It’s easy to see how you can save money by shortening return-to-work time. The less time your injured worker is out, the lower your overall claims costs. But getting people back to their job sooner provides other benefits as well.

For one thing, the ramifications of a missing worker can permeate your entire company. Nationwide, the average injured worker who misses work is out eight days. Being “down a person” for that long can lower productivity, momentum and morale. That’s frustrating for everyone.

On the other hand, shortening return-to-work time:

• Saves time needed to manage workers’ comp claims. That frees you up to work on something more positive.
• Saves you from having to hire a revolving door of inexperienced temps. Lack of on-the-job knowledge causes delays, mistakes and possibly more injuries!.
• Saves you from disappointing (or angering) customers with delayed production and missed deadlines. That saves business relationships because unhappy customers go elsewhere. When they do, that revenue source may be lost forever.
• Saves unnecessary “wear and tear” on your injured worker. The sooner they can get back to work, the less time they will spend languishing at home worrying about their job and their financial future.

Offering on-site physical therapy helps injured workers return to work faster. Jobsite sessions make it easier to keep therapy appointments. And workers don’t waste time traveling to an off-site clinic.

Workers heal faster when they can work one-on-one with their therapist for the entire session. They can see progress sooner, and that motivates them to work harder at recovery.

On-site physical therapy also provides a unique bonus benefit. Each employee returns knowing how to perform their work safely. They are equipped to avoid future injuries. That’s because their physical therapist can see exactly what their job entails. Workers not only regain strength and range of motion, they learn how to move properly as they work.

You Need a Formal Plan 

You can try to achieve each of these savings in a hit-or-miss manner. However, the smarter approach is to implement an official Return-to-Work program. Companywide policies and procedures help make your claims process smoother. They tell employees you care about their welfare. You expect them to return as soon as possible, and you want them to be healthy.

Allowing injured workers to return to light duty puts them back on a regular work schedule sooner. They’re earning a paycheck instead of relying on disability payments. Light duty also helps your company accomplish work that needs to be done. That keeps productivity from falling so far behind.

An effective return-to-work program keeps injured workers engaged with your company and their job. That contributes to increased job satisfaction. And happy employees create higher retention rates. That benefits your bottom line, and it boosts your company’s reputation as a desirable employer.

Who knows? With a consistent, effective Return-to-Work program in place, you may even convince your insurance carrier to reduce your premiums.