Introducing the 2024 Theo Award Winners


National Comp and Risk & Insurance® are honored to introduce to you the 2024 Theo Award winners.

The Theo Award, now in its inaugural year, represents the evolution of a long-standing history of recognizing employer excellence in workers’ comp and injury prevention.

Finding solutions to injury and claims challenges is the mission of employers in every industry. The Theo award recognizes their successful efforts and puts a spotlight on the strategies and tools helping today’s workers’ comp teams meet and exceed their goals.

From small changes that make a big impact to complex initiatives and investments, there is much we can learn from each success, across each industry.

The people behind the program, of course, are always the key. The people behind these Theo Award-winning programs are smart, experienced and, above all, passionate about what they do. The leaders of these programs and the teams that support them are all worthy of the highest recognition.

Here are R&I’s top four takeaways from evaluating and selecting this year’s winners.

1) Leadership Engagement Is Foundational

Active engagement from top leadership, in word and deed, is essential to achieving real success. Program leaders who spoke with R&I praised their risk management teams for putting people and safety first, and for walking the walk as well as talking the talk.

2) Partnerships Built On Shared Goals

Employers — especially the ones running lean risk management and workers’ comp teams — rely heavily on key partners to help meet new goals and milestones. S electing the right partners and ensuring their values and priorities align with the organization’s mission takes patience and diligence. Collaboration, communication and respect are the hallmarks of these successful teams.

3) Whole-Person Care Is the New Gold Standard

The current class of workers’ comp program managers understand that employee wellbeing as a whole is an essential part of the injury prevention and injury management picture. Employers now have a sharp eye on the mental and physical health of their workers. They understand that a strong, healthy workforce suffers fewer injuries and bounces back from injuries faster. We’re not treating a low back sprain or a broken leg — we’re treating a person.

4) We Are Family

The number of people across these organizations who describe their workforce as “family” says so much about what drives their efforts and decision-making. Compassion, empathy and advocacy are at the heart of these programs.

Congratulations to each of these award-winning organizations. Read their profiles using the links above, and please join us at National Comp in Las Vegas, October 15 to 17, to meet them in person and find out more about their initiatives and successes. &

More from Risk & Insurance