The Peer Resource Network Session Two: Return-to-Work 101 Steve Newhouse, SafeCare BC Mike Paine, WorkSafeBC Jeff deKergommeaux, WorkSafeBC May, 2016

The Peer Resource Network: Connecting Leaders, Sparking Change Provide leadership teams with a non-judgemental environment to share and learn about occupational health and safety (OH&S) and return-to-work (RTW) best-practices Connect leadership teams with external resources to support positive change in OH&S and RTW practices What is the Peer Resource Network?

Session One Recap Safety Culture and Safety Management Systems 1.Health and safety is a shared responsibility in the workplace 2.Safety management systems are essential to ensuring a safe workplace 3.The key components of the system are Leadership, Education & Training, and the Programs & Procedures 4.Joint OH&S committees play an important role in this system 5.Like all workplace systems, Health and Safety systems must be proactively lead and managed. 6.Tools and resources are available under each of these system elements

Session One Homework… Take Away Activity You chose one dimension you wanted to focus on improving. You developed an action plan to address it, including: Timelines Resources needed Persons responsible You used the Plan, Do, Study, Act model = How did it go?

Leadership Programs & Procedures Learning & Education Key Components of a Safety Management System Leadership commitment to safety Hazard identification & control Safe work procedures established Investigation procedures around incidents Inspection processes Functional JOHSC Staff training & education Communication systems Organizational learning

Return-to-Work 101 Learning Outcomes for Return-to-Work / Stay-at-Work: 1.Have a general understanding of the purpose 2.Understand the basic components 3.Understand the roles of various stakeholders in creating and implementing a RTW/ SAW program, including: Worker; Employer; WorkSafeBC; Health care professional; and Unions. 4.Have access to tools and resources to further your understanding of RTW/ SAW Goal: understand the basics of return-to-work (RTW) / stay-at-work (SAW) programs

What is a Return-to-Work program? What does return-to-work mean to you?

Return-to-Work: Definitions Return-to-Work vs. Graduated Return-to-Work or S tay-at-Work Graduated RTW provides a way to safely keep an employee at work (ideally), and enables them to safely return to productive employment (WorkSafeBC)

Why have a GRTW program? Question: Why have a formal SAW / GRTW program? Benefits: ↑ Employee retention (job satisfaction) ↑ Likelihood of a successful return to work ↓ Claims costs ↓ WorkSafeBC premiums (via better Experience Rating)

Debunking GRTW myths… Return-to-work programs are only for those who have been injured at work. An employee can’t start a return-to-work program until their WorkSafeBC claim is approved. There is no such thing as “light duties” for care staff. There’s nothing we can have the person do, they’re too injured, they can’t do anything until they’re 100%. If they come back, they’re going to disqualify themselves for disability benefits. Coworkers think that as colleagues, they are now going to have to pick up the slack if the injured worker comes back on a graduated return-to-work. Modified work continues forever (it never ends)

GRTW: Keys to Success For a successful SAW / GRTW program, you need to: 1.Establish supportive workplace policies and climate, including: Communication strategies Physical environment 2.Ensure communication and cooperation between the: Workers Healthcare professionals Union representatives (or worker representatives)

GRTW: Keys to Success Con’t For a successful SAW / GRTW program, you need to: 3.Establish joint labour-management cooperation 4.Provide offers of modified work 5.Implement or provide educational programs for managers/ supervisors 6.Conduct on-going evaluations of the program

Bringing it back… Q: How do the Keys to Success of a SAW / GRTW program link to: Strong culture of safety? Safety management system?

Putting theory into practice…

Roles of key stakeholders Employers and supervisors Workers Co-workers Union representative (or worker representative) Health care provider WorkSafeBC Q. How do these stakeholders contribute to a successful RTW/SAW program? Q: in your current RTW/SAW program, which stakeholders are you not engaging, or could engage more?

Reflection What does your organization/ care site have in place to support a SAW / GRTW program? What aspects are working well? What aspects need improvement or might be missing? Stay-at-Work/ Graduated Return-to-Work at your organization/ care site:

Summary 1.SAW/ GRTW program enables employees to return to work (or stay at work) safely and effectively. 2.Good programs save $$ and improve workplace culture. 3.The keys to success for a program include: Having policies in place to create supportive work environments Good communication between stakeholders Cooperation between labour-management Offering modified work Ensuring managers, supervisors are trained Evaluating your program What did we learn?

