Post Offer Employment Testing

Don’t Hire Your Next Injury

by Shelley Robinson

The hiring process can be agonizing, but you’ve managed to get through it. After all your hard work creating a job description, sifting through resumes and countless interviews, you’ve finally found the one. This person is qualified, experienced and has the motivation to grow with your company. Even with this said, you need to cover all your bases.

New hires pose serious workplace safety risks. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 40 percent of injured employees have been on the job less than one year. At Missouri Employers Mutual, one in three lost-time claims involves a new employee, with an average claim cost of $54,000. That’s why it’s so important to invest in the safety of your new hires.

What is Post Offer Employment Testing?
Post Offer Employment Testing (POET) determines if an individual is physically capable of performing a specific job, such as lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling and grasping. This testing helps you minimize the risk of injury. If the screening determines the employee may not meet the job demands or is at a high risk for sustaining an injury, you have the right to change or withdraw a conditional job offer. POET establishes baseline information to identify pre-existing conditions prior to employment. If an employee is injured after they are hired, they will be rehabilitated to the percentage of the pre-injury measurement.

Benefits
Your company can benefit from POET in many ways:
• Reduction of injuries on the job
• Higher productivity
• Increase in employee retention
• Low turnover costs (hiring, training, etc.)
• Objective hiring data
• Reduction of e-mod, lowering premium
• Reduction of lost work days

Get Started
Your work comp carrier can help you partner with a functional employment testing company. WorkSTEPS, for example, provides a means of matching a worker’s functional capabilities with the essential functions of the job. Employers using WorkSTEPS testing experience work injury reductions of 50 percent in the first year, with continued reductions thereafter.

Eliminating a problem before it starts is crucial. Establish a POET program and keep your new hires on the job—productive and injury-free.

Find more workplace safety tips at www.worksafecenter.com.

Shelley Robinson (srobins1@mem-ins.com or 573.449.4124) is a Marketing Communications Specialist at Missouri Employers Mutual, Missouri’s No. 1 provider of workers compensation insurance. MEM can help you eliminate injuries and reduce your work comp costs. Visit www.worksafecenter.com for your workplace safety needs.