Risk Factor

Risk Factor is a Christian Brothers Risk Management Services publication. For information, contact us at rmscustomerservice@cbservices.org or 800-807-0300.

<big>Christian Brothers Risk Pooling Trust</big> <strong>2022 Spring newsletter

Manage your risk with a Total Safety Management program

Managing risk in your workplace is beneficial to both your employees and your organization. The fewer risks your workers take in doing their jobs, the fewer chances there are for accidents and injuries, and therefore, fewer injury claims for employers and missed time from work to hamper the ministry.

In a perfect world, risks would be reduced to nothing, workers would never get injured and we would never file claims. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Accidents happen even in the safest workplaces. The keys are to identify and manage the risks on your premises, and educate workers on the steps they need to take to stay safe. An effective safety management program called Total Safety Management can help to keep everyone on your premises safe while reducing your organization’s injury claims and exposure to liability.

What is Total Safety Management?

A Total Safety Management program includes risk identification, risk control, employee education and training. It includes everyone who is involved in your ministry, from organizational leadership, executive and religious staff, to employees, volunteers, and students—the more people who are involved in safety, the better. The program looks at the big picture to see your organization’s overall risk and what needs to be managed.

A Total Safety Management program includes these benefits:

Management/Leadership Commitment—It is critical to have leadership involved.
Employee Focused, Results Oriented based on Performance—Doing everything possible to keep everyone safe who comes into your facilities/ministries.
Defined Supervisory and Employee Safety Responsibilities
Accountability at all Levels—Supervisors and managers are held accountable for their safety efforts as well as employees.
SMART Goals and Objectives: Specific, Manageable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Frame. Don’t be afraid to set specific goals and objectives. Reducing claims by 10-15% might be achievable.
Specific Well Defined Safety Rules and Procedures. Having policies and procedures in place for at least all your major risks.
Targeted Employee Training based on Risk and Exposure. For instance, in a portable ladder safety program, provide hands-on training for employees who use ladders. Don’t just hand them a copy of the company policy.
Completion and Analysis of a Risk Assessment based on Ministry and Operations. Schools will have some different risks than retreat centers.
Well-Functioning Claims Management System. When claims inevitably occur, it is important to have a well-functioning system in place.

Key components of a Total Safety Management program

Nobody knows the risks your organization faces better than you do, but you might still overlook some potential risks. Risk Identification involves assessing your risks and analyzing your past claims. Take a walk through your premises and look at your overall risks. Look in places you may not think to look. What safety risks are associated with your ministry? Look at past performance to see what claims you might see down the road. If you have 10 slip, trip and fall claims a year, it should tell you something isn’t working. Ask yourself what you are not doing and what needs to be done to reduce those claims.

You can’t have Total Safety Management without Risk Control. These are the measures you put in place to reduce your overall risk exposure. Risk control measures include:

Development of a Safety Program/policies
Establishing safety rules
Developing employee and supervisory safety responsibilities to include accountability
Required training based on risk
Safety awareness initiatives
Accident/injury management

Training based on risk means looking at your specific ministry and deciding when and if safety training is necessary. You may not need a slip, trip and fall policy in Arizona, but in the Midwest in winter, you probably do. Is the training provided to employees at the time of hire, and annually thereafter?

Safety awareness initiatives can include forming a safety committee, producing flyers on workplace safety, emailing safety tips, and even having company safety fairs.

Accident/injury management ensures that procedures are in place for employees to report accidents in a timely manner. Supervisors should know what they are responsible for in terms of reporting accidents. A return-to-work program should be in place for employees.

What answer best describes your organization’s Total Safety Management efforts and activities:

Fully established and implemented across all ministries
Partially established and implemented across all ministries
Mostly an informal approach with some policies and procedures in place
In need of major improvement

Getting started with Total Safety Management

Whether your ministry is a provincialate, high school, retirement home, retreat center, or something else, a Total Safety Management program is vital to the success of your mission. The bigger and more complex the ministry, the more difficult it is to develop, but it’s not impossible. If you have multiple schools or convents, is there a consistent risk control approach throughout those ministries? It’s good to compare locations to find out what one is doing well that the other may not be.

Ask yourself who is at risk of injury and examine your claims experience. Identify the potential risks. Are they slip, trip and fall, or lifting and exertion-related incidents? Are you seeing ergonomic injuries such as Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD) due to sitting in awkward positions, or more environmental/operational injuries due to accidents with ladders or other tools?

