Workers Comp | PEO | Staff Leasing | ASO | State Comp Program

Five Ways to Keep Safety Top Of Mind With Your Temporary Employees

by David Schek | Aug 27, 2013 | Staffing Company, Tips

When I operated my national staffing firm for 15 years, we would always review “on the job” safety procedures during the interview and orientation process. We also tried to follow up periodically on the safety guidelines we disseminated. We found that education about the importance of safety at our staffing firm, enabled us to keep a low mod and maintain relatively low workers compensation rates.

Here are 5 things we did in our staffing firm that may help your temporary and permanent staff keep safety top of mind.

Place stickers on employee pay envelopes that say “Think Safety” or “Put Safety First.” These little reminders will help employees focus on safety while they are on the job.
Add a web page to your web site for employees to anonymously report unsafe acts by other employees or clients operating unsafe facilities.
Reward an employee who reports a fellow employee who is fraudulently using your workers compensation benefits.
Give a monthly bonus to employees who suggests how jobs can be done more safely.
If you have a Company newsletter or blog, regularly include articles on ways to improve on the job safety. If you do not have a Company newsletter, Work Comp Staffing Solutions can help you create one.

Remember maintaining low workers compensation rates often depends on having a low mod; which reflects good safety practices.

Please contact me at davidstaffing@gmail or visit us at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com.
Work Comp Staffing Solutions is ready to provide a free workers compensation quote as well as help you develop a company newsletter/ blog that promotes safety and other positive things about your staffing company.

All the best
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
American Staffing Association Member
California Staffing Association Member
Exclusive PEO Broker for the United States Staffing Association

Visit Work Comp Staffing Solutions at Booth 104 at the A. S. A. Orlando

What’s the Difference Between a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and Your State Fund for Workers Compensation Insurance?

by David Schek | Aug 19, 2013 | Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Staffing Company, Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance

Besides the obvious answer that a Professional Employer Organization will usually offer lower rates, there are many other important differences. For example, your PEO is your business partner in helping your staffing business maintain safe operations, so it can offer lower rates than your competitors who use the State Fund.

Your PEO partnership is also unique in a few additional ways:

1. Your PEO will work with you on making sure you receive the lowest possible legitimate rates for your various job codes. Since the State knows it is usually the “last resort” for your workers compensation insurance, they really have no incentive to help you lower your rates.

2. Your PEO will work harder to investigate accidents and claims. The PEO has an economic incentive to only pay legitimate claims, since they do not want to lose you as a client (if your rates should increase from fraudulent claims ) and they are responsible as an insurer if your claims exceed your premiums. Conversely, the State Fund, knowing they are your insurer of last resort, has little incentive to investigate claims.

3. The State Funds staff are usually “9-5ers.” If you have workers compensation needs after hours, like receiving a rate for a new code, then you will have to wait until your request meets the States time table.

These are all reasons that if you are still using the State Funds for workers compensation insurance, you should get quoted with a Professional Employer Organization ASAP.

Contact Work Comp Staffing Solutions at davidstaffing@gmail.com and visit us at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com.

The quote is Free and like your future PEO, we are always available to help you.

Visit Work Comp Staffing Solutions at Booth 104 at the A. S. A. Orlando Conference

Work Comp Staffing Solutions.com—- Workers Compensation Specialists and Staffing Business Consultants For Over 20 Years.

Using Social Media Can Lower Your Workers Compensation Rates

by David Schek | Aug 12, 2013 | Consulting Services, News, Staffing Company, Tips, Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance

Social Media can be a key tool to communicate the high priority that your staffing company places on operating a safe staffing firm. In variably, as your employees and clients receive your information about work place safety issues, you will experience fewer workers compensation claims which will translate into lower workers compensation rates.

All of Work Comp Staffing Solutions consulting clients promote their safety practices and safety philosophy through weekly or monthly blogs via social media outlets like Linked In and E mail blog lists. As their employees and clients read this material, they understand that safety is an important value to their company.

Here are some immediate benefits of integrating safety issues into your social media marketing program.:

1. Clients and prospective clients will know that you are a professional staffing firm that is serious about safety issues.

2. Applicants and employees who have a history of filing fraudulent comp claims will see that your staffing company is involved in all aspects of safety and claims management- putting your firm at less risk of being a target for workers compensation insurance fraud.

