1. RTW Self Assessment using the 5 Steps
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RTW Self Assessment using the 5 Steps
Safety Groups Workshop 1
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2. What is a Return to Work Program?
A Return to Work Program is a company-wide program that outlines the policies, procedures and processes that a company uses to manage a worker’s safe and early return to work after an injury or illness. 2

3. Introduction to the Self-Assessment Guide
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Introduction to the Self-Assessment Guide
The Return to Work Self-Assessment Guide is used to assist employers wanting to realize the benefits of having an evidence-based good practices approach to returning their injured and ill workers to work in a safe and timely manner.
‘’ There is no generic, off the shelf rtw program or approach that will work in all workplaces of all sizes in all business sectors. However, there are principals and practices that have been demonstrated to achieve good results for those companies willing to invest the time to protect the health and well being of their employees.
Each workplace needs a program or approach tailored to it’s unique needs
The long term goal is to return the worker to what he/she was originally hired to do.
The return to work should give some kind of benefit to the employer and be part of the employer’s operation.
ie; don’t have your workers counting widgets if you don’t own a widget factory. 3
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4. Structure of the guide Guide contains three areas of assessment:
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Structure of the guide
Guide contains three areas of assessment:
Organizational Framework
Return to Work Program Management
Strategies for Successful Return to Work Outcomes
It also provides an Assessment Summary that assist an organization to identify:
What’s Working
Improvement Opportunities
Next Steps
We will take you through the guide and explain how each section ties back to the 5 steps.
To get a yes, -
- the requirement must be fully developed without any need for improvement
- You should be able to demonstrate where the information is located or documented. 4
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5. Planning the assessment/evaluation
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Planning the assessment/evaluation
Review the self-assessment guide to familiarize yourself with the questions and required information
Gather the supporting documentation, forms, statistics etc related to your RTW program
Use the existing program, goals and objectives to provide an outline of what should be evaluated
Determine who will carry out the assessment and when
Commit to analysing the information and to preparing a report summarizing the findings and recommendations
There are 96 questions
It takes approx 2-3 hours to complete a thorough RTW program evaluation
Review the self-assessment guide to familiarize yourself with the questions and required information
Gather the supporting documentation, forms, statistics etc related to your RTW program-Things such as cost and frequency reports are available from the WSIB-NEER statements, employee surveys etc also help with assessing the effectiveness of your RTW program
Use the existing program, goals and objectives to provide an outline of what should be evaluated-If you are unsure of where to begin, trade associations, industry organizations and the WSIB can provide some baseline statistical data.
Determine who will carry out the assessment and when-The individual who carries out the assessment needs to be familiar with both the WSIA and the OHSA-Ideally the assessment is conducted by management with input from labour-The frequency of how often you need to assess your program should also be determined-annually, quarterly etc
Commit to analysing the information and to preparing a report summarizing the findings and recommendations-determine who will need to know the information and how it will be shared-posted, team meeting etc 5
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6. Written Standard
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Step 1
The written standard for RTW Self-Assessment should include:
A policy and procedure that identifies why an assessment is needed, how often an assessment will take place, who will conduct the assessment and
A standard form/questionnaire or survey to be utilized to conduct the assessment - ie: Self-Assessment Guide
Specific statistical performance indicators that the program will be measured against – suggestions offered in the Self-Assessment Guide
Current policy and procedures-The policy needs to be reviewed at least annually and signed and dated by the CEO/Owner
The RTW policy should be linked with the Health and Safety policy and vice versa-
The policy needs to be compliant with current legislation and provide simple to understand procedures to staff on how, who what and where they need to go to for RTW purposes.
Does your company’s RTW policy define the rights, responsibilities and entitlements of injured or ill employees? WSIA Sec and the RTW policies such as:
Return to work: Key concepts and Definitions and Responsibilities
( )
Workplace Parties Key Return to Work Activities ( )
WSIB’s Role in Return to Work ( )
Resolving Disputes Regarding Suitability of offered Work ( )
Human Rights Legislation and Accommodation in the ESRTW/LMR process ( )
LMR Assessments (
Forms: What forms will be included with your RTW policy and procedures-(FAF’s. RTW Plan templates, template letters to physicians) these forms should not come as a surprise to employees or frontline supervisors-These should be listed as part of the procedure
Statistics: Are performance indicators utilized to measure RTW performance? How are these captured in the standard? Are employee surveys and feedback built into the standard?
