When Lauren Mayfield graduated college with an urban planning degree, she had the intention of helping people through science, technology and ingenuity. A few decades later and Lauren is doing just that as Senior Vice President of Safety & Health and Loss Prevention for State Compensation Insurance Fund.
“I love the job,” Lauren says. “It married my love of science and technology with the ability to work with people and help impact and make a difference.”
On this episode of the No Accident podcast presented by TRUCE, Lauren Mayfield talks about her work at the State Compensation Insurance Fund and the value of proper safety protocols. The company’s mission is to help make workplaces safer, not only for the sake of employees but for its clients’ optimum profitability as well.
“We sit down with employers and talk about ways in which we can help to make not only their place safer but more profitable and more attractive from a standpoint of employment,” Lauren says about the company’s work.
At the end of the day, Lauren and the rest of the company want to see businesses and the state of California do well. Many of the State Compensation Insurance Fund’s resources are available online to anyone, not just policyholders. The company wants to see small businesses thrive in the state of California. To them, an investment in safety is an investment in good business.
Throughout the episode, Lauren also discusses why communication - simple, straight forward, and clear communication - is key, because if her teams don’t fully understand what is important to business owners, then behavior can’t change.
“One of the habits I've been trying to break - and I think my staff has been doing a great job - is we're not talking to ourselves, we're talking to business owners,” Lauren says. “We've got to be understood. Communication is key. If we're not understood, then the behaviors can't change.”
Featured Guest
👉 Name: Lauren Mayfield
👉 What she does: Lauren Mayfield is the Senior Vice President of Safety & Health and Loss Prevention for State Compensation Insurance Fund, the leading carrier for workers’ compensation insurance in California.
👉 Company: State Compensation Insurance Fund
👉 Key quote: “Diversity in thinking is extremely important. Being able to look at the big picture and not in a siloed manner helps everyone when they're facing occupational safety and health issues.”
👉 Where to find her: LinkedIn
Safe Takes
⚠️ An investment in safety is an investment in business. Strong safety policies positively reflect the nature of the company. Working with stringent protocols not only makes the workplace safer but also more profitable and more attractive from an employment standpoint.
⚠️ Take advantage of workers’ compensation. Workers' comp has a variety of resources, which business owners might not know about. Owners should ask their workers’ comp insurance company for assistance to help make workplaces safe.
⚠️ Employees are a company’s best resource when it comes to safety. The most successful safety programs are a true collaboration between management and employees. This ensures everyone is accountable and establishes a positive safety culture.
Resources
⛑️ State Compensation Insurance Fund — Many of the company’s resources available to the general public, not just policyholders.
⛑️ Safe at Work California — A safety-only, one-stop-shop for the company’s policyholders and any business looking for help in daily safety management.
⛑️ Division of Workers’ Compensation Homepage — The official website for the state of California’s Department of Industrial Relations has everything you need about statewide workers’ compensation information.
Top quotes from the episode:
“We're insuring the mom and pops, the startups, the brand new folks who are just getting into business and may not understand the wealth of regulations, both occupational safety and health, and otherwise that they need to comply with. So what we aim to do is to make it simple for them to understand how to create a positive safety culture.”
“It really behooves businesses to look at their ability to control claims in order to help control their costs. And you know, that is the bottom line and is certainly going to be helpful for businesses to be more profitable, to have a better reputation in the community, to be an employer of choice. Experienced modifications really can be a barometer of the success of that.”
“We sit down with employers and talk about ways in which we can help to make not only their place safer but more profitable and more attractive from a standpoint of employment.”
“Your employees are your best resource with regard to safety. If you listen to them and involve them in your safety program, you are really on your way. We have found that most successful safety programs are a collaboration between management and employee. And once the employee understands how important safety is and that they're being held accountable as well, it really goes a long way to starting that positive safety culture.”
“Many employers don't understand that, ‘Hey, workers' comp has a variety of resources available to me.’ They don't go and seek those out. They might not know. And so I would certainly invite any business owner to tap their workers’ comp insurance company for assistance to help make workplaces safe. We're not just about paying the claims and processing the premiums. We also are about helping employers.”
“One of the habits I've been trying to break - and I think my staff has been doing a great job - is we're not talking to ourselves, we're talking to business owners. They don't have a degree in occupational safety and health or industrial hygiene or ergonomics, and that's not any fault of their own. We don't expect them to...and likewise, if they were to talk to us about their processes, we aren't an expert in their business. If they start to speak in that language, we might not understand either. So we've got to be understood. Communication is key. If we're not understood, then the behaviors can't change.”