Working Lunch…. Choose one component of your RTW/ SAW program you’d like to focus on improving. 1.What components of your care site/ organization’s RTW program are working well? 2.What components of your care site/ organization’s RTW program need improvement? 3.What about these components need improving? 4.What are the factors that contribute to these components not working well? 5.What are some lessons or strengths you could leverage from the areas of your RTW policy/ program that are working well to help you with the components that need improvement?

What are we doing this afternoon? Designing & Implementing an Effective GRTW Program By the end of this session, you will: 1.Understand the processes associated with a gradual return-to-work (GRTW) / stay at work (SAW) program, including the roles of various stakeholders in each step. 2.Identify strategies to streamline your care site/ organization’s program. 3.Understand different implementation approaches to increase the effectiveness of a care site/ organizations’ programs. 4.Be familiar with and have access to practical tools and resources to help reinvigorate your care site/ organization’s program.

Group Exercise… Q. What does an effective graduated return-to-work (GRTW) / stay at work (SAW) process look like?

GRTW / SAW roadmap See handout provided

When an injury occurs – First steps Think about your care site/ organization: Who do staff go to when someone is injured at work? Who provides first aid? What is the next step after worker receives first aid? What links are there from this process to safety management systems? (hint: think prevention). What role does WorkSafeBC have at this point?

When an injury occurs – First steps Discussion Question: What are some examples of how your care site/ organization demonstrates a supportive culture when injuries first occur?

When an injury occurs – First steps Why report an injury early? Investigate and correct the underlying cause for the injury Early identification of an issue means an injury can be treated more effectively and successfully. May make the difference between a time-loss claim and no time-loss claim (health care-only)

When an injury occurs – First steps Take away Message: Wherever possible, encourage the staff member to stay at work i.e. Offer suitable modified duties right away

When an injury occurs – More medical aid required Think about your care site/ organization: What happens at your care site/ organization if someone needs to see their health care provider? How long does it typically take? What info do you as the employer rely to the healthcare provider? What check-in or follow-up process do you have? How is information communicated to the staff member during this process?

When an injury occurs – More medical aid required Take Away Messages: Staff member’s healthcare provider is an important member if the GRTW team. Provide GRTW package to injured staff member which includes: Letter to the healthcare provider Healthcare provider GRTW planning form Letter to the staff member Establish follow up meeting time with staff member & involve the staff member in the GRTW planning process.

When an injury occurs – Offer suitable modified duties Think about a particular case where you modified the duties for an injured worker: What modified duties did you have them do? How do you identify them? Who was involved in the conversation? How would you describe the culture around modified duties at your care site?

When an injury occurs – Offer suitable modified duties ↓ Decrease the length and cost of the claim. ↑ Increase the likelihood that an injured staff member will successfully recover from the injury. ↑ More likely to result in a successful return* (*when developed with input from injured worker & union/worker representative) NOTE: Nurse advisors are available via WorkSafeBC to provide assistance. Benefit of Modified Duties:

When an injury occurs - Staff who are on modified duties / monitoring progress Supervisors and coworkers support injured staff in their modified duties. Educate staff about care site/ organization’s policy on Stay at Work and GRTW. Appreciate the injured staff member’s contributions to the care site/ organization while they are on modified duties and check in regularly. Engage the injured staff member as an equal partner in the process. Take Away Messages:

What happens if…? Q. Think about a specific modified duty case at your site that didn’t go smoothly… how would you address this problem in the future?

Summary 1.An effective stay-at-work / GRTW program involves elements of culture, prevention, and collaboration. 2.Good programs have clear processes that are well-communicated. 3.Effective programs are a team effort.

Take-Away Activity Choose or select a particular component of RTW/SAW that you’d like to improve and draft a plan to address this particular component and related processes. Identify three things that you are going to do to improve it? (Hint: Tag line) Remember to use: Kotter Model for Change Plan, Do, Study, Act model You will report out on action steps next session.

Conclusion Thank-you & Questions?