Analysis: How often will the RTW program be reviewed? At least annually, but reports and surveys should be conducted more frequently. 6
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7. Communication
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Step 2
Determine the way the standard will be communicated to staff and possibly other stakeholders:
Written memo or notice
Newsletter
Verbal-Staff meeting
Posting in workplace-neutral location where employees are made aware
Annual business plan-could be incorporated as part of the business plan
Determine the way the element will be communicated such as:
Memo or notice
Newsletter
Staff meeting
Posting in workplace-neutral location where employees are made aware
Annual business plan-could be incorporated as part of the business plan
Collective bargaining discussions/Union meetings 7
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8. Communication
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Does the communication of the RTW Assessment include all employees/stakeholders?
Does it clearly outline what is expected of all parties during the RTW assessment?
Does it identify who is responsible for the RTW assessment?
Does it include when the RTW assessment will be taking place and when the results are anticipated?
Does the communication of the RTW program include the following key stakeholders?:
Union
The WSIB
The treating health care professional
Customers and contractors
Does it clearly outline what is expected of each stakeholder during the RTW assessment-what are the expectations during the assessment-participation in meetings, documentation, feedback etc
Does it identify who is responsible for the RTW assessment? Which department or individual is ultimately responsible?
Does it include when the RTW assessment will be taking place-annually, quarterly etc
How will you determine if communication was successful? Employee perception surveys, union awareness, frontline supervisor awareness 8
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9. Training
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Step 3
Do the individuals responsible for the RTW assessment have the appropriate skills and knowledge to conduct the RTW assessment and analysis ?
Will you use the same method of training for everyone ? Are there other options?
How will the training records be maintained?
Is the training made available to other stakeholders?
Is the training made available to key stakeholders? The level of detail and methods may vary according to each stakeholder.
Do the individuals responsible for the RTW assessment have the appropriate skills and knowledge to conduct the RTW assessment? How will you determine if there are any knowledge or skill gaps?
Will you use the same method of training ? Are there other options? Intranet, newsletters, annual conferences etc
How will the training records be maintained? Electronically, hard copies-in a binder or specific location and managed by one individual
How will you determine whether the training was successful? Is there a feedback loop built in-employee surveys, follow up meetings etc 9
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10. Evaluation
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Step 4
Evaluate how the RTW Self-Assessment assisted your firm.
How are you going to evaluate the assessment?
Process - Did you meet your standard established in step 1?
Outcome - Were performance or procedure gaps identified?
Who is responsible to evaluate whether or not the RTW assessment was successful and how will that be determined?
Were the results of the assessment openly shared with the organization?
Evaluate or have a plan to evaluate how the RTW assessment assisted your firm. Things to consider as part of the evaluation would be:
Were performance or procedure gaps identified?
Ask the JHSC or union to complete an objective review
Were the results of the assessment share with the organization?
Was a benchmark for performance developed as a result of the RTW assessment? Where does the organization stand as compared to industry or rate group performance?
Who is responsible to evaluate whether or not the RTW assessment was successful? Are the records being maintained accurately? Is the information kept central and is it organized?
Did employee awareness and participation increase as a result of the RTW assessment?
Did management awareness and participation increase as a result of the RTW assessment? 10
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11. Acknowledge Success/Make Improvements
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Step 5
Based on the results of the evaluation - Acknowledge your Successes and make any necessary improvements to your RTW Program
Is there an action plan developed to address those gaps and to make improvements?
Is there a process to acknowledge RTW success stories?
Needs Analysis- Did you conduct a detailed analysis? This should include measurable performance indicators. It should also include feedback from employees and supervisors
How are gaps identified? Is there a standard measure utilized-Year to year-month to month-how are improvements captured? Statistical increases or decreases?
Is there an action plan developed to address those gaps and make improvements? How will improvements be made? Steps being taken such as additional training for employees, better communication of RTW program, accommodations etc
Is there a process to acknowledge RTW success stories? Can the firm share some statistical and employee feedback that demonstrates success?
Recognize everyone who contributed to the RTW assessment and any ideas or suggestions that were provided during the assessment that lead to changes and improvements.
Determine how you will make the changes or improvements and how long will it take?
How will success be measured-statistically (quantitatively) or qualitatively-employee surveys or both. 11
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12. Thank you
Questions? 12