Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Lorrie Coffey

  • Bullying Doesn’t Just Happen at School: Workplace Bullying

    Bullying Doesn’t Just Happen at School: Workplace Bullying

    I recently saw an article about a nine year old boy in Denver who took his own life after being bullied during his first four days of school. My youngest son is eight and I can’t imagine him ever feeling like his only choice is suicide.

    When my oldest was in elementary school he was bullied by another child at his daycare. While he has always been a very headstrong child, the bullying continued to the point where he had put up with enough. Together we sat down with his martial arts instructor, who is phenomenal at working with children to tackle such hard issues, and he helped us to formulate a game plan on how to handle it. With his help, my son was able to show his bully that his words weren’t having the effect he was aiming for, and eventually the two actually became friends.

    Bullying isn’t limited to children. A survey sponsored by the Workplace Bullying Institute in 2017 showed that a staggering number of U.S. workers experienced bullying in the workplace.

    • 5 million U.S. workers reported experiencing bullying in the workplace
    • Women experience bullying, from both women and men, at a much higher rate with 65% of male bullies targeting women and 67% of female bullies targeting women
    • 61% reported that they were bullied by a boss
    • 25% reported that their employer did nothing while 46% reported that their employer conducted a “sham” investigation

    Bullying in the workplace has an impact on the organization as well, including increased turnover, loss of valuable talent, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and even the risk of litigation. So how can employers minimize these risks?

    1. Have a well-defined Harassment Policy. Workplace bullying is a form of harassment. While most bullying may not be illegal, that doesn’t make it okay. Make sure your Harassment Policy includes workplace bullying. Train your leadership on what bullying is, how to conduct themselves to set the example, and how to handle it if an employee reports bullying. Review your Harassment Policy with all new hires, and annually with all staff.
    2. Have and follow a formal investigation process. Your policy should include information on how reports will be handled. Determine who will conduct the investigation, how it will be conducted, and make sure your findings are well documented. Do not ignore reports of bullying and do not put off investigating those reports.
    3. Take proper action to eliminate the behavior. Once you have completed a thorough investigation, determine what action needs to be taken to make the bullying behavior cease. That could be anything from a documented verbal conversation with the accused up to termination. If the accused is not terminated, monitor the situation to ensure that the actions have in fact ceased. Do not assume that it has and let it go.
    4. Promote a workplace that welcomes diversity, inclusion, and a difference of opinions. Work hard to promote an organization that encourages teamwork, uniqueness, and freedom to communicate- even when what an employee has to say may go against the grain. Pay attention to where there may be breakdowns in this and work to build them up. Host company functions that encourage employees to get to know each other. Provide new employees with mentors who can help guide them and integrate them into the organization. And have an open door, where employees feel comfortable voicing concerns or issues. And again, take those concerns or issues seriously because not doing so leads to a breakdown of trust.
    5. When needed, provide employees with outside resources to help them cope. I’m a huge proponent of Employee Assistance Programs. If you have one, make sure both the accused and the accuser are provided with that resource. If you don’t have an EAP, there are other resources available to employees that may help them. You never really know why someone bullies, or what is going on in the mind of someone who is being bullied. Sometimes it takes a trained professional to assist them.

    60.5 million is a staggering and unacceptable number. Bullying is not an inherent trait, it is a learned behavior. Just as I aim to teach my children acceptance and kindness, employers can aim to promote those values in throughout their organization as well.

    Below are some additional resources on bullying:

    www.stopbullying.gov

    https://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/special-topics/workplace-bullying

    https://www.employmentattorneyla.com/blog/2016/05/workplace-bullying-online-anti-bullying-resources-for-employees.shtml

  • 7 Steps to Know if Workers’ Compensation Carrier Working for You

    7 Steps to Know if Workers’ Compensation Carrier Working for You

    Workers’ Compensation is designed to provide medical coverage and lost time coverage to employees who are injured on the job or develop a work-related illness as a result of the work environment.  Unfortunately, determining if an injury or illness is work-related isn’t always easy for physicians to do.

    During a recent visit to a client, she asked me how to handle a claim situation that she had in which the attending doctor couldn’t determine if the injury was work related. She said that she felt as though their carrier was approving all claims, regardless of the legitimacy of the claim.

    So how do you ensure that you are getting the most out of your Workers’ Compensation carrier?

    1. Train your staff. Make sure that anyone who will be responsible for submitting claims understands the process and what information to include in the claim documentation.
    2. Document the scene. If the claim is the result of an accident, take pictures of the scene as soon as possible after being notified of the injury. Look for potential hazards that may have been in the area, caution/warning signage that was posted that was not properly followed, and any other clues that may help determine the validity of the claim. Send those along with your First Report of Injury to the carrier.
    3. Communicate concerns. When an employee comes to you with a claim, you have to report it. But as the employer, you also have the right, and honestly the obligation, to let the carrier know if you have concerns regarding the validity of the claim. Include your concerns in the report sent, and if necessary, pick up the phone and call them once a claim number is established.
    4. File Claims Immediately. Stress the importance of reporting injuries or illnesses immediately to both your managers and your staff. Failure to report a claim immediately, even a minor injury, could result in a delay or denial of claim payment. A delayed report of injury may also be an indication that the injury didn’t really happen at work, so be sure to obtain as much information regarding the reported injury as possible.
    5. Implement a Return to Work Program. If your organization doesn’t already have one, put one in place. It will help to get injured employees back to work quicker and cut down on potential lost wage claims, as well as deter false claims.
    6. Monitor your claims regularly. Audit your active claims on a regular basis. Stay in touch with the carrier on claims that are taking longer than usual to process, claims that have excessive payouts, or claims in which employees have missed an excessive amount of time away from work.
    7. Build a relationship with your preferred physicians. Communicate with the physicians that you send employees to when they are injured on the job. Some physicians will be more open to communication with the employer than others. If you have an employee who is out of work, make sure the physician understands your Return to Work program and what type of light duty assignments you can offer the employee. It may help to get them back to work quicker.

