July 24, 2025 • 22 mins
With 36 years of experience in personal injury management, Susie Walford, General Manager of Federal Self-Insurance at Employers Mutual Limited (EML), offers a powerful perspective on building purpose-driven workplaces that prioritize both people and performance.
In this compelling conversation, Walford reveals how EML—Australia’s largest personal injury claims provider—has cultivated an award-winning culture while delivering exceptional outcomes for injured workers. As a mutual organization, EML reinvests profits into client support, research, and community programs—channeling an impressive $142 million into initiatives that make a tangible difference. One standout example: the free Injured Workers Support Service in the ACT, which provides critical assistance and drives better recovery outcomes.
Recognized as one of the best workplaces for women, EML exemplifies how a values-led approach can elevate both employee engagement and client impact. Whether you're an employer navigating workers' compensation, a leader seeking to foster inclusion, or someone exploring a career in injury management, Walford’s insights offer a blueprint for aligning purpose with practice. As Walford shows, when organizations put people first, exceptional outcomes naturally follow.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I'm joined bySusie Walford, who's the
General Manager for FederalSelf-Insurance at Employers
Mutual Limited, or EML.
Susie, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Thank you for having me, Greg.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Now, it's great to have you here, but let's get
started by just talking a littlebit about EML.
What is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
EML is Employers Mutual Limited.
We're the largest provider ofpersonal injury claims support
in Australia, so we look afterworkers' comp, life insurance
and superannuation claims.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So you're one of the firms that people are paying
their workers' comp premiums to.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
So in iCare in the New South Wales scheme we look
after a large component ofclaims there.
In the ACT we look after theACT government and also some
providers that are self-insuredunder the Comcare Act.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Okay, but that's quite limited here in the ACT,
so you're not necessarilydelivering services to the whole
business community, just someof the larger ones.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
is that right, not yet just the Comcare Act or the
government workers?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, excellent.
Now I mean that's aninteresting point, because many
people listening to thisprobably don't realise that
government workers aren'tcovered by the workers'
compensation scheme here in theACT.
What's the implication of that,do you think?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
In terms of the….
Speaker 1 (01:36):
In terms of what it means for scheme deliveries?
I mean, is there much of adifference between oh yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
there are different acts and I came from the
underwritten scheme which looksafter most of the general
business, and I still have afirm foot in that area to see
what's going on.
But the government scheme isvery different covers all
government employees and somelarge employers who can apply
for it.
Different benefit structure, nosettlements, a much more of a
(02:05):
longer tail.
So there's a real incentive toget to work, back to work, as
opposed to the ACT scheme whichis really dynamic and very much
about early intervention gettingpeople back to work.
But there is that risk therearound common law and a
litigious, the litigiousenvironment that really impacts
(02:26):
that side.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, and that's certainly a pain point for many
people.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I'm very aware of that.
Yes, Now.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Employers Mutual Limited was recently named the
best workplace for women.
How is it that you've achievedthis, and how do you foster a
great work environment in thebusiness?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I think it's probably because it is just about being
a great work environment in thebusiness.
I think it's probably becausewe it is just about being a
great work environment, ratherthan being focused on wanting to
do anything specifically aboutany of the cohorts.
But, um, we really do have astrong purpose, which is around
get helping people get theirlives back, and most people who
meet anyone from EML normallyrecognize that it's a really,
(03:03):
really strong culture as as soonas they walk into any of the
businesses.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So how big's your team here in Canberra?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
We've grown significantly.
So I run the federalself-insurance business and so
we started in 2018 and we'vejust the business now is at 99,
so we just haven't quite hitthat big milestone, but yeah,
it's been.
It's a really big achievementto grow 99 dedicated personal
(03:33):
injury experts Like it's been areally big achievement because
that resource is really highlysought after.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And over a relatively short space of time as well.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
so six years, seven years, that's right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, well done, that's right yep, well done,
thank you.
So one of the I mean you talkabout those skills, those
workers being hard to come by.
How much of a barrier is thatto growing the business?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It definitely means that we need to peddle really,
really hard to make sure that weprovide an environment, because
the type of injuries andillnesses that are affecting
people in the government spaceand we have first responders in
that space and we've got medicalcorrections, we've got schools
(04:21):
so, particularly through COVID,a lot of employees in the ACT
have been really, really workinghard and we're only just seeing
some of the effects of thatright now.
Um, that flows onto the peoplethat are caring for them.
So for a case manager, the roleis really can be really
difficult, because we do dealwith people that are in distress
and they're affected.
So, um, so our challenge is toprovide a really supportive
(04:42):
environment and to really committo making sure we get the right
people on board who care abouthelping other people, because
it's not we definitely don't seeourselves as an area that just
wants to process claims.
We're very much about helpingpeople get back to life.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So how do you go about finding those people?
It's a struggle, we do.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
We find different lines, but it's.
I mean, part of the reason ofkind of connecting with the
business chamber is um isletting people know that there
are opportunities out there forpeople who, um, who are
committed and like talking topeople to um find a course in
personal injury, because it's avery rewarding career, uh and um
, and it really does have thatconnection to purpose and we
(05:22):
have a fantastic leadership andmanagement team, um, who support
you through that.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So yeah, so how long have you been in the industry
and what drove you to get intoit in the first place?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I have.
I'm like, I think I'm 36 yearsin the industry so I started as
a baby case manager here inCanberra.
So I have what looked afterworkers comp claims yeah, that's
right.
Um and um yeah, so it's, it'ssomething that I connected to
and have remained passionateabout and um, and in this area I
(05:52):
I thought at the last part ofmy career I would really like to
give back to the territory, soI really wanted to jump into
this ACT, government space andum, and also, you know, grow the
capability for Canberrans,because the act here is
different.
We have great benefits, but wereally do have an opportunity to
create a centre of excellencefor here, because we sit right
(06:12):
next to Comcare, which is a hugeopportunity for employment and
for innovation around all thingsinjury and all things recovery
in the psych space.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
So what do we need to do to get to be that centre of
excellence, do you?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
think we do need to invest, so we need to invest in
the people we need to.
We need to create areas oflearning and innovation.
We need to test, which is whatwe're doing at EML.
So we've got a lot of pilotsthat we run through the ACT
government scheme that havedelivered some fantastic
benefits and but it's reallyjust about making the ACT
Government Scheme.
That have delivered somefantastic benefits, but it's
(06:48):
really just about making theright work environment.
So we have personal injuryexperts that are thriving here.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So how's partnering with the ACT Government been?
What have you learned throughthat experience?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
It's been the most rewarding thing that I've done
in my career, to be honest.
We set up a program here thatexceeds the expectations of
legislation, so we justpartnered and identified what
was best practice in everyaspect of in terms of, you know,
response times and turnaroundtimes, and how quickly we should
(07:19):
make decisions.
So we agreed on all of that andthen since then, we've
delivered like a significantbenefit in um, in cost, uh, and
outcomes for the territory, umand um.
Yeah, we're really proud of ityeah, that's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
That's awesome.
Um, now, personally, you, youhave a great passion for many
causes.
Um, how does that help motivateyour work?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
well, it does, it does.
I'm very lucky to be able to dowhat I'm passionate about every
day, but especially in a placelike Canberra, because we're
such a we've got such highquality people here.
But we are just the right sizeto be able to innovate, to pop a
pilot in, to see somethingworks and to see the benefits
really quickly.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Now, disability is one of the areas I know you're
very passionate about and yousit on our disability advisory
group here at the Chamber,amongst other things.
You know what's your take onthat.
What are the big things we needto be doing, do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Just such an opportunity and such an untapped
resource.
So when we're supporting peopleback to work or through any
kind of injury, I just thinkthat we're underrepresented by
the disabled community in theinsurance area and it's just
something that I think wouldonly enhance us as an industry.
So I sit on the advisorycommittee to try to model to
(08:42):
other insurers that it is anuntapped area and that there's
some great employees out therethat we should be tapping into.
And in terms of people who areinjured or affected, I just
think having that livedexperience would mean so much to
someone if they're gettingsupport from someone who's in
the same place.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Now, you know, there are people perhaps listening to
this who have reservations aboutemploying people with
disabilities because they'reconcerned about risk,
essentially, and concerned thatthings aren't going to work out.
Have you had sort of practicalexperience in your business of
employing people withdisabilities?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We do so, and that's another reason why I'm sitting
on this, so that we can show andhelp to navigate what we need
to do.
It's like any other employee,just making sure that the
workplace is safe, and you've um, you've considered the
requirements, but um, like fromfrom what I know, these are some
of the most the highestperforming and most loyal
employees you can get, and weall need those and we need
(09:39):
people with resilience.
So, um, some of the people thathave been through some of these
struggles have got the highestresilience you would know and
the as employers, these are justthe skills and the modelling
that we need for others to seeevery day.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, so I mean, if you were listening to this and
you were thinking, oh well,maybe I should be thinking about
going out and trying to recruitfrom that cohort of people with
disabilities, what advice wouldyou have for them?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I've been through that process myself, greg, just
trying to tap into the rightareas, so through the advisory
committee.
