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In our latest episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk to DJ McConnell, President and Owner of Bailey-McCaffrey, LLC.

Guest bio:

DJ McConnell | Nurse Case Manager & Owner of Bailey McCaffrey | New Orleans, Louisiana

• 15+ years in the workers' compensation industry
• Worked at Bailey McCaffrey for 13+ years, recently became President and owner.
• Brings a healthcare/clinical lens to claims work and organizational leadership

Yvonne wishes we had talked more to DJ about taking over the company where he worked for 13+ years. We'll have him back to have a deeper discussion on leadership! Thank you and kudos to DJ for stepping into this new role. We wish him all the best!

1. Good Communication Comes First—Learn Why

DJ (like many of us) learned this the hard way: the medical side of workers' comp is predictable. The hard part that nobody teaches you in school is how to communicate with injured workers and their family after a severe or catastrophic injury, and how that first communication impacts the entire claim.

DC micro lesson: Before you worry about process, policy, or procedures—understand that how you communicate will determine the entire trajectory of a claim. If you don't teach yourself this early on, you'll spend years learning it the hard way.

Ask yourself: What do I know about crisis communications? What do I still need to learn?

2. Meet People Where They Are—Not Where YOU Need Them To Be

DJ explains how early intervention should be carefully managed. When you show up within 24 hours of an injury, clipboard in hand, asking questions to someone who is in shock or hysterically crying, you've already lost. They're not in a state to receive or give information.

DC micro lesson: Your job on the first contact isn't to gather data. It's to establish that you're a human who sees them and will be there when they want or need answers. That's enough. The information can wait.

Think about this: What would change if you showed up to the first contact with an injured worker, not with a clipboard but with 100% presence?

3. Non-Negotiables Are Infrastructure, Not Luxury

DJ talks about his non-negotiables for maintaining his capacity: sleep, family time, and holding boundaries. We talk about the importance of boundaries and what it costs when you don't maintain them. But he's learned the cost of not protecting them: capacity disappears, communication suffers, presence evaporates.

DC micro lesson: Non-negotiables aren't selfish. They're the foundation your capacity is built on.

Honest check-in: What are your three non-negotiables? How do you actually protect them?

4. Self-Awareness: Notice Before You Break

DJ models self-awareness in his personal and professional life: noticing his emotional response at dinner, acknowledging lack of boundaries, addressing fears as a new business owner. He's not hiding (avoiding) the gap between knowing and doing; he's paying attention to it. So important!

DC micro lesson: Self-leadership starts with noticing. What's happening inside you right now? When do you notice your state of mind shifting? When do you realize you're operating from scarcity instead of capacity? How are you addressing the shift when you notice?

This is the internal work nobody talks about, but what everybody needs to do.

5. Building A Strong Foundation

DJ shares how he mentors his team. He role-plays with them. He shows them what presence looks like, what first contact without a clipboard looks like, what protecting your non-negotiables so you can show up for others actually means.

DC micro lesson: Mentoring can take many forms. DJ talks about how he's practicing with his team. They role-play together. Sometimes mentoring is being willing to look clumsy while you learn together. DJ is building a company culture where communication and presence aren't nice ideas. They're coached, practiced, and reinforced through real mentoring relationships.

That sounds like a good recipe for building a strong foundation!

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp

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Recently, we sat down with Jill Dulich to discuss how the workers' compensation system has changed over the past 50+ years. Here's a summary of our conversation:

Guest: Jill Dulich | Director of Claims and Operations, California Self-Insurers Security Fund
Expertise: 52 years in workers' compensation (Marriott, 32 years; CSSF, 11 years)
Geographic Scope: Jill has managed claims in all states west of the Mississippi

ABOUT JILL

She's a living archive of what workers' compensation was, and could be again. Jill has spent 52 years in this industry, partly by maintaining her own humanity outside it: she walks to clear her head, loves to travel internationally (recent trips to New Zealand, Australia, France, Greece), and loves to explore other cultures with genuine curiosity.

THE CORE QUESTION

52 years ago, claims professionals were measured on early and frequent contact with injured workers.

Today, injured workers often feel "lost on an island with no support."

So, what changed? And what has it cost us?

THEN vs. NOW

THEN (52 Years Ago)

• Role: Claims professionals guided injured workers through the complex system of workers' compensation
• Measure: Early, frequent contact and communication with injured workers
• Benefit: Injured workers felt supported; employers got predictability and faster resolution on their claims

NOW

• Role: Claims professionals manage procedures and systems
• Measure: High caseloads, case closure, compliance, efficiency
• Cost: Injured workers feel abandoned; employers lose goodwill and face more friction and litigation

THE PARADOX

Jill talks about how she struggled with anxiety early in her career as a claims professional. She didn't know she could ask for help. The work has always demanded emotional presence, and it takes a toll. It requires holding someone else's crisis while managing your own capacity.

Hmmm. Have we talked about managing capacity before? Yep!

At places like Marriott, where support was offered to claims professionals, it didn't eliminate the struggle. It made it survivable. Jill said it allowed her and others to show up, day after day, with empathy and compassion.

Now? The job is harder, and we removed the safety net.

Complexity has increased exponentially. We've fragmented the role. And we've stripped away the human support mechanisms that made it possible to guide injured workers with empathy and compassion. Then we wonder why claims professionals are burning out at such a high and fast rate?

THE INSIGHT

Workers' comp was designed around one simple truth: Claims professionals are there to guide injured workers through complexity, and when that happens, everyone wins.

We optimized for procedure. We lost sight of our mission.

The cost: We didn't just sacrifice the role's humanity; we sacrificed its effectiveness and the core mission. And somewhere along the way, we made the job unsustainable for our system guides: claims professionals.

WHAT YOU'LL HEAR

• How the claims role was originally designed, and why it worked
• What we traded when we prioritized systems over relationships
• Why injured workers and employers both lost
• Are we ready to redesign for what actually works?

A DIRECT QUOTE FROM JILL

A Socratic reflection: If you were measured on early, frequent contact with injured workers instead of case closure (speed), how would your day change?

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp