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November 2012 Employee of the Month

NovemberEmployeeofMonthService: It’s what BWC’s Shanda Williams is all about.

A good thing, too, because helping others ranks as a huge part of her job as a claims service specialist (CSS) specializing in lump sum settlement (LSS) on BWC’s Hamilton Customer Service Office’s settlement team. It’s a challenging position. But she wouldn’t trade it.

“I love helping people, whether it is externally – injured worker, attorney or employer - to understand the system and provide a fair value of their claim,” says Shanda. She also enjoys lending a hand to colleagues. “I also love helping my co-workers figure out a difficult payment plan or overpayment.”

Her commitment to internal and external customers is just one of the reasons she is BWC’s November Employee of the Month. Karla Massimo, Shanda’s immediate supervisor, nominated her and simply can’t say enough about the 11-year BWC veteran.

“This employee is a multi-faceted employee who embodies the spirit of customer service, hard work and ethical principles,” said Massimo, a claims service specialist supervisor. “She has the best settlement evaluation instincts I have ever seen. She considers every detail of the injured worker's treatment, every aspect of the impact to the employer and never fails to document the entire picture of BWC's potential liability.”

Massimo also lauded Shanda’s communication skills, praising the patient and meticulous manner in which she talks with clients. Her mode of connecting with people is the key to her success, says Karla.

“She has a good rapport with the attorneys and third-party administrators with whom she negotiates,” says Massimo. “She understands how to treat people in a respectful manner, even when the topic might be difficult such as denying a settlement or offering a lower amount than requested.”

Tina Cooper, Hamilton Customer Service Office manager, directly supervised Shanda before starting her current position. Her formidable professional skills also impressed Tina.

“She has always been consistently conscientious and dedicated to customer service,” says Cooper. “She’s a leader amongst her peers. Shanda truly cares about doing a good job on each and every claim she touches.”

On a daily basis, Shanda evaluates claims and sends them on for authorization. She negotiates with employers, attorneys and injured workers.

Because of her commitment to internal customers, she’s served on several statewide settlement projects and helped develop tools BWC uses in evaluations such as projecting generic costs for medications. She also provided feedback with various versions of the bureau’s current settlement evaluation worksheet. In addition, she worked on the sub-teams for the core skill inventory and training, Medicare set asides, qualitative and financial metrics and settlement evaluation toolkit.

Shanda also recently developed a new settlement intake workflow for the Hamilton office — a timesaver that allows the LSS CSSs to reduce the pre-evaluation period of their work. She recently volunteered for a special settlement project with the special investigations and the legal departments, and completed the Ohio Injury Management Performance program (OIMP). Then, she worked as a mentor for subsequent OIMP participants.

She also participated in the early stages of the Core systems project, providing valuable feedback on our current system and our technological needs. For several years, she has volunteered to modify and rebuild payment plans following the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services cross match. And, if all that isn’t enough, she serves as the V3 coordinator for her office.

An obviously busy and successful woman, Shanda keeps her definition of customer service front and center in all her BWC work.

“Good customer service does not mean there is a winner in a situation, it means that everyone participating understands the whys and why not of a decision,” she said. “My job is to make sure the customers I am dealing with have my full attention during the entire conversation, they understand where BWC stands, they are comfortable to ask any questions and know that the answer they receive is correct.”