving toward a new vision for risk management programs and have begun to embrace innovative best practices that both transform old processes and support emerging program needs.

The following are seven best practices many public entities have instituted to achieve a new vision for program success.

#1: A Strategic Automation Plan

As public risk pools grow and mature, their operations have become more complex. Rapid member expansion and increased transactions have resulted in public entities outgrowing their current information technology infrastructure.

Many of these entities traditionally used legacy systems that lacked contemporary automation tools. As a result, manual, labor-intensive processes hampered operational efficiency.

To respond to infrastructure needs, many public entities are outlining a strategic automation plan, which projects program needs for the next five-to-10 years and outlines system requirements to support their new vision and objectives.

The plan must take into account the need for increased system integration and the seamless sharing of information across the organization and with member agencies.

Leveraging a modern platform–such as browser-based technology which is native to the Internet–has become a major priority.

#2: Supercharged Workflow for Claims and Policy Administration

For numerous public risk management programs, claims management and policy administration are considered core processes, important “touch points” with member organizations and key areas to increase efficiency.

To supercharge workflow in these areas, many organizations are using consolidation methods to create a centralized claims and policy center that integrates systems, people and processes onto a single platform.

This integration ensures sharing of information across the claims value chain, enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, and optimal productivity throughout the claims and underwriting departments.

Automation tools–such as automated forms, rules-based workflow and diary systems–help to fulfill routine administrative functions. These tools convert manual operations into automated electronic processes, providing significant efficiency gains and allowing public entities to focus on what truly matters–personalized services to members.

#3: Sophisticated Risk and Exposure Analysis

Public entities have many unique risks, particularly since they offer a wide range of municipal services–including public works, police and fire rescue services, to name just a few. As a result, the biggest challenge often is identifying where critical losses are coming from in order to help members respond with appropriate loss prevention.

To support these efforts, public entities utilize risk management information systems to detect high-loss, high-risk areas. The RMIS acts as a centralized data repository to capture the full range of claims, risk and exposure data–information that is then closely measured, analyzed and reported on.

Member statistics contained in these reports identify trends and allow organizations to design appropriate safety or training programs. A RMIS also allows public risk pools to identify high-risk members that may need one-on-one consulting to improve performance.

On a regular schedule, reports are automatically generated and distributed to each member's risk manager and safety officer, empowering these individuals to further control losses and exposures. These reports pinpoint high-severity claims and departments where a high frequency of claims occurs.

For instance, one public entity identified a high rate of shoulder injuries among its garbage collectors. The organization decided to test the effectiveness of mechanical lifts. Subsequent reports revealed that the initiative helped reduce shoulder injuries, improving the quality of life for workers.

#4: Online Member Portals

To minimize administrative problems and enhance service within public risk programs, many organizations have implemented an online member portal to streamline communication.

These portals strengthen ties between the public risk pool and its member agencies, creating an online community to share risk management policies, guidelines and best practices.

The member portals also provide a forum for the study, discussion and development of loss control initiatives, often via online courses that appeal to various member agencies.

In many cases, these portals provide a single point of entry for all risk pool services, including reporting a claim, updating a policy schedule for renewal and processing endorsements.

#5: Outsourcing Processes and Applications

Many public entities with a full plate of responsibilities embrace outsourcing as a means to expand their capabilities. In fact, about half of all public risk organizations currently outsource one or more business processes.

For small-to-midsized entities, outsourcing provides an opportunity to level the playing field, allowing them to offer the same services as their larger counterparts and benefit from sophisticated applications without the time or costs of having to build the infrastructure from the ground up.

Today, public entities rely on a combination of outsourcing models to satisfy their operational needs.

For example, business process outsourcing enables public entities to contract out a specific business function to a third-party service provider, such as outsourcing medical bill review services.

In addition, many public entities are using a “Software as a Service” model, in which they essentially subscribe to a browser-based application and outsource the maintenance of this application to the software vendor.

#6: Incentives, Awards and Recognition

To provide member organizations with an incentive to improve risk management performance, many public entities offer a discount on contribution rates (premiums) if members adhere to specific risk management standards and best practices.

These public entities work closely with members so they understand the benefits of complying with each requirement. Many risk pools leverage their online portal to administer these incentive programs.

For example, members log onto the portal to quickly compute the financial reimbursement they can earn–making it fun and easy to participate. Once agencies sign up, they're motivated to check off additional requirements and see their rebates increase.

The overall objective of incentive programs is to support behavioral changes that contribute to a culture of safety and loss prevention.

Besides financial incentives, many public entities host award ceremonies to recognize members for their unique risk management programs or successful achievements in loss control or injury prevention.

#7: Training and Education

Public entities now offer comprehensive risk management training and educational programs complete with in-person training, onsite safety inspections and one-on-one consultation.

Many entities also have an extensive online library of risk management resources. These libraries educate member agencies on the knowledge and know-how to create safer work environments and how to implement their own innovative programs.

In many cases, individually customized seminars–as well as audio and video training–complement an extensive schedule of workshops. As public risk pools analyze members' educational needs, they continue to develop new and innovative training programs and resources.

A public entity that employs all seven best practices will reap the benefits of today's new vision for public risk management success. The benefits include process transformation that results in increased efficiency, intelligence and organization-wide collaboration.

Behind the curtains of a successful program is a solid IT infrastructure that supports member services, financial rewards and best practices.

This infrastructure employs advanced technology to streamline the claims process and provide data analysis capabilities to design effective loss-control initiatives. It's a win-win situation for the public risk pool and its member organizations, as both are benefiting from significant savings and program improvements.

Special Reports /

Seven-Step Best Practices Program Helps Public Risk Pools Maximize Tech Support

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