What are your company safety efforts and what is being done to prevent employee accidents and injuries? Your first step might be to form a safety or risk management committee. This can help get the flow of information moving. Getting the right people on the committee can produce some great ideas.

If you have a safety program in place, does it include written safety rules and responsibilities for employees, and are there designated safety responsibilities for supervisors in place with accountability measures? It is critical to have supervisors trained and know what they are responsible for in order for the program to be successful.

Any Total Safety Management program should include safety inspections, which should include a self-inspection checklist. While inspections are not a substitute for training, they identify risk potential and issues that need to be managed.

When accidents occur, having policies in place for accident investigation/injury management/return to work can help to eliminate confusion. Make sure there are designated individuals who investigate employee injuries. Let everyone know who follows up and determines if corrective action is needed. Employees need to know what their responsibilities are as to when to report injuries and to whom. Are supervisors doing an investigation right after an accident occurs or waiting until the next day? Your policies should be clear as to what they should do and when.

Completing an annual safety audit/review is a great way to see what your organization did well and what needs improvement. Develop and customize an internal audit form using your Total Safety Management activities. Then review each item and evaluate your organizational efforts.

Let us help

If you don’t have a good safety program, it’s hard to have a successful ministry. While developing a Total Safety Management program might seem like an overwhelming endeavor, Christian Brothers Risk Management Services is here to help you every step of the way.

We have resources and toolkits available for you to download from our website that will help you get started and develop a plan that is right for your ministry. We can also help you develop a plan, or assist with inspections and identifying potential risks. Email us or call us at 800.807.0300.

For a full presentation on the Total Safety Management program, view the on demand webinar.

No limits to the benefits of online employee training

Safety training for employees is a must for organizations across the employment spectrum. Besides keeping workers up to date on the most current safety practices, training employees enhances the performance of the staff and the productivity of the organization.

In today’s work from anywhere environment, it has become next to impossible for organizations to gather groups of employees together for on-site training. The solution for companies, from both a logistical and practical aspect, is online training for their workers.

There are many benefits of online training, for employers and employees alike. For organizations that are still coming to terms with employees working away from the office, or those who are planning on a hybrid office environment in the future, online training provides a way to assure safety standards are being met in a controlled, uniform way. For employees who have become more at ease with the flexibility that work from anywhere situations allow, there is the ability to take the training at their own pace while fulfilling the requirements their employer has set out for them.

To assist organizations in meeting their training needs while allowing employees the freedom to learn from anywhere, Christian Brothers Risk Management Services Online Training offers FREE modules to Risk Pooling Trust members that offer many distinct advantages over in-person employee training.

Workers assign their own timeline

Online training offers a myriad of perks, with perhaps the most obvious being that employees can work at their own pace to complete the coursework. Employees get the training they need, exactly when they need it, and using the device they prefer. This flexibility is a true advantage over in-person trainings that rely on an employee being in a single place at a certain time.

With in-person training, there is always a chance that it may pull an employee away from an important work project during an in-person training, leaving them distracted by what they need to get done. Online training takes the pressure off of employees to prioritize their training over their work or vice versa.

Employers benefit from the flexibility because the pressure is off to organize in-person training that fits the schedule of everyone in a certain department or even the entire company. With employees able to use downtime at work or even the time unwinding before bed to complete their online learning, valuable production time isn’t taken away for training.

Training for employees at every level

New employees can quickly become overwhelmed in the first few weeks on any job. A new employee must complete any work training required to complete the tasks. They will also need general safety training. In many cases, additional or advanced training may be required. That is a lot of training in a potentially short amount of time.

Online safety training can be tailored to the special needs of new employees, with a focus on the skills and knowledge they require to safely perform work and avoid risky situations, and the proper way to report and control common workplace hazards.

Training can also be tailored to ensure the success of new supervisors, or provide guidance and updated recommendations for existing supervisors. Employees at every level can benefit from receiving the most current information in their training.

Do you use online training for your employees?

Yes
No
Only for new hires

You control the curriculum

Your organization is unique and your employee training should be unique. Your online training should be easily configurable to meet the distinctive needs of your organization.

Regulations are constantly changing, requiring employers to revise their training needs. This is true especially in the area of sexual harassment training. More and more states are requiring all employers to provide this type of training to their employees on an annual basis. Online training for employees is one way organizations can quickly come into compliance with these types of state requirements.