3. Social media can help inform applicants, employees and clients of new or updated safety procedures.

4. These safety messages can be E-communicated along with other marketing and sales information about your firm creating a brand that reflects very positive staffing values.

Work Comp Staffing Solutions is ready to help develop your safety social media campaign. Please give me contact us at davidstaffing@gmail or visit us at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com for a FREE workers compensation quote.

Visit Work Comp Staffing Solutions at Booth 104 at the A. S. A. Orlando Conference

StaffingCompSolutions.com—- Workers Compensation Specialists and Staffing Business Consultants For Over 20 Years.

How Do I Maintain My Gross Profit When My Workers Compensation Rates Are Increasing By 20,30, and 40+%?

by David Schek | Aug 7, 2013 | Consulting Services, Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Staffing Company, Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance

I receive many comments from staffing owners asking how to maintain their businesses gross profit when they receive significant workers compensation rate increases. Of course they can shop for a new policy with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO,) but for some, getting lower rates through a new policy just is not possible; especially if their experience mods are too high.

Here are my suggestions for maintaining your gross profit that worked well with my national staffing company, as well as with my current staffing consulting clients.

1. Explain and provide back up support to your clients about the hardened workers compensation market using some of the articles from Work Comp Staffing Solutionss previous blogs. https://StaffingCompSolutions.com/blog/

2. Negotiate increases with clients so they go into affect over a few months. For example on a code 9410, where your comp rate was 5 %, and is now 8 %, ask the client to accept a 3 point increase over 3-4 months instead of at one time.

3. Try not to make sudden rate increases with a client. Study which codes are most affecting your Gross Profit and negotiate with your client for those rates only. They will appreciate that you are willing not to raise rates across the board.

4. Communicate rate increases in person to your larger clients (or all your clients.) Buy your client lunch or coffee when chatting about this sensitive issue. Sending out template notices of rate increases can seem cold and usually alienates the client. Poor for relationship building!

5. As a last resort, be more creative with your temporaries pay in order to maintain margins, yet still get the same productivity. For example have a “starter” rate for new temporaries that may be .50 less than the “experience ” rate. This may help soften the impact to your total Gross Profit– depending on your turnover.

Remember to always be prospecting for new clients who may be more open to your new higher rates- especially if you can deliver superior service and value. Many of my staffing consulting clients use social media tools for this.

As we all know, the staffing industry is just getting its sea legs back after the rough economic storm called the Great Recession.

I have many more suggestions that I regularly share with my consulting clients to help their gross profits.

Please feel free to contact me at davidstaffing@gmail.com or visit our web site consulting page at https://StaffingCompSolutions.com/Work Comp Staffing Solutions-staffing-consulting-services/

Visit Work Comp Staffing Solutions at Booth 104 at the A. S. A. Orlando Conference

StaffingCompSolutions.com—- Workers Compensation Specialists and Staffing Business Consultants For Over 20 Years.

Big Data Meets Workers Compensation

by David Schek | Aug 6, 2013 | News, Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Staffing Company, Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance

Well it was only a matter of time before the two met. And the results are not great for staffing companies. Insurance companies are using complex analytics (aka Big Data) as a substitute for human judgement in the underwriting process. The insurance carriers believe big data will better screen for risky clients and improve their overall profitability.

Underwriters have for decades consulted detailed actuarial tables that have helped them serve as gate keepers for insurance companies. Specifically, there was to some degree an element of human involvement in this process — that could work in a staffing client’s favor.

The combination of the emergence of big data over the last few years, and the insurance industry experiencing under preforming investment portfolios, has resulted in insurance carriers changing their traditional underwriting methods. Now, they believe by removing the human element in the underwriting process, they will experience greater returns in their workers compensation portfolios.. Here is an article that explains this change.

http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20130113/NEWS04/301139979

This may be one reason why staffing companies are turning more and more to Professional Employer Organizations ( or PEO’s ) to meet their workers compensation and back office needs. To be sure, PEO’s use insurance carriers like everyone else, but they usually are allowed to take on more risk because of their significant financial relationship with the carrier. In fact most PEO’s have millions of dollars in deposits with their carriers. Most staffing companies of course can not afford these types of deposits.

Let’s talk about how a PEO can help solve your workers compensation challenges. Contact me at davidstaffing@gmail.com and visit us at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com

Visit Work Comp Staffing Solutions at Booth 104 at the A. S. A. Orlando Conference