This is the last episode of Season 2 and times are changing! ReEmployAbility’s Nonprofit Relationship Manager, Lindsey Bressi, helps us introduce the change in ReAudio’s format coming up in Season 3 with some great human-interest stories of Injured Workers overcoming apprehension, fear, frustration, and adversity to impact the lives of others. Season 3 will be the best yet!
This is the last episode of Season 2 and times are changing! ReEmployAbility’s Nonprofit Relationship Manager, Lindsey Bressi, helps us introduce the change in ReAudio’s format coming up in Season 3 with some great human-interest stories of Injured Workers overcoming apprehension, fear, frustration, and adversity to impact the lives of others. Season 3 will be the best yet!
R-E-A-R-E-A-R-E-A-R-E-A Audio R-E-A-audio, r-e-a-audio, r-e-a-audio, r-e-a-audio R-E-A-audio Reemployability Ability Ability, reemployability.
Speaker 2:Season 2.
Speaker 1:Season 2. Believe it or not, we are rolling into Season 3 of R-E-A-audio, so this is actually the last episode of Season 2. It's like Episode 87 or 88. We've been doing this for two years and it's amazing to me how fast time goes and also how things change as we've moved along. R-e-a-audio was originally built to be a toolbox for adjusters and people within the workers comp world so that we could give them ideas to make them do their job better. And even though we still kind of do that, what we've really done is change what our perception is of R-E-A-audio in the podcast And what we can do within this industry in order to try to make it better. And what that focus has really become now for R-E-A-audio and really high level with reemployability is focus on the injured worker. We understand how easily you can get jaded in this industry And in our experience with injured workers and the statistics showed as well the majority of people that get injured on the job they want to get back to work, they want to get back to their regular lives And we want to try to help kind of change everyone's perception of what the workers comp industry is and the people that are at the heart of why we do what we do. And so at reemployability, if you're not familiar with what we do, we take injured workers who can't be accommodated with modified duty at their employer and we put them into not-for-profits And we place injured workers all across the country. We place over a thousand injured workers every month, and really at the heart of what our program is and at the heart of what our product is, is the not-for-profits that we partner with. And so we have a team of folks who reach out to an on-board quality not-for-profits And, as part of what they do, they also interact a lot with the injured workers who we are able to place in these not-for-profits.
Speaker 1:And so, as a guest on our very last episode of Season 2 of R-E-A-Audio is Lindsay Bresley. Lindsay is a non-profit relationship manager here at Reemployability, and, lindsay, you've been on the show before and thank you for letting me twist your arm and get you back on again. It's always so nice to talk to you and get a different perspective on what it is we do. Right, i'm the sales manager here, so I'm always looking at our clients from a perspective of who can we bring on that can utilize our program, whereas you're really in the heart of being able to develop and build our program and make it more robust and more full of options and quality options as well. So very long intro and I'm sorry and I'm going to let you talk now, but thank you for coming on again and kind of helping us wind up Season 2 and introduce what we're going to do next season.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me, todd. I'm really excited to be here. Just a little bit of background on me like Todd mentioned, i am a non-profit relationship manager here at Reemployability. I've actually been with the company for almost eight years, believe it or not. Prior to that, i actually worked in the nonprofit sector as volunteer services managers for different nonprofits in the Tampa Bay area And then I found this job started as a placement specialist and connected injured workers to those nonprofits And ultimately that led to my position now. Because I have a heart for nonprofits, i've always kind of envisioned myself working for one kind of like the end goal, so this position is kind of the dream job for me. It allows me to work really closely with nonprofit partners across the country and it also allows me to connect our injured workers to their communities.
