We worked with a national retailer to reduce accidents, injuries, liability and compensation claims, and other safety-related problems.
TESTING:
| Test Area: | 24 stores. |
| Test Group: | Over 4,000 employees. |
| Timeline: | 2 year study |
RESULTS:
| Worker’s Comp Claims: | Reduced 31% |
| General Liability Claims: | Reduced 23% |
| Overall Reductions: | Almost 26% |
(Over a 5-month period, compared to same 5-month period of previous year.)
METHODOLOGY:
Employee assessments reduce costs. To achieve these safety cost reductions, we used the Orion Systems Safety & Risk Avoidance Pre-Employment Survey. This assessment pinpoints potential employees with dangerous safety attitudes, helping weed out problems before they enter the workplace.
EMPLOYEE ASSESSMENT:
Pre-employment assessment was the first step, using the Orion Systems Safety & Risk Avoidance Pre-Employment Survey (Orion SAR-PE). This tool assesses applicant attitudes in safety and risk avoidance areas.
We designed this survey to screen in applicants likely to minimize safety-related expenses, and screen out applicants who present a risk of increasing safety-related costs.
EMPLOYEE TESTING:
4,208 associates were tested in 24 trial stores. The stores selected had the highest incidents of accidents within the company.
A large number of applicants tested “High Risk” for safety and risk avoidance. Quite a few admitted to high-risk behaviors or accidents on the job, in the past and the present.
Associate Attitudes Towards Safety & Risk Avoidance:
22% High Risk || 20% Marginal Risk || 58% Low Risk
Specific Attitudes Towards Safety & Risk Avoidance
54% believe safety rules exist merely to satisfy government regulations.
36% have taken physical risks in previous jobs.
38% have given up safety considerations in order to work faster.
35% have ignored safety rules to complete a job on time.
39% took safety risks in previous jobs.
18% were involved in careless workplace accidents.
34% were warned about safety violations.
26% violated safety rules in previous jobs.
28% engaged in safety risks to meet deadlines.
18% describe themselves as risk taker at work.
These results demonstrate an important opportunity for employers to identify applicants early in the hiring process who showed strong, positive attitudes towards safety and risk avoidance.
Admissions of High Risk Behaviors & Workplace Accidents
26% were involved in workplace accidents in the last 2 years.
21% were involved in a non-injury workplace accident.
29% were previously injured on the job.
12% were involved in workplace accidents where a co-worker was injured.
15% filed a work-related injury claim.
Informed hiring decisions reduced their risk of safety-related expenses through accidents, injuries, or employees disregarding company safety policies & procedures.
CONCLUSION:
We successfully reversed the daily upward spiral of these excessive, profit-draining costs. Pre-employment assessment data helped turn the tide: reducing workers comp claims and general liability claims. Combined with the anonymous on-board employee assessment, the retailer was able to significantly reduce safety-related costs.