Messages from Brenda Rocklin

Meeting customers where they are

On page 20 of this issue of Comp News, you will find a new Technology section. Because our online services have become so important to our customers, we felt it was time to give technology a regular place in every issue of the magazine.

Over the past two decades, we have seen tremendous changes in the workplace and in how and when people do their jobs. You work long hours, and it is often more convenient for you to access policy and claims information after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends. Business Online makes that possible.

You can now file claims online at any time and from anywhere, and we recently added a new application that allows you to make policy changes (see the article on page 7). The success of MyClaim for injured workers has surpassed our expectations; more than 1,000 workers have registered since our launch in November 2012.

We currently are working on a mobile version of saif.com, which we hope will be available by fall. Beyond that, the one thing we know for certain is that the technology tools we depend on in our daily lives are in a constant and accelerating state of change. While we can’t predict what that means for how SAIF delivers service, I can tell you that we will continue to listen to you and do whatever we can to meet you wherever and whenever it’s convenient for you to do business.

Finally, we want you to know that we haven’t forgotten that relationships matter. Making it easier for you to reach us online is meant to enhance, not replace, your personal relationship with our people—the claims adjusters, return-to-work consultants, safety professionals, and all the other SAIF employees you depend on every day.

Brenda JP Rocklin
President and CEO

2013 CN Calendar

From Portland to the far corners of the state, Oregon’s art organizations are important to its economy. According to The Oregonian (June 9, 2012), arts groups added more than $250 million to the Portland-area economy in 2010 and supported more than 8,000 jobs. But that’s just one region; the arts are important all across the state—from Ashland to Joseph. In our 2013 calendar, we focus on a broad spectrum of artists who call Oregon home. We hope you enjoy learning more about them. Thank you for your business this year, and please have a safe and creative new year.

Brenda JP Rocklin
President and CEO

Fall 2012

From the CEO

This summer, SAIF hosted 350 guests from across the U.S. and Canada, giving us the opportunity to show off our state—and giving a boost to our local economy. These visitors were here for the national conference of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF), a trade association for workers’ comp funds like SAIF.

We shared with them what SAIF is doing to promote wellness in the workplace for a healthier and safer workforce. Other topics included the challenge of finding opportunity in adversity, the importance of professional relationships, the state of the workers’ compensation market, and crossing the generational divide in business.

But we ensured that attendees also had time to see the best that Oregon has to offer—the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon Zoo, Mt. Hood, and Oregon’s wine country, for example. They also tasted some of the outstanding products of SAIF policyholders; Lillie Belle chocolates, Twilight Summer Ale from Deschutes Brewery, Josephson’s Smokehouse salmon jerky, and Moose Munch from Harry and David were just a few of the products that greeted the visitors. And, on breaks from discussing weighty workers’ comp issues, our out-of-state guests took in a Portland Timbers soccer game, visited historic Edgefield, and played golf at Pumpkin Ridge—all SAIF policyholders.

So thank you for helping us highlight the reasons we love living and doing business in Oregon. You impressed our visitors so much that many are already making plans to return with their families for their next vacation.

 
Brenda JP Rocklin
President and CEO

Summer 2012

Leading the way to wellness

Employee fitness and health is an increasingly important topic in the world of worker safety and workers’ compensation. It gained national recognition at last year’s National Council on Compensation Insurance conference. And the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health acknowledged its importance by stating:

... the safest and healthiest worker only evolves in an atmosphere where management is fully engaged in the wellbeing of its staff, where the environment is hazard-free and supportive, and where workplace policies and interventions encourage healthier choices—simply put, where the total health of the worker, in the broadest possible sense, is optimized.

With this issue of Comp News, we are launching a new campaign to emphasize the critical connection between personal health and occupational safety. At SAIF, we recognized the importance of this issue more than two years ago, and began building a wellness program for our own employees. We also began holding employer trainings on the importance of integrating wellness into workplace safety programs, and we have seen tremendous interest from our policyholders. In response to that interest, we have focused this issue of Comp News on health and productivity management programs that can benefit your business and your workers.

Because of our commitment to this important issue, we have created two positions at SAIF. In 2007 we added SAIF’s employee wellness program to the duties of Renae Coombs, SAIF’s safety and risk coordinator. And this year we added a policyholder safety and wellness adviser. In this position, Deb Fell-Carlson will help our safety consultants provide you with the training and support you need to build your own wellness program. And finally, as the year progresses, we will be developing a richer web presence at saif.com/wellness, with a variety of additional resources.

See our Training Calendar saif.com/training for updates. And, as always, please feel free to contact me at breroc@saif.com if you have any comments or questions.

Brenda JP Rocklin
President and CEO