Singing that Safety Song
Posted by Robert Phelan on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 @ 02:19 PM
When you're in the Risk Advising game you can go long periods of time wondering if any of your clients are really listening to you. Last week I had one of those moments when my world brightened. I knew I had made an impact.
Ten years or more ago I was sitting with a client who was starting to struggle with workers comp losses. I made an impassioned speech about how the world was changing and safety needed to be a top priority. I even predicted that he would have his own safety director in the future. He listened politely but I could tell he thought I was a little crazy.
Then disaster struck one day. An experienced supervisor working without proper fall protection fell and broke both femurs. Ultimately, the claim settled for $700,000. My client's EMR (Experience Mod Rate) went through the roof and his insurance tripled over night. Profits were gone. Work was harder to come by.
He was a smart guy and maybe he remembered more of safety speech than I gave him credit for. It was easy for him to connect the dots. It was time to get some safety training.
Last week one of my associates visited this client to discuss their current claim situation which is pretty good. He had just hired his second safety professional and this company only has 30-35 employees. He related the day he heard me make my speech and told my associate how incredulous he was at the time. "Safety training is what the insurance companies" provide he remembered thinking to himself. This guy Phelan is nuts if he thinks I am going to spend money on safety. Now he has two safety professionals in a 30 employee construction company
It's a down economy and they're doing well. They aren't cutting back on safety. They're investing even more. Do you know what the difference is between this contractor and most others I visit? A lot! He gets it. Most others don't. A contractor's emphasis on safety could very well determine their financial future but instead they focus on buying cheap insurance.
Are you going to wait for the serious accident before you emphasize safety or are you going to start today? Learn from the lessons of others. Call me. It will make my day and may very well save the life of a valued employee