"52 in 52" - Interviews with Wisconsin Business Professionals

Hi Everyone,

In this segment, Steve Kohlmann discusses the offerings and mission of the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin (IBAW). The mission is simple: To enhance the Wisconsin environment for independent business through active member participation in the political process. To encourage the growth and development of the Wisconsin business owner through education. To develop a strong support system and network for business owners throughout Wisconsin. R&R's Pete Frittitta has participated as a speaker on ObamaCare and I have attended other speaking events where the topics have been informative and timely.  Because of that, I asked Steve to share more about this organization with my audience members.

Atty. Daniel Finerty of Lindner @ Marsack, S.C., will discuss the challenges that businesses are currently facing and will introduce us to a broad retaliation claim under the Affordable Care Act that will likely cause headaches for businesses.  Daniel will share the keys to reducing and managing the risks of employment claims and provide other helpful information that business owners should consider whether they act proactively to avoid claims or reactively after a claim is filed.

Nicole Hottmann from the Alaris Group discusses their 24/7 Nurse Care Hotline service. It offers a lot of benefits to employers and employees and it's their fastest growing service offering. Alaris offers a 24/7 nurse care hotline for employees to call right after an accident and those injuries are then triaged accordingly. Studies have shown that this process has reduced OSHA recordables up to 40%.

Sometimes it's difficult to bring an injured worker back to modified duty at your location. If you're NOT in a "four-wall" location, it can be even harder (trucking, staffing, construction, etc.).  The Alaris Group has a program that helps employers identify alternate locations for injured workers to return to employment within their light duty restrictions. Why would you do this?  It makes a dramatic impact on your work comp experience mod and workers compensation premium.  There are tons of benefits for the Employer and the Employee to utilize this program beyond premium savings, which will be addressed in this segment.

Kathy Weber is the owner of Strategic Solutions in Performance Management. There are three shorter sessions below. In session one, we discuss Human Capital Management 101 - the basic life cycle of an employee. Session two will be on Behavioral Interviewing vs. Traditional and session three will be on the Top 10 Ways to Avoid a Performance Improvement Plan.

Nancy Wilkes is a PR Director for Platypus Advertising + Design.  Bad things can happen to good businesses, and when they do, Nancy is there to help business owners deal with a variety of things that they likely have never been exposed to before.

Jeff Coon and the team at Stream Creative have been a great partner throughout this 52 in 52 series. Last June, they taught me the fundamentals of inbound marketing, something that was completely new to me. This process that Jeff will take you through in the three clips below has helped myself and R&R Insurance generate over $1,000,000 in sales since last June, just through this series alone.

Independent Medical Examinations (IME's) are one of the most useful tools to combat workers compensation claims that have "fraudulent" qualities. In many claims, treatment seems to go on and on with no end in sight. IME's can be useful to establish an End of Healing, address whether or not injuries are work-related (perhaps by reviewing a job description of a job video), and to address an individual's ability to return to work or future restrictions. It is important to note that an IME doctor can AGREE with an injured worker's treating physician also. There were many times in my Claim Adjusting career where I was certain an injured worker was malingering, but the IME report came back and agreed with the treating doctor. That's the way it goes some times though.

RED FLAGS: Do you have a claim that looks like it could get expensive? Do you have information or co-workers telling you the employee is involved in outside activities, leagues/sports, second job? Are you aware of pre-existing conditions to the same body part? Does the employee have difficulties at home or have requests been denied for vacation time (hunting season)? Was the claim filed on a Monday morning, or after a holiday weekend? There are all sorts of red flags that I discuss with my clients and then determine if it makes sense to request surveillance.