That's one of the issues thatwe're trying to tackle.
So how do we do connect thesepeople to the current
opportunities and how it worksboth ways, that those of us who
are looking for people arefinding the right people and
(10:29):
that they're being marketed thesame way as any high performer
would be.
It is something we all need tonavigate, and I think that
that's something we're workingon at the moment, and we'd like
to be able to come out of thiscycle of the advisory committee
with something that makes thatmuch easier for employers.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And there's a range.
I mean, when we talk aboutpeople with disabilities,
there's obviously a big range ofconditions, or issues that
we're talking about there.
Do you think there are rolesfor everyone?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I do.
Definitely you need to makesure that there's a fit, so it's
always fit the right person tothe role.
So it's not like you can easilycohort it, it's just, I think,
just generally, now we've got somany tools and to be able to
identify right people for therole, it's just like any other
person making sure that they'rethe right fit.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, and by fit you mean cultural and skills.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Cultural, yeah, and also the passion.
If that's something thatthey're passionate about.
You find a way to make it work,because it's much easier.
It's much easier to work withsomeone who really wants to make
that happen than, rather, totry to fit someone into a box.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Absolutely, and it doesn't really matter whether
you're talking aboutdisabilities or anything else in
that space.
Yeah, passion is obviouslycritical to making things happen
.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Connection to purpose , because we all have it.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So just identifying how that works for you, yeah,
and you've obviously built asizable team here in Canberra
over the last seven years or so.
Ninety-nine people, I think yousaid so, nearly a hundred.
Hopefully you'll crack thatthreshold soon.
What's been the key to drivingthat passion in your business?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It has been a purpose it has been.
I do think once you startworking through those bumps in
culture, people start to yourculture, starts to draw the
right people to you.
So you do need to create anenvironment and to me, it's all
about leadership.
So I've got an incrediblemanagement team and leadership
team and we put a lot of effortinto leadership and then the
(12:33):
job's hard.
So we need to make sure thatwe've got an environment that's
supportive and fun and flexibleand rewards well.
So that's what we do is justlike there's a lot of effort
going into making sure thatwe're creating the right
environment and we've got um,we've got personal and
professional development.
So we support people personallyand professionally at eml
(12:54):
fantastic.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, let's just unpack fun a little bit, because
I know uh people often say theywant to have a a fun.
What do you think makes a funworkplace?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I think it's the connection with people and the
stuff that we do is hard, so youneed to make sure that there's
time for some lightness.
So we have great team huddles.
It all comes from the team thatwe have.
It all comes from the team.
So, just, I mean, they reallydo find the smallest things that
they connect on and will makeinto a fun event, and I do think
(13:37):
it just takes it's just time toactually connect to each other
and be there for the person next.
So we've been struggling withpeople in and out of the office,
like everyone else, but we'vereally tried to make sure that
we are deliberately trying tocreate an environment where it
is a bit light, so that thenpeople have a reason to come in.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
And is that working for you?
Are you finding people want tocome back to the?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
office and, look, I really want to be able to
provide that flexibility becauseI know that when I was a young
working mum, for example, Iwould have loved to have had
that flexibility.
So it's something I really wantto maintain.
It's just, we try to empowerour people to say that you have
to make this work, so don't.
It's not about us providingeverything.
We do ask a lot of you and weask you to also give back to the
(14:21):
culture so that we can keepthis flexibility, because it's
something we want to hang on to.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Absolutely.
Now, EML, coming back to thecompany, you've invested over
$142 million in the MutualBenefits Programme over recent
times.
What's that all about?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
This is probably the differentiator with EML.
So we are not just an insurancecompany or an insurance
provider.
We are a mutual, which meansthat we have a huge amount of
our income that goes back out asinvestment into our clients'
return to work, anything to dowith improving a claims outcome,
(15:01):
which means we have had dozensof initiatives, models.
We invest into research and itreally does mean that we can
give money back to the community.
So our employers will apply forsome of the mutual benefit and
then we can invest that intopilots programs all of the
(15:25):
things I've mentioned and someof the invest that into pilots
programs.
All of the things I'vementioned and some of the
examples that I could share.
In the ACT, for example, we'veset up an advisory area as part
of the union's ACT as an injuredworker in distress, so it's the
Injured Workers Support Service.
It's on the union's ACT websiteservice.
