BWC Employee of the Month

BWC rolled out a new Employee Recognition Program this spring to better highlight the outstanding work many staff do each day on behalf of injured workers and employers.

The BWC Employee of the Month award is a component of the new program. It “recognizes individual employees for outstanding work performance, superior customer service (externally and internally), personal ethics and/or integrity on the job.” As a service to you, we’ll share these award stories here each month.

July 2012 Employee of the Month

Meet Cindy, claims service specialist from BWC's Youngstown office
We got a taste of Claims Service Specialist (CSS) Cindy F.'s busy work life the day she sat down with BWC's communication staff for a phone interview. Soon after picking up the phone, she politely asked for a moment to finish answering a co-worker's question about BWC's claims management application, known as Version 3 or V-3. Then moments later, she just as politely and seamlessly turned her attention back to the interview.

Nominated by a co-worker
According to the co-worker who nominated her, this is how Cindy's day goes every day and all day long! She not only helps injured workers with numerous concerns; she also takes the time to help other BWC employees do their jobs.

"In March 2011, my workstation was moved next to Cindy's. Although I've known her for many years, I never really understood the extent of how busy her days are until I saw it with my own eyes," said her co-worker's nomination.

Go-to person for other CSSs
As a V-3 coordinator for BWC's Youngstown Customer Service Office, Cindy is a go-to person for other CSSs at her location. It's a role she's played almost since she first started working at BWC in 1995. With 17 years experience, she's virtually a walking/talking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to BWC payments and claims policy.

CSSs and staff from other service offices also turn to Cindy for help. Like in Youngstown, she helps them to resolve payment issues and troubleshoot other problems. And she does this all while maintaining her own caseload of more than 2,400 active permanent total disability (PTD) claims! Only 11 other CSSs statewide manage PTD claims.

In addition, her nominator notes that Cindy has been enlisted to work on many statewide BWC projects throughout the years. These include everything from a recent project to look at claims with overpayments and dates of death, to mentoring a newly formed PTD team, to assisting the DWRF CSS review a Social Security benefits comparison report for injured workers. And the list goes on and on. Her nominator wonders at Cindy's "efficiency and promptness" in maintaining her workload and "managing the steady stream of people with issues that are presented to her daily. It boggles the mind that she can maintain focus and function with juggling so many tasks."

Passionate!
For some, the constant stream of inquiries and requests from other staff members via email, instant messaging, phone or in person might seem like an interruption. Not to Cindy. "I love it!" she says. "The V-3 stuff is my passion, so I don't consider it an interruption. I consider it multitasking. … I love helping people with their V-3 troubleshooting especially when it concerns money that we need to get to injured workers. They need that! They're depending on the bureau for their payments."

Cindy further explains that she and other CSSs develop relationships with injured workers — especially those with PTD claims who are permanently disabled. "You get to know these people very well and have to take care of them."

Caring!
In nominating Cindy, this caring attitude is one that her co-worker highlights. "The most impressive aspect of Cindy is her genuine caring and kindness that is exhibited to both internal and external customers. She has constant interruptions throughout the day from our employees coming to her workstation. Individuals appear unannounced at her workstation. They consult with her in order to be proactive on behalf of their clients. Employees from all over the state email and call her for expertise and assistance. Yet throughout the day, she remains cheerful and courteous while helping anyone and everyone who asks for assistance. … It is with great pleasure that I nominate her for recognition in outstanding work performance…. She is truly an exemplary employee who deserves recognition for selfless work in state service."

Honored!
"It's exciting that a co-worker would appreciate the work I've done and take the time to nominate me," says Cindy. "That's a real honor."

The Youngstown office recognized Cindy's achievement, where Customer Service Office Manager Jerry Anderson presented her with a certificate from BWC Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer. "I feel very proud and privileged to work with staff members in our service office who do extraordinary work. Cindy is a veteran who delivers exceptional service to customers. She's also a go-to person and mentor to staff, so it doesn't surprise me that someone of Cindy's caliber has received this type of recognition. She's but one example of the type of staff we have in our office."