Where is Your Organizational Future Heading?

Bradley W. Marston, ARM, AIS

Presents the following:

Total Behavioral Management (TBM) System

Organizational Point Average (OPA) Process

Discovery, Assessment, Report, Tracking (DART) Process

The Total Behavior Management System was part of Mr. Marston’s nearly 25 years working with Edward Deming’s (www.deming.org) theories and process improvements with Organizations. There was the Total Quality Management (TQM) System (Deming’s) which basically illustrated that there was an equal and proportional correlation between Production, Quality, & Safety. Also, one of Dr. Deming’s 4 pillars of Quality was psychology of the employees however 50 plus years ago the average employee was retained for 30 years versus 3 years.  

 The Total Behavior Management System is a predictive model based analysis which looks at what drives behaviors (www.workliv.com) …….and not just for the 15% of their lives while at works rather it looks at what drives human behaviors as we truly work to live versus live to work….thus WorkLiv was created.

 Employee retention is the next Tsunami for Organizations…….it will impact every aspect of their business.  

Prior to Bradley Marston’s process improvement, Insurance Companies would use solely a business’s Experience Modification Factor (E-MOD) to determine their premiums paid to cover the future losses which was derived from the previous 4-5 years of Worker’s Compensation Claims. Now, based upon his expertise in this area, this paradigm like all, needs to evolve. Mr. Marston’s process looks at other factors that are affecting behaviors in the workplace in order to derive a more accurate way to measure Worker’s Compensation Underwriting prices as well a better way to measure an Organization wellness which would be extremely valuable also for Mergers & Acquisitions, business financing, awarding contracts, and a way to for CEO’s, CFO’s, COO, Risk Managers, & Human Resource professionals to gage their employees. 

The Organization Point Average is thus a culmination of the Employees Credit Score, E-MOD, BMI, age, marital status, dependents, home-ownership, and tenure at a job with the Organization. This is also referred to the “Hard OPA”. The “Soft OPA” takes the before-mentioned information as well as the Employee’s Spouse information which influences Employee workplace behaviors as well. Therefore, Mr. Marston, process is highly subjective to the Employee and only modestly based upon the Employer’s past Safety Record.

70% of the Hard OPA Score is from the E-MOD, the Employee’s Credit Score, and the Employees BMI and the Soft OPA score taking these three factors at 75% within the Matrix. The rationale of this process is to looks at the psychology which are impacting modern business with issues, such as credit score and unhealthy Employees (and their Spouses) driving bad behaviors and increase in false Worker’s Compensation Claims and General Liability Claims. E-MOD does have merit yet it is very objective to the business versus a holistic process that really takes into account employee behaviors, thereto. OPA looks at factors that are driving employee’s behaviors both in and out of the workplace. Financial wellness is huge distraction in the workplace affecting marriages and ruined relationships.    

 An Employees BMI is used as a large percentage of the process as well which equates a better fit employee with a less accident prone due to physical strength. Sleep apnea is also linked to obesity and resulting in higher worker’s comp claims especially in the trucking and construction industries.

An employee that has been on the job less than 1 year significantly raises the chance of on the job injury and resulting worker’s compensations claims.   Then the bell curve drops back and thus increasing in OPA points. Also, with the average length of employment less than 3 years companies will see increasing Worker’s Compensations Claims.

Home-Ownership, Age, Marital Status and other factors are also included into the algorithm which are like an Auto Insurance rates such as young drivers, are also incorporated as part of the OPA Process.

The Soft OPA Score also factors into the process the financial wellness as derived from a Credit Score will also impact the Employee as most marriages fail due to financial unwellness. Decrease in healthcare costs would also be a result once a significant factor of the BMI is introduced into the equation.

 Higher OPA scores will also attribute to the overall wellness of an Organization by realize the higher ROI for the Employees the higher the ROI for the Company. This will also be reflection of productivity, quality, safety, health, engagement, loyalty, retention, moral, and soon become the Gold Standard for Organizations.

 Monetary Benefits

As previously noted, OPA will offer a greater insight into potential underwriting risk and financing, thereto for Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Thus, having the ability to more accurately charge for this required coverage will behoove those that utilize this improve rating formula or a derivative rather than the traditional EMOD methodology. An insurance provider may opt out of insuring the whole company or that employee as a result. The carrier may also choose to charge an exorbitant amount so that they organization seeks other less costly options. When cases like this arise the employee may face termination or does not meet the criteria for initial employment as part of the pre-employment screening process like when a background check or poor driving record may do the same. Initial litigation would spike yet as there is already a precedent would quickly subdue. Organizations would see a need to add or redline their current HR policies and procedures to better protect again such frivolous suits.

 The question as to cost savings being able to screen WC applicants in a much more subjective manner will provide substantial cost savings to both insured’s and carriers by being able to charge proportionally based upon behavioral and other OPA risk factors. By being able to exclude high risk OPA scores, the carries will see huge monetary gains as the overall risk declines when due to a changing demographics affecting retention will become to substantial raise costs and the associated risks thereto through adequate risk selection techniques.

To quantify this number in such a rapidly changing and fluid environment is difficult whereas the OPA process will influence many other factors as previously noted (i.e. productivity, quality, as well as safety record). Yet, this same risk selection has been used by Insurance Carriers in areas of auto insurance yet never before within the Worker’s Compensation arena thus, the reason for the patent and protection provided under US Law.

 Therefore, knowing that the reduction of tenure by employees will cause substantial increases to the overall EMOD scores through increased Safety losses, the improved employee selection process, the better fit employee resulting in less frequent and severe accidents, the shorter return to work if an employee is injured on the job, as well as the decrease in number of false worker compensation insurance claims will result in a 10-35% reduction in coverage rates even as costs using the current process shall be increasing. These rates are also subjective to the classification of the employees as an office employee has lower frequency and severity of losses as compared to that of a construction employee.

The Discovery, Assessment, Reporting, & Tracking (DART) Process is a behavioral modification process through the aide of computer assisted programming. These various computer based algorithms are the basis of the DART Process to ensure standardized processes and controls, thereto.

This is accomplished through a Discovery Process or an understanding that one’s behaviors must be modified to change certain outcomes of improved financial, physical, mental, relationships, psychological, etc. Thus once an individual is aware then then are able to realize that changes must be made to modify a behavior.

 Assessment Process is the actual determination of an individual within a given area that affects ones psychological well-being. This can be used to assist with later steps to change/modify an individual’s behavior through an understanding of one’s current status within various categories that impact their lives.

 Reporting is where the actual information that was entered will be processes based upon the individuals information to determine areas of improvement. This report will be unique based upon the data that was input and provide real time reports to curtail poor behaviors in an effort to change which will entail actionable and executable items by the individual.

Tracking (on-going) will be used to continually create modified reports and alerts based upon changes in an individual behavior like increase/decrease in a credit score, improved/declining Body Mass Index (BMI), dependent/relationship status, etc. These computer based notifications shall be the bases on an on-going tracking of key indexes to change behaviors to assist with a happier and offering peace of mind.

The end result is to offer a more productive, safer, higher quality, better engaged, less distracted, by improving the individuals ROI for themselves hence improving the ROI for an Organization, thereto.