(15:49):
It's on the union's ACT websiteand if you've had a claim in
the SRC Act or any act and andare struggling with it, it's a
free advisory service that wecan, that you can connect to
without any legal fees, just toget some advice to make sure
that you're on the right trackand that you're in ensure it is
providing the right service andit's just things like that where
we can give back and and alsoget the insights from like that,
where we can give back and alsoget the insights from that
around how we can do better.
(16:10):
What are the kind of themesthat are coming through?
Fortunately, there's not manymatters that are going through
to the advisory service that arefrom EML, thank goodness.
But yeah, we're still committedto it because we do think that
there's a space for that, forpeople who may not have access
to go and get a legal adviceimmediately yeah, and everyone
needs to know um how it worksand and what they can, how they
(16:32):
can be supported, right yeah,that's right.
So there's been lots ofinitiatives like that for ACT
government that we've funded inthe last, uh, eight years, six
years, yeah what?
Speaker 1 (16:40):
what's your?
What's your take on um claimsgenerally here in the ACT and
how they compare around the restof the country?
Are claims going up down?
What are you seeing so?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
what we're seeing in the government space is, like
everyone, we've just seen thisreally strong and ongoing surge
of serious claims and there is alot more psych.
But I do think those psychclaims were there all the time
that they were just peopleusually presented with an injury
first, and then we would workout that there was a psych.
(17:15):
We'd call it a psych overlay,but there was a psych issue
behind it.
Nowadays, thankfully, we havenormalised a lot of that, so the
claims are being reported morefrequently and earlier, which is
good.
So now we need in the industryto model what recovery looks
like after that, and so that'sprobably there has been a spike,
(17:35):
but personally I think thatwill settle.
And now we need to model whatrecovery after mental injury
looks like, and we're startingto see some examples of that,
and then I do think it willsettle.
All insurers are getting betterat managing.
There's been legislative changefor early intervention and
presumptive and that sort ofthing for PTSD, which is really
(17:57):
good.
Now we just need to show whatafter that looks like.
So what does post-claim looklike?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
And I guess with insurance you're very much
sometimes the ambulance at thebottom of the cliff perhaps,
rather than the fence at the topI mean, what do you think
employers need to be doing tohelp manage some of those psycho
risks?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Well, we're all in it together right, because we're
an employer as well, so we seeit too, and there is I think
we're all part of the samejourney around the awareness and
then people starting to talkabout it.
Then it's becoming morenormalised, so people are much
more likely to claim.
So I think what we need to dois use all the tools that we
(18:45):
have access to to make sure thatwe identify early and then we
have the conversations.
We also need to not be tooscared about it.
So there's a lot of good stuffout there now and how we can
lead through this and how wedon't have to um like step away.
My advice is normally to step in, take the step towards somebody
who's in, who you see signs ofgetting into um, into that state
(19:06):
and um, rather than step awaybecause I think that's probably
what we see from the claims sideis normally it's when people
shy away from a mental healthepisode that the immediate
impact after that and recoverycan take a longer time.
A supportive employer makes allthe difference in the world.
So we still have the sameobligations around return to
(19:28):
work as we do with any injury.
So it's modelling return towork and getting help in what
that looks like and asking yourinsurer, if you need to, how you
do that.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, excellent Good advice.
And on the subject of advice,you know you've had a long
career in the industry 36 years,I think you said.
You know, if you were talkingto a young person perhaps, or
even an older person who wasthinking, oh I'm considering
sort of jumping into the sector,what advice would you give them
(20:00):
?
How do you make a career in theinsurance sector?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
It's such a great time to jump in.
If you're a person who wants tohelp people through this kind
of process, this is the job.
All of the technology and theefficiencies and the artificial
intelligence that's coming tohelp with all of that
interpreting legislation andcompliance all of that is going
(20:24):
to get easier for us.
So it really is around thathuman touch, around how you help
someone get from a to b.
So I would say the the kind,the right kind of backgrounds
can come from anything, from anykind of allied health, anything
where, like we have some greatex-retail people who just
dealing with customers and knowhow to deal with with all
(20:47):
different kinds of walks of life.
They do really well.
But one of the great examplesthat we found has come from the
property management area.
So those people deal with allmanners.
They've got multiplestakeholders.
They're often dealing withpeople like trying to rally
people and get them on board,and some people who've come from
(21:08):
that area have been great casemanagers for us.
So case managers come from allover the place.
It's more just about people whoconnect to purpose.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I think, yeah, fantastic.
And is there a particular kindof qualification or anything
that you look for?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Anything allied health or anything any kind of,
because there's so many elementsof personal injury management
now.
So anyone who's got any kind oflegal or understanding
legislation type of backgroundand that doesn't even need a
qualification, that's just aninterest as well, right through
to the medical side.
