Your Guide to Reduce Injuries, Improve Retention with POET

The Three Problems Every Business is Facing

Every day, Businesses across industries are combatting a trio of critical challenges that can significantly impact long-term success: high employee turnover, musculoskeletal injuries (MSDs), and a lack of qualified candidates. These issues aren’t new but they are growing in urgency and complexity.

High Turnover

High turnover disrupts operations, reduces team cohesion, and increases the burden on remaining staff. Companies spend significant time and resources recruiting, onboarding, and training employees, only to watch many walk away within the first year. High turnover also compromises institutional knowledge, continuity, and long-term planning making it difficult to scale operations and meet productivity goals.

Musculoskeletal Injuries (MSDs)

Musculoskeletal injuries are another serious concern. These injuries often impact two types of employees:

• Early-tenure employees who may not be physically prepared or properly trained, often suffer sprain and strain injuries shortly after being hired.
• Long-tenured employees who experience physical decline or develop chronic conditions from years of manual material handling and repetitive tasks.

These injuries result in lost productivity, higher workers’ compensation costs, and long-term absenteeism. Worse, they can lead to permanent disability and job loss. These are issues that harm both the individual and the organization.

Lack of Qualified Employees

Even as injuries and turnover increase, employers face a growing labor shortage. The pool of candidates who are physically and mentally capable of meeting job demands is shrinking. As older workers retire and new entrants struggle to meet physical job requirements, companies are left scrambling to fill gaps, sometimes hiring individuals who are not fully capable of performing essential job functions.

Clearly, doing nothing is no longer an option.

What Can We Do?

If employers fail to address these challenges proactively, they can expect rising injury rates, higher healthcare and workers’ compensation costs, and even more frequent turnover. Let’s take a look at some alarming data to underscore the urgency of action:

Musculoskeletal disorders account for approximately one-third of all workers' compensation costs, totaling over $20 billion annually in the U.S. (2023).

Average Cost per Injury:

• Knee injury: $35,332
• Low back injury: $39,328
• Arm/Shoulder injury: $49,838
• Neck injury: $65,659

These costs are just the direct medical expenses and don’t account for indirect losses such as reduced productivity, administrative burden, or the cost of replacing an injured employee.

Finding Practical, Scalable Solutions

To address these issues, organizations need to take a comprehensive, data-driven approach. This includes:

• Evaluating the entire workforce – New hires, tenured staff, and transitional workers.
• Analyzing injury data – Understand what types of injuries are occurring and when.
• Implementing tailored solutions – Every facility and job role has unique demands; cookie-cutter approaches don’t work.

A foundational element of this approach is functional testing, especially Post Offer Employment Testing (POET).

The Role of Functional Testing

What is Functional Testing?

Functional employment testing, particularly POET, helps employers evaluate whether a candidate can safely perform the essential physical demands of a job. It is a practical tool for reducing musculoskeletal claims, making better hiring decisions, and building a healthier workforce from the start.

POET Basics

• Timing: Conducted post-offer, pre-placement.
• Scope: May include medical examinations and disability-related inquiries, which are allowed under the ADA at this stage.
• Monitoring: Requires cardiovascular monitoring during testing.
• Validation: Relies on a Validation Study that:
  • Links tests directly to job-specific demands.
  • Minimizes adverse impact on certain demographics.
  • Ensures uniform administration of the test.

Benefits of POET: ROI and Retention

1. Improved Hiring Decisions

Functional testing prevents the hiring of individuals who are unable to safely perform critical job functions. In short: don’t hire your next injury.

2. Reduction in Injury Claims

Research and practical application show a 30–35% reduction in injury claims and a 40–45% reduction in injury severity for employers who implement POET programs.

3. Objective Baseline Data

If an injury does occur, the data from functional testing serves as a baseline, helping differentiate between pre-existing conditions and work-related injuries. This helps mitigate claim costs and speeds up the decision-making process.

4. Lower Healthcare Spending

More physically capable employees are generally healthier overall, leading to reduced healthcare utilization and lower insurance costs.

5. Return-to-Work Applications

Functional testing isn’t just for new hires. It can also be used to determine when an injured worker is ready to return to their job safely, without risking re-injury.

6. Enhanced Retention

Matching people to jobs they can actually perform results in better retention rates, fewer early departures, and increased long-term productivity.

Case Study: Reducing Injury Rates by 67% with POET

A nationwide outdoor equipment manufacturer was spending millions on workers’ compensation claims despite applying best-practice safety protocols in their facilities. Upon evaluation, management realized many of the claims were coming from new hire employees... read the case study.

Best Practices in All Phases

A successful POET program must be thoughtfully designed and implemented. Below are some best practices to help ensure your testing strategy leads to real, measurable outcomes:

Avoid These Common Pitfalls:

• Generic Testing: Testing that doesn’t align with real job demands is ineffective and may not hold up under legal scrutiny.
• Inconsistent Test Administration: Variability in how the test is delivered can skew results and introduce bias.
• Poorly Trained Testers: Ensure all administrators are trained to deliver and interpret tests in a consistent, accurate, and compliant manner.
• Missing Documentation: Every test should have clear, written pass/fail criteria, aligned with validated job demands.
• Outdated Protocols: As job demands change over time, so should your testing procedures. A protocol that worked five years ago may no longer reflect reality.

Best Practices: POET Test Components & Procedures

Designing an effective POET process requires clear workflows and compliance with both legal and operational best practices.

General POET Flow:

1. Job Posting & Application
   • The job description includes validated physical demands.
2. Conditional Offer Extended
   • Once a candidate is selected, a conditional job offer is provided, pending successful completion of the functional test.
3. Test Arrangement
   • The test is scheduled at a qualified facility or through an in-house certified provider.
4. Test Administration
   • The test is administered, usually involving job simulation tasks, cardiovascular monitoring, and lifting or movement assessments tied to actual duties.
5. Go/No-Go Decision
   • Pass: Candidate begins onboarding and employment.
   • Fail: Candidate is informed of results and invited to reapply in the future or offered alternative job placements if available.

The goal is not to eliminate candidates but to ensure safety, fairness, and the right fit between employee and task.

Key Takeaways:

• High turnover, growing injury rates, and a lack of qualified candidates are all converging to challenge the modern workplace.
• Doing nothing leads to higher injury rates, lost productivity, and mounting costs.
• Functional testing, especially POET, offers a defensible, data-backed solution that reduces injuries, improves retention, and enhances hiring decisions.
• Following best practices in test design, documentation, and administration ensures compliance and maximizes return on investment.
• Whether you're just starting out or refining your existing program, a thoughtful approach to functional testing is one of the most impactful steps you can take toward building a safer, more resilient workforce.

Ready to improve or start an employment testing solution?

Talk with a Briotix Health expert about your employment testing needs.