The WCI conference is quickly approaching, and this year we are excited to announce that our very own Frances Ford will be moderating a panel discussion with three other industry insiders about the “Emerging Trends in Return-to-Work” on Tuesday, August 8.
To gear up for this event, we wanted to take this opportunity to let the audience get to know the panelists a little better. We spoke with Jodie Massingill, Senior Manager of Casualty Claims at Sysco Corporation. Jodie and her team are responsible for Sysco’s casualty claim program that covers all 50 United States and Canada.
The team has been with ReEmployAbility since 2012, after she learned about the program at a Risk Management Society (RIMS) conference in Philadelphia.
Q & A with Jodie
We recently spoke to Jodie about her expectations about the conference and what she hopes the audience will take away the most from the panel discussion.
Q. What attracted you to our Transitition2Work program?
A. There were several reasons. At first, our company tries to accommodate our associate’s transitional duty needs “in house.” However, when the number of transitional duty jobs are limited or the associate works in a satellite location, Transition2Work (T2W) is a great alternative. As the insurance industry knows, there is value in keeping employees engaged while re-cooperating for their on the job injuries.
This program allows the employer to manage their offsite personnel effectively. We are able to track the employee’s shifts at the not for profit location. T2W knows our transitional duty time frames and communicates with us when time limits are being reached. There is also the added bonus that we are helping the community.
Q. WCI is approaching, is this your first time attending?
A. I have never attended as a participant, but I have spoken at WCI before regarding Texas nonsubscription.
Q. What were some of your takeaways from being on that panel?
A. The experience was good, as I was able to provide a lot of information on a subject matter that not many people knew about or understood. There were a lot of great questions and engagement from the audience.
Q. What are you expecting from the conference this year?
A. I believe it is similar to other industry conferences but localized to select states. It is important to go to these conferences in order to keep up with and learn what is “brewing” in the insurance/claims arena. Also, networking and the resulting relationships I believe will be a part of my conference experience. I have been told how great the conference is and I cannot wait to sit in on some of the sessions.
Q. You will be joining a panel discussion about the “Emerging Trends in Return-to-Work;” what are you hoping to convey during this discussion?
A. Regarding getting employees back to work, I think that [Transition2Work] is one of the best in the workers’ compensation industry. T2W has been a good partner. It is important for employers to get their employees back to work. If there are a restricted number or no jobs available within your organization, you will benefit from using T2W. Again, it keeps employees engaged, on a schedule and feeling valued.
Another important thing I want to convey is how important it is to for the employer to work closely with their HR and Legal department. Beyond the work comp claim, there are FMLA and ADA issues that need to be addressed and transitional duty certainly helps.
Q. What is the one thing that you hope the audience will take away from the discussion?
A. No matter what size a company may be, it is important to find a program that provides transitional duty. It is one of the best ways for an employer to mitigate workers’ compensation costs.
Are you going to be at WCI this year?
Make sure you catch Jodie, Frances, Nathan Hughes, Director of Risk Management at Safelite Group, and Patricia Rodriguez, Return-to-Work Manager at Crum & Forster as they discuss “Emerging Trends in Return-to-Work” at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, August 8 in Grand Ballroom 8B.