But really it's stakeholdermanagement, it's relationship
(21:46):
building that we find are thebest case managers.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Excellent.
Well, Susie Walford, who is theGeneral Manager for Federal
Self-Insurance at EmployersMutual Limited, thank you so
much for joining me here on theCanberra Business Podcast today.
It's been great having a chatand learning a bit more about
the personal injury managementindustry.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Thanks for being here and thanks for listening to the
podcast.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favourite podcast platform
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast, and
I'll catch you next time.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I'm joined bySusie Walford, who's the
General Manager for FederalSelf-Insurance at Employers
Mutual Limited, or EML.
Susie, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Thank you for having me, Greg.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Now, it's great to have you here, but let's get
started by just talking a littlebit about EML.
What is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
EML is Employers Mutual Limited.
We're the largest provider ofpersonal injury claims support
in Australia, so we look afterworkers' comp, life insurance
and superannuation claims.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So you're one of the firms that people are paying
their workers' comp premiums to.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
So in iCare in the New South Wales scheme we look
after a large component ofclaims there.
In the ACT we look after theACT government and also some
providers that are self-insuredunder the Comcare Act.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Okay, but that's quite limited here in the ACT,
so you're not necessarilydelivering services to the whole
business community, just someof the larger ones.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
is that right, not yet just the Comcare Act or the
government workers?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, excellent.
Now I mean that's aninteresting point, because many
people listening to thisprobably don't realise that
government workers aren'tcovered by the workers'
compensation scheme here in theACT.
What's the implication of that,do you think?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
In terms of the….
Speaker 1 (01:36):
In terms of what it means for scheme deliveries?
I mean, is there much of adifference between oh yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
there are different acts and I came from the
underwritten scheme which looksafter most of the general
business, and I still have afirm foot in that area to see
what's going on.
But the government scheme isvery different covers all
government employees and somelarge employers who can apply
for it.
Different benefit structure, nosettlements, a much more of a
(02:05):
longer tail.
So there's a real incentive toget to work, back to work, as
opposed to the ACT scheme whichis really dynamic and very much
about early intervention gettingpeople back to work.
But there is that risk therearound common law and a
litigious, the litigiousenvironment that really impacts
(02:26):
that side.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, and that's certainly a pain point for many
people.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I'm very aware of that.
Yes, Now.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Employers Mutual Limited was recently named the
best workplace for women.
How is it that you've achievedthis, and how do you foster a
great work environment in thebusiness?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I think it's probably because it is just about being
a great work environment in thebusiness.
I think it's probably becausewe it is just about being a
great work environment, ratherthan being focused on wanting to
do anything specifically aboutany of the cohorts.
But, um, we really do have astrong purpose, which is around
get helping people get theirlives back, and most people who
meet anyone from EML normallyrecognize that it's a really,
(03:03):
really strong culture as as soonas they walk into any of the
businesses.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So how big's your team here in Canberra?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
We've grown significantly.
So I run the federalself-insurance business and so
we started in 2018 and we'vejust the business now is at 99,
so we just haven't quite hitthat big milestone, but yeah,
it's been.
It's a really big achievementto grow 99 dedicated personal
(03:33):
injury experts Like it's been areally big achievement because
that resource is really highlysought after.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And over a relatively short space of time as well.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
so six years, seven years, that's right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, well done, that's right yep, well done,
thank you.
So one of the I mean you talkabout those skills, those
workers being hard to come by.
How much of a barrier is thatto growing the business?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It definitely means that we need to peddle really,
really hard to make sure that weprovide an environment, because
the type of injuries andillnesses that are affecting
people in the government spaceand we have first responders in
that space and we've got medicalcorrections, we've got schools
(04:21):
so, particularly through COVID,a lot of employees in the ACT
have been really, really workinghard and we're only just seeing
some of the effects of thatright now.
Um, that flows onto the peoplethat are caring for them.
So for a case manager, the roleis really can be really
difficult, because we do dealwith people that are in distress
and they're affected.
So, um, so our challenge is toprovide a really supportive
(04:42):
environment and to really committo making sure we get the right
people on board who care abouthelping other people, because
it's not we definitely don't seeourselves as an area that just
wants to process claims.
We're very much about helpingpeople get back to life.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So how do you go about finding those people?
It's a struggle, we do.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
We find different lines, but it's.
I mean, part of the reason ofkind of connecting with the
business chamber is um isletting people know that there
are opportunities out there forpeople who, um, who are
committed and like talking topeople to um find a course in
personal injury, because it's avery rewarding career, uh and um
, and it really does have thatconnection to purpose and we
(05:22):
have a fantastic leadership andmanagement team, um, who support
you through that.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So yeah, so how long have you been in the industry
and what drove you to get intoit in the first place?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I have.