Christian Brothers Risk Management Services offers more than 200+ different online training modules on a variety of topics, some of which address risk management, safety, child abuse prevention, and human resources. Each module includes relevant training content on the specific topic, presented in a concise, easy-to-follow format. A short quiz accompanies most modules, which are designed to reinforce the important points presented in the modules. Trainers also have the ability to use only the portion of the training program they find relevant to their organization’s needs.

The ability to track learners’ progress and performance and make training decisions based on insightful reports and analytics is an indispensable asset. Through our web platform, managers and supervisors can monitor participant progress on each module along with quiz results. Human Resources can also monitor the completion of all company and state required training programs, such as sexual harassment prevention. Upon successful completion of each module, participants can download a certificate of achievement for their employment file.

Take control of your employee training

Online employee training should deliver a practical and personalized training and development experience. It helps keep your organization running smoothly, maintain your brand's reputation, helps manage risk, and prevent compliance penalties.

The rapidly evolving safety landscape requires organizations to adapt their training material swiftly while keeping employees engaged in learning. Christian Brothers Risk Management Services can help you develop the training program right for your organization. View our Online Training Catalog.

Live Virtual Training

Besides our online training modules, live virtual training programs are now available. Any ministry that is a member of the Risk Pooling Trust can register for any of these programs for free. To see a current listing of these programs, please visit: https://www.cbservices.org/rms-u.html

Fleet Credit Program helps maximize your savings

The Risk Pooling Trust (RPT) is always looking for ways to help assure the safety of its members while also helping to keep member costs at manageable levels. To better protect RPT members who are the drivers of the more than 26,000 vehicles covered in the RPT, we offer the Fleet Credit Program. Over the years, the Fleet Credit Program has saved members hundreds of thousands of dollars in contribution credits.

To be eligible, the RPT must cover an organization’s vehicles. For a Religious Community, the first step is to complete a Fleet Risk Management Assessment with their assigned Risk Control Consultant. If your organization is a ministry such as a nursing home, thrift store, high school etc., then the Christian Brothers Risk Management Services Online Auto Assessment Survey, which can be found at cbservices.org in the Administrator Section under Risk Control needs to be completed. That’s all there is to it!

Types of training available

The Fleet Credit Program encourages members to take a proactive approach in protecting the lives of their drivers and their fleet exposures. All members who have vehicles covered by the RPT can take advantage of the program, which includes credits for Driver Awareness Training and Behind the Wheel Driver Evaluation.

For Driver Awareness Training, we will give a $50 credit for each documented individual who attended an approved driver awareness training program. Approved driver awareness training programs include:

Live training provided by CBRMS Risk Control Specialists.
Online training programs entitled: Driver Awareness Training and Driver Awareness Training Part II taken through CBRMS online training platform.
AARP–Smart Driver Course (online or live versions).

All other training programs need approval by the RPT.

For Behind the Wheel Driver Evaluations, we will provide a credit of up to $175 for each religious driver who has been evaluated by an approved, behind-the-wheel evaluator that has been paid by the member directly.
The religious driver must be at least 80 years of age or have issues of concern by leadership. A report showing the overall results of the evaluation and an invoice showing the total cost must be provided. The evaluation should include live behind-the-wheel driving exercises and cognitive testing. Approved Evaluators include:

Stroke/Occupational Rehabilitation facilities that have programs for evaluating a driver’s ability to drive safely.
Driver Rehabilitation Specialists. You can find evaluators at the ADED, Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists website aded.net.

All other programs need RPT approval.

How many combined total credits can you get?

Each vehicle insured by the RPT is eligible for a $50 credit over a two-year rolling period. If, for example, on June 1, 2022, your organization has 30 vehicles, and has not received credits before, it would have $1,500 of credit available over a two-year period.

If, October 1, 2022, you receive $1,150 of credits for your members who attended a driver awareness training program, and then $350 credits on May 1, 2023, for two drivers who saw a certified driver rehabilitation specialist, you would be out of available credits until October 1, 2024 when you would then be eligible for another $1,500 in credits, assuming you still had 30 vehicles covered by the RPT.

You can use credits anytime during the two-year period, either right away or spread out. If you are already enrolled in the Fleet Credit Program and have used some credits, don’t let your unused credits go to waste! Check with us to see how many credits you have remaining and when they expire.

Are you taking advantage of the Fleet Credit Program?

Yes
No
Not yet, but I plan to start

How to receive credits

The training and evaluation you provide to your members can help to reduce the likelihood of a motor vehicle accident and lower the severity of an accident. The RPT Fleet Credit Program allows you to give them these safeguards while also providing your organization with a substantial savings.