    The more information you are able to provide when submitting claims, the easier it will be for the carrier to properly assess the claim and make an informed decision.

    Is your Workers’ Compensation carrier working for you?

  • Improving Applicant Conversion Rates

    Improving Applicant Conversion Rates

    We recently switched dentist offices. With three boys I always try to schedule their appointments at the same time and that normally means being handed a clipboard loaded with forms; one set for each child.

    To my surprise, when I walked up to the receptionist to sign in, she asked me to look at a computer screen on the counter and “fill out” their paperwork. On each screen, the information was pre-filled. All I had to do was make sure it was correct and click through the screens, then use an electronic signature pad to sign a few pages. It literally took me two minutes to complete the paperwork! Needless to say I was thankful for their easy new patient process. (That was just the beginning, the entire visit went very well)

    Job applicants want ease of use during the application process as well. Research shows that applicant drop off rates are anywhere between 60-75%. One of the top reasons cited is the length of the application. The longer it takes the candidate to complete the application, the higher the drop off rate. Applicants get frustrated with being required to provide information that isn’t necessary during the applicant process such as providing references or having to enter information that is available on the resume they are required to upload.

    According to Appcast, conversion rates can be increased up to 365% by reducing the time of the application process to five minutes or less. Many applicant tracking systems available today allow for easy applications, oftentimes even supporting one-click application processes. These systems also provide organizations with easy access to application metrics including drop off rates.

    When was the last time your organization analyzed applicant drop off rates and reviewed the application process?

  • Dealing With the Disgruntled

    Dealing With the Disgruntled

    I recently received an email from a company (hoping to sell me their services) that included an article on “resignation violence” and told the story of an employee who went in to HR to resign her position and ended up attacking the HR representative.

    Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that while workplace violence by co-workers is relatively low, it is on the rise.

    During my career, there are a few situations that come to mind when I was concerned about going in to a meeting or became concerned during a meeting due to an employee’s response.

    According to OSHA, nearly two million American workers report being the victims of workplace violence annually. Imagine how many instances go unreported each year. Keep in mind that in many of these reports the accused assailant isn’t a co-worker, but visitors, vendors, contractors, and customers.

    The FBI reports that approximately 80% of active shooter events occur in the workplace.

    Workplace violence isn’t always a result of something that occurred in the workplace, often it’s a result of some other event or issue within that individual’s life.

    So how can organizations help to minimize the risk of workplace violence?

    1. Conduct pre-hire checks. This may include contacting employment references, conducting background checks, and requiring drug screens. It could also include searching for a candidate’s social media presence.
    2. Have a well-defined zero-tolerance workplace violence policy. Make sure that your policy outlines what may be considered workplace violence. It’s not just physical violence, it can also be verbal assaults, bullying, visual threats, and more.
    3. Make sure employees know the reporting process. If an employee experiences workplace violence, do they know who to report it to and the process of investigation that will occur as a result? And if an employee files a report, make sure they are taken seriously and investigated promptly.
    4. Provide regular training. All employees should receive annual training on workplace violence. Leadership should understand how to handle complaints, who is responsible for investigating, and what that investigation process looks like. Training should include what to do in the event of an active shooter.
    5. Implement safety precautions. Assess your vulnerabilities. Does your facility have cameras, is a key card required for access, do you regularly do safety walks to make sure outside lighting is in working order, what’s your visitor check in procedure? Once you’ve assessed your weaknesses, determine how you will fix them.
    6. Offer an Employee Assistance Program. I’ve talked about this before. It’s a benefit that I strongly believe in providing to employees. There have been many situations in which I referred employees to the EAP. It is a benefit that can help both those employees who are exhibiting signs of stress or anger that could lead to potential workplace violence as well as the victims of workplace violence.

    Is your organization successfully minimizing the risk of workplace violence?

  • What If You Were Mystery Shopped?

    What If You Were Mystery Shopped?

    One of my clients is a small retail chain in North Alabama. Each month I send out an email communication to their store managers and I always include an article that I feel is relevant to their business to give them some food for thought.

    This month the topic was “If your store were mystery shopped, would you pass?” and the article included a sample mystery shop survey that has 35 questions. I challenged them to “shop” their own store and be brutally honest in their answers. Would they pass the test? And if not, what can they and their staff do to ensure that they would pass?

    As I was drafting the email to them, I realized that this challenge could be put forth to any organization, regardless of the industry they are in.

    The focus areas of the survey include:

    • Cleanliness and Appearance: Is the parking lot clean of debris? Is the office/store neat and well maintained?
    • Employee Behavior: Was the customer acknowledged within 30 seconds of entering the facility? Did the employee offer to assist the customer? Did the employee greet the customer with a smile?
    • Path to Purchase: Were the items the customer needed available? How long did the sales transaction take?

    While granted some of the questions on the survey pertain specifically to a retail environment, they can be adjusted to apply to almost any type of business.

    If your organization was mystery shopped, would you pass the test? If not, what can you do to ensure that you would pass?