Yesterday marked the conclusion of the 2009 RIMS Conference & Exhibition, where the entire risk management and insurance industry gathered in Orlando to challenge its risk I.Q. From charitable work at the Give Kids the World Village and inspiring keynote speeches to the massive Exhibit hall and the extravagant evening receptions, RIMS 2009 provided guests with an exceptional experience.

As for us, all the editors at Risk Management magazine were able to make many valuable contacts and devise dozens of new story ideas that we look forward to sharing with all of you in future editions.

What was the highlight of RIMS 2009 for you?

UPDATE: Check the RIMS site for even more post-Conference coverage, including each day’s Show Daily newsletter, attendee Twitter feeds (you can follow our editor Jared Wade @RiskMgmt) and a Conference image gallery.

The Exhibit Hall was the hub of the excitement with some 400 exhibitors.

Drugs such as ecstasy are commonly abused by employees across all industries.

Lost productivity costs employers $197 billion a year, according to the U.S. Government. One of the major reasons for lost productivity is drugs in the workplace. Drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace is also a constant threat to company liability and workers comp costs. Darryl Hammann, director of disability and absence services for Sedgwick Claims Management Services, revealed an alarming fact during his session this morning: 76% of people with drug and alcohol problems are employed.

What this means is that more than likely, one or more of your employees or coworkers is lacking in productivity due to the fact that they are currently under the influence or recovering from being under the influence the night before (just hours before arriving to work).

This, as one might assume, can have an enormous impact on workers comp costs as employees with drug abuse problems are four times more likely to have an on-the-job injury.

Additional costs include, but are not limited to:

• Increased healthcare costs
• The fact that other workers suffer
• Effects on the relatives of the employee
• Increase in absenteeism
• Increase in workplace theft

To combat the effects of drugs in the workplace, the panelists proclaimed that companies should implement drug education programs and/or pre-employment, random or post-accident drug testing policies.

Jeff Brody, director of safety and loss control for Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York, said it comes down to three things when working to combat drug abuse in the workplace: educate, prevent and promote.

“Post accident drug testing is not the magic bullet, but it is certainly another weapon ready for use in your workers comp arsenal,” said Gisele Posey, senior director of workers comp and loss prevention for Kindred Healthcare.

With companies striving to stay alive in these economic times, drug abuse in the workplace is one thing managers should not have to worry about, but unfortunately, it is an epidemic. An epidemic that doesn’t take into account whether other employees are struggling to pick up the slack of a drug abuser, or whether the company is operating in the red, or whether workers comp claims will push their struggling company over the edge.

Drug and alcohol abuse is a societal problem that will never completely go away. How is your company facing this issue?

John P. Kotter

John P. Kotter, author and leadership consultant, was the guest of honor at Tuesday’s Keynote Luncheon here in Orlando.

He began his intriguing presentation with the comparison of two CEOs.

Those in attendance were forced to focus on how the leadership and management styles of the two men differed drastically.

After in-depth studies and interviews were done with each CEO’s employees, it was revealed that CEO number two (GE’s Jack Welch) was praised as a better superior because he focused more on leadership than management, especially in times of change.

This, in a nutshell, is what John P. Kotter is all about: telling the corporate world that leadership, not necessarily management, is how successful companies operate. “The critical ingredient in all of this is leadership — and you can learn it.”

In addition, he offered his eight steps for successful large-scale change:

1. Increase urgency
2. Build the guiding team
3. Get the vision right
4. Communicate for buy-in
5. Empower action
6. Create short-term wins
7. Don’t let up
8. Make it stick

If you want to hear more from Kotter on the topic, you can buy his book Leading Change on Amazon.