Too many return-to-work programs still rely on outmoded systems. Broadspire’s systemized, data-driven approach can change that.
For an injured worker, the time spent away from the job is rarely just a gap in a paycheck. It is a disruption to routine, identity, and connection to colleagues. The longer that disconnection stretches, the harder it becomes to return, not only physically, but psychologically. That is why a strong return-to-work program is one of the most potent tools an employer has to support recovery and help workers resume fulfilling, productive lives.
The benefits extend in both directions. When employees feel that their employer is actively engaged in their recovery, the entire claim experience improves. When employers can move workers back to modified or full duty more quickly, claim costs drop, productivity rebounds and litigation risk shrinks.
"Return to work services create value on both sides of the claim,"
said Larkin Shull Rau, director of consultative analytics at Broadspire.
"For employees, it improves their experience by maintaining a connection to the workplace, preserving their income, and reinforcing that the employer is actively supporting their recovery. This demonstrates that the employer cares about them returning to work rather than just passively waiting until their workers' compensation claim concludes."
On the employer side, Shull Rau noted, total temporary disability (TTD) durations improve as injured workers are accommodated through modified duty and eventually returned to full duty.
"This can contribute to lower claim costs in certain areas and reduces friction in the overall process. Additionally, because the employee feels more supported, this can improve their experience and may help reduce the likelihood of litigation in certain cases."
Where traditional return-to-work programs fall short
Despite the clear benefits, return to work isn’t fully developed in many risk management programs. The reasons are largely operational and technical.
"What we see across so many employers is that their return to work program lives within email communications and Excel spreadsheets," Shull Rau said.
"Excel spreadsheets are time consuming and error prone. Email, at best, has the same issues. Things can fall through the gaps as we all try to manage huge email inboxes."
The consequences are tangible. A release with restrictions sent as a one-way email blast, with no follow-up, can leave an injured worker sitting at home unnecessarily. A supervisor who never sees the notification cannot offer accommodation. A risk manager who is only able to glance at a tracking spreadsheet every other week cannot intervene in time.
Mark DeLew, vice president of consultative analytics at Broadspire, said the deeper issue is that legacy systems were never built around the return-to-work workflow.
"There are legacy systems out there that were designed for claims administration, paying out benefits, and complying with state and carrier regulations," he said. "However, these legacy systems haven't focused on creating a frictionless experience for the employee and employer or looking at this as a holistic process."
That mindset, DeLew added, has limited how the industry approaches the problem. "In the TPA industry, there's a mindset of focusing on administering benefits: That's our job, period. We try to incorporate return to work as part of that, but at the end of the day, TPAs are getting paid to pay out benefits and manage claims.
For us, the pivotal moment was asking: what if we really took return to work and looked at it as a cohesive workflow?"
A technical evolution built around the workflow
That question led Broadspire to develop its Return to Work Services, a suite that includes time tracking at the base level and return-to-work analysis and communication at the higher level. Rather than retrofitting claims systems, the team built a dedicated environment that captures every doctor's appointment, every medical release, and every change in work status in discrete data fields.
That granularity is the foundation for everything else. With concrete data flowing in real time, the system can automatically alert employers and supervisors the moment a worker is released, giving them an immediate opportunity to bring that employee back. Higher-touch, client-specific communications layer on top of the automation, ensuring the right person in the workflow receives the right information in a way they can act on.
"We capture every single release and every single doctor's appointment in discrete and concrete data fields," DeLew said.
"Because we have that concrete data, we can automate communications to the employer and to the supervisors of employees who are out. This ensures they are informed and given the opportunity to bring someone back to work as soon as possible. That systematization is what helps us reduce the lag."
The system is also designed to flex to the realities of each employer. A retail location with rotating shift managers and a shared inbox may need repeated, escalating contacts. A more centralized operation may need a different approach.
"We built the system so that you can scale up communications depending on the situation," DeLew said.
One of the most important byproducts of this approach is a metric that has historically been invisible: accommodation lag. That’s the time between when a provider releases the worker and when the worker actually returns.
"This is a key metric that typically cannot be measured with traditional workers' compensation processes," DeLew said. "We're excited about this metric and demonstrating how it can be used to identify bottlenecks and lags within an employer's program."
For risk managers, that visibility is transformative. Instead of operating on a hunch that one location accommodates more readily than another, they can see the data and partner with operations leaders to address it.
The impact on client programs
Already in production with several clients, Broadspire's Return to Work Services has produced measurable results. Shull Rau pointed to one employer whose risk management function reports directly into finance, making the bottom line a constant focus.
"After implementing a systematized return-to-work approach with them, they saw a reduced average TTD duration of approximately 23% in the year following implementation compared to the prior year," she said.
"While this was not a controlled study and results may not be representative, the year-over-year improvement observed in that program was significant."
Just as striking was the employee response. "Injured workers in that program reported a 21% increase in perceived employer helpfulness over that same period based on internal feedback measures," Shull Rau said.
"My hunch is that this comes from people not falling through the gaps. That means no more injured workers getting released to return to work without bringing their notes to their employer, employers not knowing or following up, or people sitting at home. Having an advocate for every step of the process made the difference." For that same client, internal estimates indicated potential savings of up to approximately 12% of their loss pick based on program assumptions and observed trends.
DeLew said three outcomes frequently emerge in client evaluations of the program: reduced durations, improved productivity, and lower overall costs, although results vary by employer and program design.
"We can turn that hunch into actionable data and provide risk managers with data-driven estimates to help identify areas where costs may be incurred by not bringing someone back to work," he said. "It's a hidden cost that you can't see unless you have a system to track it."
For risk managers overseeing large workforces and significant claim volume, DeLew sees return to work as one of the few areas where the employer has real control over loss costs, providing they are working with the right vendors.
"This should be a top priority for a risk manager who has many employees, many injuries, and desires to improve the experience for employees while also seeing an impact on the bottom line,"
he said.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional or insurance advice. Any metrics, examples, or outcomes referenced are based on specific client experiences and internal analyses and are illustrative only. Results and savings will vary depending on individual circumstances, program design, and external factors.
To learn more, visit https://www.choosebroadspire.com.
