Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Manager Vocational Management Services PREHAB: Management strategies for the prevention of workplace injuries Territory Insurance Conference resilient future

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Workplace Health and Safety Creating a safe work environment is critical to the success of your business, and is one of the best ways to retain staff and maximise productivity. As a business owner you have responsibilities regarding health and safety in your workplace. Having the right attitude towards the safety of your workers, contractors, customers and the public is important. WHS shouldn't be seen as an additional cost - it's better to deal with health and safety issues before they escalate

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Cost of Workplace Injuries - Organisational Recruitment, Training and Staff turnover Carers, modifications and aids Workplace operations Image / reputation damage Changes in organisational culture Lowered worker morale Loss time from supervisors / works Increased labour conflicts and IR costs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Cost of Workplace Injuries - Financial Short term and long term productivity losses Additional wage expenditure Equipment; aids, appliances repair or modifications Medical costs Administrative costs Insurance costs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 LTI Calculation for average Construction Industry costs in 2014: -LTI of.33 x 100FTE x $28,000 = $924,000 per annum

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Costs associated with RTW Northern TerritoryAustralia Average claim cost$23,900$13,126 Average loss time15.1 week8.7 weeks RTW Rates %74%80%

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Expenditure is tax deductible; Penalties, fines and lost time / productivity is not;

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Workplace Health and Safety 1.Hazard identification 2.Risk assessment 3.Risk control 4.Review

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Workplace Health and Safety – Response Incident response Incident reporting Incident investigation Review of response, reporting and investigation

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Workplace Health and Safety – Control Training Hazard and Incident reviews Risk assessments Safe work procedures WHS Committee

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Employees are the number 1 asset all businesses have to effectively manage WHS They are often drastically underutilised and ignored when implementing practical workplace health and wellbeing programs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Step 1: Assess Know your workplace / make your workplace safe: Risk identification Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Task / duty analysis Safe Work Procedures (SWP)

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Step 2: Select Accurate assessment of all task, duties and human demands Pre employment medicals Role selection and retention Induction and training

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Step 3: Manage Early intervention Training WHS RTW and Rehabilitation Health and Well being programs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Limits uncertainty for managers and supervisors in identifying suitable duties Streamlined and targeted modified / alternative duties search Job / tasks descriptions can be provided to treatment providers Can be utilised by Managers and Supervisors with minimal training The Job dictionary process also delivers a ‘risk analysis’ of the workplace- clearly identifying areas requiring urgent change/modification or correction Organisational Benefits of a Job Dictionary

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Reducing/eliminating workplace risk, injury & liability Streamlining the process of identifying suitable duties Reducing lost time & productivity - Delays in RTW increase LTI by 1.5 weeks for every 2 days delay - Average RTW program for a musculoskeletal injury is 6 weeks - Average RTW program when there is a delay in RTW is 12.2 weeks Cost Benefits of a Job Dictionary

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Health and Well Being Programs Organisations that implement workplace health and well being programs are known to have: Increased employee morale and engagement Improved corporate image Reduced workplace injuries and associated expenses Increased attraction and retention of employees According to research, healthier employers: Are more productive Are more engaged in their work Have less sick leave Have greater levels of energy and concentration

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/ Steps to a Successful Health and Well Being Program 1.Is cost effective and doesn’t have to be expensive 2.Is closely linked to workplace health and safety 3.Assesses needs to identify health issues in the workplace 4.Involves voluntary participation and achieves high participation 5.Is sustainable and has a long term commitment 6.Is evaluated and reviewed as required 7.Addresses Individual and organisational issues 8.Has management support and senior managers are actively involved 9.Is accessible to all employees irrespective of their health status, location or role in the workplace 10.Has coordinators who have access to resources and training relevant to health promotion

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Develop / Update your Program Develop your action plan Implement your action plan Monitor and Review your Program Health and Well Being Programs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Within a Few Months Increased employee engagement Increased team cohesiveness Within 1 – 2 Years Increased health knowledge Increased job satisfaction Increased productivity Increased corporate image Within 3 – 5 Years Decreased absenteeism Decreased injuries Decreased workers compensation costs Impacts of Successful Health and Well Being Programs

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Step 4: Contain

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future For every dollar invested in workplace health or wellbeing programs, there is a return on investment of between $3 and $6 Reduced performance costs employers two to seven times more than absenteeism. In 2014 – 2015 the cost of work related injury and illness in Australia was estimated to be $70.6billion or 5.4% of GDP. The greater the number of health risks per employee, the greater the negative impact on their productivity. Implementing a health and wellbeing program can reduce employee risk factors by up to 56% Business Performance Fast Facts

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future Angela Pilcher, Vocational Management Services 28/10/2015 Good Health is Good for Business

Territory Insurance Conference, resilient future When starting from scratch, be realistic, start small and seek help change takes time Doing something is better than doing nothing at all.