Tips to ensure your RTW program is worth more than the paper on which it's written

A recent survey found that 90% of healthcare employers had a RTW program, but only 65% actually had metrics in place to monitor its effectiveness.  What's the point of putting something in to place if you have no way of knowing how it's working?

This is a common occurrence -- safety committees that are created to obtain a premium discount, a customer satisfaction survey conducted so that companies can say that they did it, or a declaration that a company is going to implement a wellness program to say that they're a healthy workplace.  These are all great things to talk about, but if you don't measure and monitor your results, what's the point?  You may have a safety committee, but if they don't perform or impact safety in the workplace, other employees will see it as a waste or worse yet, not take their recommendations seriously.  This can sometimes have a more harmful effect than not having one at all.  Any wise employer would prefer a highly performing, informal return to work program over a formalized, ineffective program any day.  Results are what matter.

'Tis the season for resolutions to lose weight, eat better, save more money, etc.   If you're trying to lose weight, you're probably weighing yourself at frequent intervals to track your progress and monitor the need for modifications to your routine.  If you're trying to save money, you've probably gotten into the habit of shaking your piggy bank to verify it's heft on a regular basis.  The old adage is, "you manage what you measure."  Why should RTW programs be treated differently?

Your company went through the efforts of putting together a RTW program, so why not measure its progress and make it as effective as it can be?  If you're not measuring your RTW results, then your program is worth about as much as the paper on which it's printed.

As with any goal, you have to decide what a realistic, measureable goal is.  Here are some tips on how to set realistic goals with respect to your shiny new RTW program.

For the fledgling RTW program:
You may need some data to timely demonstrate your program's return on investment.  Money is probably the biggest pressure point.  You can track this in a few ways. 

• Obtain a copy of your loss runs for the prior year.  Record how many lost time claims you had and how much was paid in indemnity (wage loss) benefits per claim.  Your target may be to reduce average indemnity payments per claim by 10%, or something along those lines. 
• Look at the frequency of RTW offers being made compared to the claims where no modified duty was offered. Separate the offers by modified duty offers and full duty RTW offers.  This is a good measure of the success or comprehensiveness of your program.  Sometimes your missed opportunities (and related costs) are more impactful than demonstrating savings, particularly if your program is very new and successes are rare.
• If your program is still getting off the ground, look for very basic areas of opportunity. Is someone at your company following up with the injured worker on a regular basis to check in and discuss potential modified duty options? What is the lag time between the injured worker getting restrictions and the employer finding work? 

Stay tuned for the next post with more tips on how to measure your RTW program's effectiveness.