Speaker 1:Well, it's so nice to have, because Reemployability didn't always have a division that was totally dedicated to reaching out to an onboarding new profit. When we were younger and had fewer people and we're kind of developing our process we would get a referral in and then we would look for a not-for-profit in that area. It just made the most sense. It was the most efficient because of the just the staffing that we had. But as we grew and as we expanded and tried to scale what it was that we do, we identified that there are certain areas really across the whole country But there are pockets where we really need help in onboarding new not-for-profits And that's where you and Angela come in and the rest of the team that are doing what you are doing.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the challenges that you find when reaching out to not-for-profits and being able to onboard them and get them kind of understanding what it is that we do? Because I know, at least with clients, i can give you the elevator pitch, but there's so much more to it and there's a lot of nuance to it that people have to understand And I can imagine that first call that you make to a not-for-profit they're like you do what, and you're gonna do what? So tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2:The very first question that we ask any nonprofit whether they're an admin office, a thrift store, a food bank, a homeless shelter is do you use volunteers? So if right off the bat they're like yes, we absolutely need volunteers, then we kind of go into that process of can you accommodate light duty volunteers, so individuals who have temporary physical limitations but are available to you for full-time hours while they recover. So a lot of times nonprofits are very surprised that this is even an option for them And there is some hesitancy, of course, obviously, with being able to accommodate certain restrictions. So what we do is we try to get a sense of what duties that they can provide to an individual and kind of match what they might want. So if we get a referral in a certain area and we know that that nonprofit can accommodate certain limitations, then we can reach out to them with a volunteer that makes sense for their organization.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one of the things I tell our clients, because one of the questions that comes up. It has to do with accountability from a client standpoint, right? So this injured worker isn't directly answerable to one of the managers at the company because they're off-site, and so the question always comes up like how do we know that this person's gonna be accountable to what it is that they're supposed to be doing? And you make a really good point When you're reaching out to these not-for-profits. They need the help, right? It's not like they're just saying, oh yeah, send us as many people as you can, we'll have them stand around. That's a burden to them as well, right? So is it your experience that, because of that hesitancy, they're like listen, i don't wanna take somebody else on and manage that person if they're not gonna be doing something that I need them to do? But is that been your experience?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, and there are some instances where the hesitancy is there and it takes a little bit more than maybe one conversation with that non-profit. It's also just getting a sense of their mission and how they benefit the community And just letting them know. Really, at the end of the day, we wanna connect people to a really good organization and give them a sense of purpose while they're navigating their work-related injuries. So being able to tell an injured worker like hey, you're gonna go to this food bank and they actually serve 500 people a week and you can help with that, i think it gets the injured worker excited about it. I think brainstorming with nonprofits we do a lot of that as well. So if there is that sense of I don't know if I can host someone, we give them different ideas just based on previous experiences sorry with other nonprofits.
Speaker 1:So one of the things that you do is you get to travel and visit not-for-profits those that you're both looking to onboard and those that are current partners with us just to well for many reasons, right, you wanna say thank you, you want to make sure that everything is the way it's supposed to be at that not-for-profit. And then one of the other things you get to do is you talk to injured workers that are actually in the program, and that kind of transitions us to what we wanna do and how we wanna focus season three of REA Audio. So we were talking the other day about your most recent trip out to California, right, and some of the injured workers and not-for-profits that you were able to visit and talk to, and you told some really, really cool stories. You wanna share some of those.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely So. Best part of my job is when I get to travel to different cities and states across the country to connect with those nonprofit partners and the participants. So this was my fourth trip. I was gone for about a week and I visited a total of 25 different nonprofits. So, like you said, some of those were ones I was attempting to onboard in person. Others were long-standing partners. Others were kind of what we call windbacks as well. So just being able to actually go out into the community and see firsthand what these organizations one, what they look like, learn more about their mission in person, connect with our nonprofit supervisors, again thanking them for their partnership and seeing what we can do to take that to the next level, what we're doing really, really well with them, what we could improve upon, and then you know, if time allows or if circumstances allow, connecting with the volunteers themselves.
Speaker 1:So you told me a story about one of the volunteers doing it had to do with a lunch right. They were eating lunch out in the parking lot. Yeah, that's a great story.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So at the end of my very first day I visited a Goodwill thrift store and I met with the store manager there and she's like, oh my gosh, we love your volunteers, like they are so helpful to our cause and our mission and our purpose. And there was one volunteer there in particular. Her name was Ro and Mary the store manager called her a light. So Ro just had a bubbly personality. She was always eager and excited to come into work and once I met her I realized how much of a social person she actually is. So Mary really wanted me to meet with her and poached her head outside and she's like, oh, ro's eating lunch in the parking lot. I'm like I do not want to interrupt this poor woman on her lunch break, but we went out there anyway and she sort of had like this picnic setup with a couple other ladies and then she introduced them as her friends and I was like, well, i don't want to take up too much of your time, but Mary was just, you know, speaking volumes of how helpful you are at the store, how customers love to connect with you and how you're learning different skills. So because of Ro's hard work ethic, they actually allowed her to do all of the window displays and the end caps, so getting people really excited about their purchases. And the two ladies that Ro was actually having lunch with were customers and they've become repeat customers because of their experiences and their interactions with Ro.
Speaker 2:So when I met Ro, she was, like you know, i am a really social person. This is way better than sitting at home. She's like when I was at home I was feeling depressed, i was feeling lost and I was feeling like I had no purpose. So getting that letter in the mail and being advised that she was going to go to this thrift store for her modified duty, it totally changed her life. And she said that she's really, you know, connected with the nonprofit.