I'm like, I think I'm 36 yearsin the industry so I started as
a baby case manager here inCanberra.
So I have what looked afterworkers comp claims yeah, that's
right.
Um and um yeah, so it's, it'ssomething that I connected to
and have remained passionateabout and um, and in this area I
(05:52):
I thought at the last part ofmy career I would really like to
give back to the territory, soI really wanted to jump into
this ACT, government space andum, and also, you know, grow the
capability for Canberrans,because the act here is
different.
We have great benefits, but wereally do have an opportunity to
create a centre of excellencefor here, because we sit right
(06:12):
next to Comcare, which is a hugeopportunity for employment and
for innovation around all thingsinjury and all things recovery
in the psych space.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
So what do we need to do to get to be that centre of
excellence, do you?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
think we do need to invest, so we need to invest in
the people we need to.
We need to create areas oflearning and innovation.
We need to test, which is whatwe're doing at EML.
So we've got a lot of pilotsthat we run through the ACT
government scheme that havedelivered some fantastic
benefits and but it's reallyjust about making the ACT
Government Scheme.
That have delivered somefantastic benefits, but it's
(06:48):
really just about making theright work environment.
So we have personal injuryexperts that are thriving here.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So how's partnering with the ACT Government been?
What have you learned throughthat experience?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
It's been the most rewarding thing that I've done
in my career, to be honest.
We set up a program here thatexceeds the expectations of
legislation, so we justpartnered and identified what
was best practice in everyaspect of in terms of, you know,
response times and turnaroundtimes, and how quickly we should
(07:19):
make decisions.
So we agreed on all of that andthen since then, we've
delivered like a significantbenefit in um, in cost, uh, and
outcomes for the territory, umand um.
Yeah, we're really proud of ityeah, that's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
That's awesome.
Um, now, personally, you, youhave a great passion for many
causes.
Um, how does that help motivateyour work?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
well, it does, it does.
I'm very lucky to be able to dowhat I'm passionate about every
day, but especially in a placelike Canberra, because we're
such a we've got such highquality people here.
But we are just the right sizeto be able to innovate, to pop a
pilot in, to see somethingworks and to see the benefits
really quickly.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Now, disability is one of the areas I know you're
very passionate about and yousit on our disability advisory
group here at the Chamber,amongst other things.
You know what's your take onthat.
What are the big things we needto be doing, do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Just such an opportunity and such an untapped
resource.
So when we're supporting peopleback to work or through any
kind of injury, I just thinkthat we're underrepresented by
the disabled community in theinsurance area and it's just
something that I think wouldonly enhance us as an industry.
So I sit on the advisorycommittee to try to model to
(08:42):
other insurers that it is anuntapped area and that there's
some great employees out therethat we should be tapping into.
And in terms of people who areinjured or affected, I just
think having that livedexperience would mean so much to
someone if they're gettingsupport from someone who's in
the same place.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Now, you know, there are people perhaps listening to
this who have reservations aboutemploying people with
disabilities because they'reconcerned about risk,
essentially, and concerned thatthings aren't going to work out.
Have you had sort of practicalexperience in your business of
employing people withdisabilities?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We do so, and that's another reason why I'm sitting
on this, so that we can show andhelp to navigate what we need
to do.
It's like any other employee,just making sure that the
workplace is safe, and you've um, you've considered the
requirements, but um, like fromfrom what I know, these are some
of the most the highestperforming and most loyal
employees you can get, and weall need those and we need
(09:39):
people with resilience.
So, um, some of the people thathave been through some of these
struggles have got the highestresilience you would know and
the as employers, these are justthe skills and the modelling
that we need for others to seeevery day.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, so I mean, if you were listening to this and
you were thinking, oh well,maybe I should be thinking about
going out and trying to recruitfrom that cohort of people with
disabilities, what advice wouldyou have for them?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I've been through that process myself, greg, just
trying to tap into the rightareas, so through the advisory
committee.
That's one of the issues thatwe're trying to tackle.
So how do we do connect thesepeople to the current
opportunities and how it worksboth ways, that those of us who
are looking for people arefinding the right people and
(10:29):
that they're being marketed thesame way as any high performer
would be.
It is something we all need tonavigate, and I think that
that's something we're workingon at the moment, and we'd like
to be able to come out of thiscycle of the advisory committee
with something that makes thatmuch easier for employers.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And there's a range.
I mean, when we talk aboutpeople with disabilities,
there's obviously a big range ofconditions, or issues that
we're talking about there.
Do you think there are rolesfor everyone?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I do.
Definitely you need to makesure that there's a fit, so it's
always fit the right person tothe role.
So it's not like you can easilycohort it, it's just, I think,
just generally, now we've got somany tools and to be able to
identify right people for therole, it's just like any other
person making sure that they'rethe right fit.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, and by fit you mean cultural and skills.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Cultural, yeah, and also the passion.
If that's something thatthey're passionate about.
You find a way to make it work,because it's much easier.
It's much easier to work withsomeone who really wants to make
that happen than, rather, totry to fit someone into a box.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Absolutely, and it doesn't really matter whether
you're talking aboutdisabilities or anything else in
that space.
Yeah, passion is obviouslycritical to making things happen
.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Connection to purpose , because we all have it.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So just identifying how that works for you, yeah,
and you've obviously built asizable team here in Canberra
over the last seven years or so.
Ninety-nine people, I think yousaid so, nearly a hundred.
Hopefully you'll crack thatthreshold soon.
What's been the key to drivingthat passion in your business?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It has been a purpose it has been.
I do think once you startworking through those bumps in
culture, people start to yourculture, starts to draw the
right people to you.
So you do need to create anenvironment and to me, it's all
about leadership.
So I've got an incrediblemanagement team and leadership
team and we put a lot of effortinto leadership and then the
(12:33):
job's hard.
So we need to make sure thatwe've got an environment that's
supportive and fun and flexibleand rewards well.
So that's what we do is justlike there's a lot of effort
going into making sure thatwe're creating the right
environment and we've got um,we've got personal and
professional development.
So we support people personallyand professionally at eml
(12:54):
fantastic.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, let's just unpack fun a little bit, because
I know uh people often say theywant to have a a fun.
What do you think makes a funworkplace?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I think it's the connection with people and the
stuff that we do is hard, so youneed to make sure that there's
time for some lightness.
So we have great team huddles.
It all comes from the team thatwe have.
It all comes from the team.
So, just, I mean, they reallydo find the smallest things that
they connect on and will makeinto a fun event, and I do think
(13:37):
it just takes it's just time toactually connect to each other
and be there for the person next.
So we've been struggling withpeople in and out of the office,
like everyone else, but we'vereally tried to make sure that
we are deliberately trying tocreate an environment where it
is a bit light, so that thenpeople have a reason to come in.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
And is that working for you?
Are you finding people want tocome back to the?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
office and, look, I really want to be able to
provide that flexibility becauseI know that when I was a young
working mum, for example, Iwould have loved to have had
that flexibility.
So it's something I really wantto maintain.
It's just, we try to empowerour people to say that you have
to make this work, so don't.
It's not about us providingeverything.
We do ask a lot of you and weask you to also give back to the
(14:21):
culture so that we can keepthis flexibility, because it's
something we want to hang on to.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Absolutely.
Now, EML, coming back to thecompany, you've invested over
$142 million in the MutualBenefits Programme over recent
times.
What's that all about?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
This is probably the differentiator with EML.
So we are not just an insurancecompany or an insurance
provider.
We are a mutual, which meansthat we have a huge amount of
our income that goes back out asinvestment into our clients'
return to work, anything to dowith improving a claims outcome,
(15:01):
which means we have had dozensof initiatives, models.
We invest into research and itreally does mean that we can
give money back to the community.
So our employers will apply forsome of the mutual benefit and
then we can invest that intopilots programs all of the
(15:25):
things I've mentioned and someof the invest that into pilots
programs.
All of the things I'vementioned and some of the
examples that I could share.
In the ACT, for example, we'veset up an advisory area as part
of the union's ACT as an injuredworker in distress, so it's the
Injured Workers Support Service.
It's on the union's ACT websiteservice.
(15:49):
It's on the union's ACT websiteand if you've had a claim in
the SRC Act or any act and andare struggling with it, it's a
free advisory service that wecan, that you can connect to
without any legal fees, just toget some advice to make sure
that you're on the right trackand that you're in ensure it is
providing the right service andit's just things like that where
we can give back and and alsoget the insights from like that,
where we can give back and alsoget the insights from that
around how we can do better.
(16:10):
What are the kind of themesthat are coming through?
Fortunately, there's not manymatters that are going through
to the advisory service that arefrom EML, thank goodness.
But yeah, we're still committedto it because we do think that
there's a space for that, forpeople who may not have access
to go and get a legal adviceimmediately yeah, and everyone
needs to know um how it worksand and what they can, how they
(16:32):
can be supported, right yeah,that's right.
