The information in this article is from the Return to Work Matters Workplace Systems Handbook, under the "Injury, Disability and Lost Time Patterns" chapter. The complete handbook is available in PDF and online format for all Return to Work Matters subscribers.

In order to understand and assess a work disability system it is necessary to collect and analyse four kinds of information:

1. Cost – How much does work disability cost your organisation?
2. Outcomes – What happens in your organisation in terms of injuries and claims?
3. Performance – How does your organisation perform in terms of injury management?
4. Feedback – What do staff say about your injury management program?

The process involves:

Looking at costs alone will not reveal all the information an organisation needs to assess work disability management.

The sections below will help you to see the full picture when it comes to understanding and assessing your organisation’s injury management program.
 

Which statistics? Using data to analyse injury management performance

System measures that are understood and accessible give managers and all levels of the organisation the opportunity to understand the status quo and trends, and allow for the assessment of individual and organisational performance.

Statistics are only useful, however, if the right data has been collected, and analysed appropriately.

Statistics are only useful if the right data has been collected, and analysed appropriately.
 

Collecting case data

Case data should be collected as a matter of course during injury reporting, and can be supplemented by information obtained from the insurer, often presented in a standardised format.

The combined information should include the:

• Date of injury;
• Number of days lost;
• Number of days on modified duties;
• Type of accident or illness, for example a fracture, laceration, sprain;
• Body part affected, for example back or shoulder;
• Work relatedness of the injury or illness, i.e. whether the problem was caused by work or not;
• Supervisor; and
• Relevant department or cost centre.

Performance indicators

A performance indicator is a statistic used by a business to assess how it is performing in a certain respect. Performance indicators are useful because they identify problem areas, facilitate goal setting, and allow for comparisons between workplaces and departments.

• A large retailer recognises that early contact with injured workers is important. Despite this many injured staff are not contacted for up to a week by line managers.
• The organisation starts to measure and monitor the percentage of employees who are contacted within 24 hours of reporting their problem.
• Initial figures show that early contact happens less than 70% of the time. Identified problems are injury reporting systems (the line manager is not being informed), access to contact numbers for employees, and line manager awareness. Improved systems and awareness result in early contact figures improving to 86% within six months.

Case data collected as a matter of course during injury reporting can be a great source of information about performance indicators.

Identifying appropriate performance indicators

When organisations think about how to measure their injury management performance, the first statistic that usually comes to mind is injury-related lost time. Although it can be a useful statistic, on its own lost time is not a good measure for assessing work disability management.

Work disability is a complex field and a series of performance indicators should be looked at in order to get an accurate indication of how an organisation measures up. 

Relevant data includes:

• Case and claim outcomes - Performance indicators that reflect case or claim outcomes such as the number of days lost from work, so called “lag indicators”; and
• Performance or process measures - Performance indicators that reflect the process or system of injury management. These are sometimes referred to as “lead indicators”.

Lost time injuries (LTIs) do not reflect disability management. 

An organisation can have reducing LTIs but escalating lost days and costs.

Senior managers need to be educated about the limited use of LTIs. 

Case and claims outcomes

Statistics relevant to case and claim outcomes include:

• Days lost because of injury (LTI);
• Days on modified duties;
• Percentage of cases that extend beyond six months;
• Number of cases with medical costs over $2000; and
• Percentage of cases where return to work occurs more than three weeks post-injury

Performance or process measures

Statistics relevant to performance measures include:

• Percentage of injury reporting that occurs on time – i.e. injuries reported within 24 hours;
• Percentage of appropriate RTW duties identified in a timely manner – i.e. within 24 hours of request;
• Percentage of injury reports completed within 24 hours – i.e. the incident report, register of injuries report and the provision of current certificates;
• Number of supervisors/line managers in attendance at monthly case review meetings; and
• Employee survey results.

Using performance indicators 

Although it may be useful to see how an organisation is performing overall, it is also important to be able compare performance across different sites and departments. 
 
Once performance measures have been agreed, they should be incorporated into job agreements and performance reviews. This makes it clear to staff that the issue is being taken seriously.
 
Review of any performance means that underperformance is discussed, and ways of improving the situation reviewed. Human resources and the return to work coordinator should offer training and support for employees whose performance reviews indicate underperformance.

Statistics about performance indicators can be used in many ways to facilitate improvement:

• Compare injury management across different departments, workplaces, supervisors and managers;
• Set organisational targets;
• Identify trends;
• Set key performance measures, which allow staff to assess their own performance and gain an increased awareness of their role within the overall program; and
• Set benchmarks for supervisors’ and managers’ job agreements.

A car parts manufacturer has unsustainable compensation and work absence costs. A review of the current situation identifies a lack of supervisor input in the return to work process. Attendance at monthly case review meetings becomes part of the supervisor and department managers’ job descriptions. A 15 % reduction in days lost from work for employees under their care is set as part of their job targets.

Training and support should be offerred to employees whose performance reviews indicate under performance in return to work care.

This chapter also looks at analysing data and tracking performance. 

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