Speaker 2:Mary is really good about reminding her of the mission and all the good that they're doing, all the good that these proceeds from these thrift stores are benefiting people, and right there in her community and the two ladies that she was with they were just like we love her so much, like we bring her lunch every day. They have conversations and it was just really nice to hear that that nonprofit was giving Ro an experience that was more than just. Here's what you're going to do today from 9 to 5, and let us know if you have any questions. You know it was really taking care of her, really teaching her different skills that will benefit her in the future and giving her that safe environment to go to, as well as new connections.
Speaker 1:You had mentioned that there are the not for profits are sometimes hesitant, obviously, when we're explaining what it is that we do, and every time I've been able to visit a not for profit and see one of our, one of the injured workers that we've placed there, i mean almost 100% of the time they tell me yeah, i got the letter and I wasn't quite sure what this was all about. I was a little bit hesitant, i was a little bit skeptical, right, and it's a shame in this world, with everything that goes on like your first intuition is to be skeptical of something, especially if it seems like it's a good thing. Right, do you run into a lot of that with injured workers when you meet them? Yes, yes, i do.
Speaker 2:On my second day of the visit. Actually, i did meet a woman and she was like when I first got that letter I did not agree with it. She's like I didn't want to go but I decided after thinking about it that I would give it a chance and she loves the non-profit. She's like this is what I look forward to every day. She's like it also has a foundation in faith, which is really important to her, and they also offer prayer sessions if that's something that someone wants to engage with. So she said that on her really hard days where it's tough to get out of bed and remember her injury, this place gives her that comfort and that that peace of mind.
Speaker 1:And, of course, all we don't. The non-profits that we work with are not all faith-based, however. There are a lot that are, and many of them may be faith-based but don't necessarily show that on the front end, right, we have a lot of not-for-profits that may support a faith-based organization, but on the client-facing side or on the public-facing side, it's a thrift shop or it's whatever. That is One of the things.
Speaker 1:The way we want to pivot to season three of REA Audio now is to tell those back stories of people like Roe that you explained, right, because, lindsay, you and I pass each other how many times in the hallway here, right, and we'll smile, we'll say hi, i know what you do, you know what I do, i know how involved you are in what you do and I know a little bit about your background.
Speaker 1:But inside you have a backstory that brings you to where you are today. Inside I've got a backstory that's brought me to where I am today and a lot of times it's understanding that backstory that will really help you as a person, change the way you see other people, and that's what we want to try to do within this industry is to help risk managers, adjusters, hr people, anybody within the workers comp industry understand that we are working with human beings and every single one of them has a backstory that's gotten them to where they are, be it good or bad, and we feel like it's a really good way to do that by having interviews with them but then being able to translate those interviews more into a story format, utilizing their own words, and that's what we're going to be doing, moving into season three and you may not know this yet, lindsay, but you're going to be a partner with me through the rest- of the year because you are the.
Speaker 1:I mean, you are the source of these folks and you get to talk to them, i would imagine, pretty much on a daily basis, and we want to feature what some of our not-for-profits are doing. We want to feature what the injured workers are doing in their backstories and you know what. We also want to feature those people within the workers comp industry that are doing the right things and the good things and tell their backstory and what changed their perception as well.
Speaker 1:So I hope you're ready to kind of partner with me and do this surprise here you go, and that doesn't mean and that probably does mean that we're going to be doing this a little bit more often and hearing more about your trips and kind of introducing some of the people that we're going to be telling the backstories for every trip is really meaningful and I always, you know, come home reflecting and you know I learned something new every single time.
Speaker 2:I think this trip was by far the most meaningful experience that I've had so far, and I think a lot of it was because I got to interact with so many different people, people that were having exceptional experiences at their assignments and people that were struggling as well and, at the end of the day, i realized that people just want someone to genuinely listen to their stories, and being able to be that person when, when and if they want to share their story with me is really humbling. And I'm excited to share those stories, you know in season three and just with anyone who wants to listen, because I feel like I really am the lucky one to be able to be the one that gets to go out there and connect with these people and bring those good stories back. So I'm really excited and looking forward to working with you well.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you, lindsay, and thank you for all that you do thank you so that will do it for season two of REA audio.
Speaker 1:Make sure you join us in two weeks for the kickoff of season three, featuring the humanizing stories of people forced to overcome adversity and better themselves through the service of others. We're ready to give you a piece of the positivity in each new episode, and here's where you can help. If you have a story to share, be it yours or someone else's, let us know. You can drop us a note on twitter at REA audio podcast also. Please follow REA audio on stitcher, spotify, apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. You can also listen on our website at listen to REAcom. There's other information there as well. We're helping you reinvent your workers comp perspective by leading with the good. We'll see you in july you.