So there's been lots ofinitiatives like that for ACT
government that we've funded inthe last, uh, eight years, six
years, yeah what?
Speaker 1 (16:40):
what's your?
What's your take on um claimsgenerally here in the ACT and
how they compare around the restof the country?
Are claims going up down?
What are you seeing so?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
what we're seeing in the government space is, like
everyone, we've just seen thisreally strong and ongoing surge
of serious claims and there is alot more psych.
But I do think those psychclaims were there all the time
that they were just peopleusually presented with an injury
first, and then we would workout that there was a psych.
(17:15):
We'd call it a psych overlay,but there was a psych issue
behind it.
Nowadays, thankfully, we havenormalised a lot of that, so the
claims are being reported morefrequently and earlier, which is
good.
So now we need in the industryto model what recovery looks
like after that, and so that'sprobably there has been a spike,
(17:35):
but personally I think thatwill settle.
And now we need to model whatrecovery after mental injury
looks like, and we're startingto see some examples of that,
and then I do think it willsettle.
All insurers are getting betterat managing.
There's been legislative changefor early intervention and
presumptive and that sort ofthing for PTSD, which is really
(17:57):
good.
Now we just need to show whatafter that looks like.
So what does post-claim looklike?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
And I guess with insurance you're very much
sometimes the ambulance at thebottom of the cliff perhaps,
rather than the fence at the topI mean, what do you think
employers need to be doing tohelp manage some of those psycho
risks?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Well, we're all in it together right, because we're
an employer as well, so we seeit too, and there is I think
we're all part of the samejourney around the awareness and
then people starting to talkabout it.
Then it's becoming morenormalised, so people are much
more likely to claim.
So I think what we need to dois use all the tools that we
(18:45):
have access to to make sure thatwe identify early and then we
have the conversations.
We also need to not be tooscared about it.
So there's a lot of good stuffout there now and how we can
lead through this and how wedon't have to um like step away.
My advice is normally to step in, take the step towards somebody
who's in, who you see signs ofgetting into um, into that state
(19:06):
and um, rather than step awaybecause I think that's probably
what we see from the claims sideis normally it's when people
shy away from a mental healthepisode that the immediate
impact after that and recoverycan take a longer time.
A supportive employer makes allthe difference in the world.
So we still have the sameobligations around return to
(19:28):
work as we do with any injury.
So it's modelling return towork and getting help in what
that looks like and asking yourinsurer, if you need to, how you
do that.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, excellent Good advice.
And on the subject of advice,you know you've had a long
career in the industry 36 years,I think you said.
You know, if you were talkingto a young person perhaps, or
even an older person who wasthinking, oh I'm considering
sort of jumping into the sector,what advice would you give them
(20:00):
?
How do you make a career in theinsurance sector?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
It's such a great time to jump in.
If you're a person who wants tohelp people through this kind
of process, this is the job.
All of the technology and theefficiencies and the artificial
intelligence that's coming tohelp with all of that
interpreting legislation andcompliance all of that is going
(20:24):
to get easier for us.
So it really is around thathuman touch, around how you help
someone get from a to b.
So I would say the the kind,the right kind of backgrounds
can come from anything, from anykind of allied health, anything
where, like we have some greatex-retail people who just
dealing with customers and knowhow to deal with with all
(20:47):
different kinds of walks of life.
They do really well.
But one of the great examplesthat we found has come from the
property management area.
So those people deal with allmanners.
They've got multiplestakeholders.
They're often dealing withpeople like trying to rally
people and get them on board,and some people who've come from
(21:08):
that area have been great casemanagers for us.
So case managers come from allover the place.
It's more just about people whoconnect to purpose.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I think, yeah, fantastic.
And is there a particular kindof qualification or anything
that you look for?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Anything allied health or anything any kind of,
because there's so many elementsof personal injury management
now.
So anyone who's got any kind oflegal or understanding
legislation type of backgroundand that doesn't even need a
qualification, that's just aninterest as well, right through
to the medical side.
But really it's stakeholdermanagement, it's relationship
(21:46):
building that we find are thebest case managers.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Excellent.
Well, Susie Walford, who is theGeneral Manager for Federal
Self-Insurance at EmployersMutual Limited, thank you so
much for joining me here on theCanberra Business Podcast today.
It's been great having a chatand learning a bit more about
the personal injury managementindustry.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Thanks for being here and thanks for listening to the
podcast.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favourite podcast platform
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast, and
I'll catch you next time.
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