If not monitored properly, workers’ compensation for charter schools can quickly become one of its most significant expenditures. Whether small or large, a charter school with frequent workers’ compensation claims will often pay 50 to 100 percent more in premiums than a similar charter school without the suits.
Over the next few posts, we will share some data gathered from a research study done by the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation regarding best practices for schools and accident prevention. While the list isn’t an exhaustive list of all possible employee safety, it certainly provides some extremely beneficial strategies for lowering the costs of your worker’s compensation insurance and maintaining a safe working environment.
Overall benefits of managing employee safety
On average, the schools that participated in the study achieved the following results:
- A 34.6 percent reduction in premium
- A 78 percent reduction in claims
- One school district had zero claims in three out of the last five years
- percent credit rated) by devoting a significant effort to its safety process. This school saw a 54-percent reduction in premiums (approximately $151,000).
- All school districts experienced reductions in injury frequency and severity.
- Several school administrators stated they believe the improvements in the employee safety and health process have positively impacted employee attitudes and morale.
Best Practices for Schools
Demographics of the schools involved in the study
- The schools have an average of 620 employees, ranging from 140 to more than 1,000 employees.
- The person with chief responsibility for safety varied widely but tended to be someone with the title of business manager, operations manager, or facilities manager. These
persons tended to be responsible for non-teaching staff, facilities, and grounds.
Management commitment
- Safety culture. What importance does the top administration place on safety?
- Some school board members may be experienced business people with a solid understanding of compensation. When available, take advantage
of this experience. - All schools surveyed agree at least one key individual needs to be committed to safety compensation.
- Accountability is vital. Assign someone the responsibility for safety, provide them with the tools, training, and authority to act, and then hold them accountable.
- Once a commitment to safety is in place with top administration, address safety responsibilities and accountability within each facility and across all departments.
- Include employee safety measures in the performance-review process. Set safety goals, communicate expectations, establish performance measurements, and hold people accountable.
Employee Involvement
Every school that has experienced success in accident and claim avoidance has stressed the importance of employee involvement in the safety process. In addition, many schools also use some form of safety committee or team. The most effective teams have a well-defined purpose, good decision-making skills, and the authority to act on their decisions. They consider meetings a a high priority and make all necessary accommodations for each member to attend. Involvement in safety activities is so significant, many schools are willing to pay overtime, rearrange schedules or provide substitutes to enable employees to participate.
The activities and responsibilities of each safety committee/team vary and include any number of the following:
- Conduct regularly scheduled meetings
- Post-meeting minutes informing the entire organization of the team’s activities and accomplishments
- Conduct safety inspections and oversee the inspection process
- Monitor the status of safety issues and hold people accountable for corrective action
- Monitor the safety-suggestion program, implement suggestions, and provide feedback
- Constantly communicate safety issues to top administrators to keep them informed