October 2012 Employee of the Month

Donna Hudgel may serve as a BWC training officer. But she sees her work as so much more.
"It's the daily determination to make things better for the citizens of our state by ensuring our staff has the preparation, knowledge and confidence to do their jobs," she said. “Workers' compensation touches all of our society in ways big and small."

This dedication and big-picture thinking are some of the reasons she was chosen as BWC's October Employee of the Month. Karla Massimo, a co-worker and claims service specialist supervisor at the Hamilton Customer Service Office, nominated Donna and emphasized her diligence and commitment to customer service in her nomination form.

"She sprinkles her classes with details that make the subject matter relevant to every day work," said Karla. "She has worked on projects as vast as lump sum settlement, for which she designed an entire new, comprehensive manual, to wage calculations, which introduced new claims tools and scenarios that fit common practice in daily wage settings. She is never too busy to answer a question, sit with someone who needs extra help or dig through a claim file to help find and fix inconsistencies."

Donna, a BWC employee for more than 10 years, was honored to be chosen. "There are so many wonderful employees at BWC and to be selected out of all of them for this award is pretty awesome!" said Donna.

Her hard work as a training officer includes many roles. Some days she instructs employees on new processes in a classroom setting, while other days she works to learn or change new or current processes so she can write training materials for upcoming classes. Donna also maintains contact with the offices assigned in her region, to stay current and address any training needs.

Throughout her busy schedule, Donna maintains her commitment to customer service. She believes that in order for our agency to move forward, good customer service to both internal and external customers remains crucial.

"No matter your position in the agency, you have a customer that needs your attention," she said. "I want to make sure my customers have everything they need to do their jobs accurately and ensure any of their concerns or issues is addressed by the appropriate person. I want my customers to know when they need something from training they can count on me to do my absolute best to provide it to them."

BWC Director of Training Matt Gill was proud and pleased to hear of Donna's win. He's often impressed with the training officer's hard work.

"Donna is the type of employee who goes the extra mile to make sure the job gets done right, and the customer's needs are met," said Matt. "If she doesn't completely understand a process, she will work with a subject matter expert until she does, including sitting with a CSS to watch things first hand."

Bob McCorkle, regional training manager and Donna's immediate supervisor, said she gives 100 percent on every assignment, regularly interacting with her customers. He appreciates the way Donna asks questions, so she can truly determine training needs and recommend strategies to resolve issues. Bob especially praised Donna's classroom methods.

"Donna has that unique quality of engaging participants in classroom sessions," he said. "She also knows how to convey training content in a way that gives the participants a fundamental understanding of the subject matter."

It's easy to see why Bob and Matt admire Donna's work – her enthusiasm is palpable. She says with a positive attitude and teamwork, we can keep BWC thriving — together.

"We each must give 100 percent to the cause," said Donna. "The agency is a reflection of each employee and the combined total of our individual work. If we're all committed to the idea of providing the injured with timely service, while keeping costs low for the employer, then the agency will continue to prosper."