Making the case to the senior management team can be one of the most cost effective ways of improving an organisation's injury management and return to work systems.

Having management understand the costs of poor injury management, is a prerequisite for attaining employee commitment to injury management systems. Getting senior management on board leads to middle management being involved. Supervisors then pay attention, and their awareness trickles down to the rest of the workforce.

In the words of one of our readers, trying to change culture, improve morale, reduce injuries, lower premiums and improve rtw outcomes without senior management buy-in is "a contradiction, and without it all will ultimately fail". unfortunately, this is the situation that many RTW professionals face. Whatever the size of an organisation if management does not see return to work as a priority they will fail to resource it adequately.

Committed management: making the case for best practice in return to work (RTW)

The first step in getting commitment from senior management, leaders from the 'factory floor', and production and HR management, is to put forward the 'four cases' which prove the value of best practice RTW systems.

These cases are:

• The business case - Direct costs, indirect costs, benefits of effective injury management in reducing costs, improving staff morale, increasing productivity and staff engagement.
• The ethical case - A responsible organisation cares for its workers in times of increased need. Care minimises cost.
• The corporate image case - Failures of the injury management system can have a huge impact on internal and external perceptions of an organisation.
• The legal case - Employers are subject to a general duty of care. Under current legislation, employers are expected to offer injured workers return to work.

You'll find more information about making the case in the Workplace Systems Handbook.

Tools to help you get the team on board

In the tools section available to all members of Return to Work Matters,  you'll find some real time savers when it comes to initiating senior management and other leaders in the organisation in return to work.

• Generic RTW Powerpoint presentation to senior management - An editable template designed to support your presentation to senior managers, leading to them understanding costs, how a system works, and what they can do to ensure improvements occur.
• Return to work presentation for supervisors and managers - Download and use the PowerPoint presentation to discuss key elements of the program with them.

Join today to get instant access to these tools and resources.

Need a little help convincing management that you need a membership to Return to Work Matters? Download a letter to management from our Editor, Dr Mary Wyatt (there's even an offer of 15% discount on new group memberships included).