- Is there such a thing as being passionate about WorkCover and Return to Work? Can people really commit to helping people return to work? Or is it more of a case of going through the compliance motions to avoid massive premium hikes, fines, or PIN’s (Provisional Improvement Notice)? When we look at the likes of Mark Stipic, author of ‘WorkCover that Works’ and Jo Muirhead, author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Clinician; Changing health care from the inside out’ and founder of Purple Co., we can see the answer to the former is, most definitely. WorkCover and Return to Work certainly does not have to be boring and gut wrenching, and with these few simple tips we can change from ‘If I have to, I will’ to ‘I will do it, and I will lead others to do it!’ before you know it.
- Connect your ‘what’ to your ‘why’.
Compliance achieves results. Commitment achieves great results and leads to creativity, courage, and dedication. Compliance is good for keeping order and getting the job done and usually if someone fails to comply, there is a penalty attached. This is good for getting your team and injured worker to do what they must, but that is about it. They will not go above and beyond and in the end this will probably just lead to everyone chasing their tail. Commitment, on the other hand, builds a sense of purpose and honour. To transition from compliance to commitment, you must first build your connection of what you do, with why you do it. Once you establish this, you begin to lead from example and purpose, you start to get creative and passionate and this will shine through in your results. - Do not focus on costs at the expense of the worker’s injuries.
Focusing on what each claim is costing your company and making sure the injured worker is aware of their obligations, is a sure-fire way to drive your frustration levels through the roof. This frustration will very quickly diffuse through to the worker, giving you the completely opposite effect, non-compliance. Instead, try shifting your focus to the injured worker’s injuries and capacity. View your injured worker as a valued team member and work with them to identify suitable duties and consider what alterations or modifications can be made to support their return to work. From making this small change to committed compliance you will find that your attitude will shift from ‘what is this costing?’ to ‘how else can I help?’ and it won’t take long for the rest of your team to follow. - Process vs partnership.
What would happen if we shifted our compliance focus from that of the legislation, to that of the injured worker? Too often we are so blinded by which box we have to tick next to ensure compliance, that we are left with no time or patience to focus on what we could do to help the injured worker with their return to work and recovery. So long as we are liaising with our injured worker and planning their return to work, we are being compliant. So now that we know this, we can spend more time building a partnership with the injured worker and committing to helping them with their return to work and recovery.
Implementing these few small changes when working in the world of WorkCover and Return to Work can significantly help build your commitment to ensuring you get the best outcome for all parties involved.
For more information on return to work or for assistance and advice on any claims you may have please visit www.returntoworkplus.com.au
*https://markstipic.com.au/book/
*https://jomuirhead.com/book/
*http://purpleco.com.au/