To receive a driver awareness training credit, sign-in sheets or certificates of completion need to be provided to Christian Brothers Risk Management Services, including the names of the individuals who attended any live training programs or completed any online training.

To receive a behind the wheel evaluation credit, you must provide an invoice showing the cost of each driver evaluation and a copy of the evaluation showing that cognitive and road tests were performed.
All information must be mailed or emailed to Laura Hart at Christian Brothers Risk Management Services, 1205 Windham Parkway Romeoville, IL 60446.

For more information please download our two page Fleet Credit Program.

Employee wellness means employee happiness

If the COVID-19 pandemic taught employers anything, it is that providing a healthy workplace for their employees should be a top priority. This is true not only for the emotional, physical and mental benefit of employees but also for the return on investment for employers. After all, happy, healthy employees are more productive and less likely to miss work.

One way companies are supporting the physical and mental health of employees is through company-sponsored employee wellness programs. These are programs undertaken by an employer in order to improve employee health and also to help individual employees overcome particular health-related problems. They include programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports designed to encourage the health and safety of all employees.

Wellness programs could include fitness programs, health screenings and preventative care, and include activities like stress management education, exercise programs, weight loss competitions, and wellness assessments.

What Are The Benefits Of a Successful Workplace Wellness Program?

There are many reasons why it is beneficial for companies to support and encourage wellness in the workplace, not the least of which is improving employee health behavior. By improving the behaviors of a workforce, employees lower their health risks and adopt healthy habits that will benefit all areas of their lives. That leads to a myriad of benefits for employees and employers alike, including:

Lower costs for employers
Reduced employee stress
Increased productivity
Less employee burnout
Higher employee retention
Improved workplace morale

Programs should emphasize employee wellbeing

Wellness programs can focus on anything from pre-work stretching to nutritional education, and can help develop a work environment that will enable employees to be healthier and reduce their risk of getting injured. According to OSHA, companies could reduce the number of injuries occurring during work hours by 15% by implementing wellness programs aimed at education.

The types of employee wellness programs vary per size of the business, with many companies focusing on teaching their employees how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Some examples of employee wellness initiatives that can be adopted in the workplace include:

Fitness activities. Many jobs involve repeated motions, which can lead to Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) like tennis elbow. Employees who sit long hours in an office need time to exercise or move around. Regular stretching and exercise can reduce the likelihood of an employee developing one of these injuries. Some companies even provide on-site gym services and fitness classes to help their employees keep fit.
Smoking cessation programs. Employees who smoke cigarettes cost their employers more money due to health issues compared to non-smokers. Some workplaces have found it in their best interest, both ethically and economically, to offer smoking cessation programs to their employees.
Lunch and healthy snacks. Promoting healthy eating in the workplace benefits everyone. Instead of workers leaving for a fast-food lunch, providing a lunch and snack program will allow them to stay on campus, eat healthily and engage with their coworkers.
Employee assistance programs. These employer-sponsored programs provide employees with personal support for issues such as substance abuse, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Naps. While it may seem counterintuitive, naps have clinically proven benefits when it comes to productivity. Allowing employees a brief nap after lunch allows them to return to their projects with renewed energy.

Did You Know?

According to the Academy to Innovate HR, in 2021, the percentage of employers that invested in wellness solutions for their employees…

88% Mental Health
81% Stress Management/Resilience
87% Telemedicine

Starting an Employee Wellness Program

The key to success for any employee wellness program is employee engagement. Engagement involves creating and maintaining a sincere interest and involvement in living a healthy life—at home and at work. Active participation in these programs results in employees making healthy decisions (e.g., choosing healthy foods, quitting tobacco, exercising regularly, managing stress, drinking less alcohol).

Engagement also includes employee input and involvement in the design and execution of the wellness program. When designing a company’s employee wellness program, it is important to ensure that all parts of the program are tailored to provide benefits for both the staff and the company. Set up a dedicated team with HR supervision to create the program. Talk with employees to identify the areas that need to be addressed, then develop goals for the program and the strategies that can be used to achieve them.

Finally, use your company’s communication channels, such as company newsletters, social media and bulletin boards, to let employees know about the program and how they can participate.

A good employee wellness program should cater to the employees’ emotional, physical, and mental wellness. Consider addressing some of the simple initiatives first to generate change momentum. As your program matures, you can always tackle some of the more difficult issues. The important thing is to get started!