It’s a familiar—and frustrating—moment for many occupational health providers. One month, your clinic is humming with workplace injuries, return-to-work visits, and supervisor phone calls. Then suddenly, things slow down. Initial injuries drop. The familiar faces from your top employer clients aren’t showing up. Your staff starts asking, “Where is everyone?”
When injury volume takes a dip, it’s tempting to write it off as seasonal or assume employers have just forgotten about you. But in reality, there’s almost always a deeper reason—and an opportunity hiding underneath the surface.
Start With a Diagnosis, Not a Discount
Before you ramp up marketing or slash pricing, take time to investigate what’s really changed. Pull a simple report of new injuries by employer over the past few months. Look for patterns. Did one of your largest clients stop sending? Are certain industries or job types absent?
This is the moment to reach out—but not with a mass email. Pick up the phone. Ask directly and respectfully:
“We noticed a dip in visits from your team recently and wanted to check in. Are things slower on your end, or has something changed in your referral process?”
Sometimes the employer’s business is down. Other times, you may find they’ve been testing out another provider—or worse, had a negative experience they haven’t told you about. In either case, a personal call shows you care and gives you a chance to win them back.
Give Employers Reassurance, Not More Risk
In slower months, clinic staff often try to go the extra mile with every injury. But here’s the problem: if that “extra” turns a first aid case into an OSHA recordable, you could lose the employer’s trust.
A better approach is to educate and reassure. Instead of handing out a generic triage chart, send your employers a simple guide: “What Counts as OSHA First Aid—and How We Help You Stay in Compliance.”
Include examples like:
- Cleaning and bandaging minor cuts
- Using over-the-counter meds
- Applying hot/cold therapy
- Removing splinters
- Non-rigid support like slings or wraps
Let them know your clinic follows OSHA definitions carefully and treats minor injuries conservatively—always aiming to help them avoid unnecessary recordables.
(And yes, we’ve got a downloadable version of that handout if you’d like it.)
Don’t Ignore the Bigger Picture: Why Are You Down?
While you’re managing the moment, don’t forget to zoom out. If one employer stopped sending injuries, find out where they’re going. Did a competitor offer a faster intake process? Onsite care? A bundled package that included physicals or drug testing?
Sometimes your service is fine—but the employer’s needs evolved and no one noticed.
This is the perfect time to sharpen your value proposition. What makes your clinic a better long-term partner? Do you deliver same-day reports? Offer after-hours access? Have stable, trained providers who understand occupational health?
Diversify Your Revenue with Services That Fill the Gap
Injury volume may come and go, but physical exams and compliance services tend to be more predictable. If you’re not already maximizing your value here, now’s the time to start.
Employers are often looking for one-stop solutions. That includes:
- Pre-placement or fit-for-duty physicals
- Hearing tests for noisy job roles
- Drug screens or respirator clearance exams
And don’t forget one of the easiest wins: upcoming DOT exams. If your front desk routinely scans driver’s licenses during check-in, they can easily flag commercial drivers who may be due for renewal. A quick heads-up—“It looks like you’re a CDL driver; want us to check if you’re due for your next physical?”—can generate valuable visits and show your team is paying attention.
Stay Proactive in Finding New Employer Leads
While you’re reactivating past accounts, you should also be building a pipeline of new ones. That doesn’t require a big ad budget—just a little research.
Here are some free or low-cost ways to track growing employers:
- Browse job postings on Indeed or LinkedIn—a surge in “warehouse,” “CDL driver,” or “construction laborer” roles often signals growth.
- Set up Google Alerts for “company expansion” or “new facility opening” in your region.
- Check your local business journal for company relocations, industrial park developments, or mergers.
- Tap into your Chamber of Commerce to identify mid-sized companies with 50–200 employees—the sweet spot for occupational health outreach.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Pick 5 prospects a week and commit to reaching out with a short message and an offer to help review their injury protocols or onboarding process.
A Slow Month Doesn’t Mean You’re Slipping
Every clinic hits a lull. But the ones that grow through it don’t wait passively. They get curious, reach out, look inward, and use the time to strengthen relationships and systems. When injury visits come roaring back (and they will), you’ll be glad you used the slow period to get sharper.
Need Help Turning These Ideas Into Action?
We’ve created a few low-cost tools to help you do just that:
📥 Pre-Placement Physical Toolkit
Step-by-step guide and checklist for conducting standardized post-offer physical exams across job roles.
📥 OSHA First Aid Employer Handout
One-page guide to help employers understand what treatments count as first aid under OSHA—and how your clinic helps minimize recordables.
📥 First Aid vs Recordable Staff Guide
Quick-reference sheet for providers and staff outlining what makes a case recordable vs first aid, with common pitfalls and best practices.
📥 Employer Outreach Email Templates
Three customizable email templates to reconnect with dormant clients, reinforce your first-aid-first care model, and offer compliance support.
📥 Employer Outreach Call Scripts
Phone scripts to guide clinic staff through follow-up calls with employers about reduced volume, injury protocol reviews, and service alignment.
Let your downtime be your reset button—and come back stronger, smarter, and more connected.
