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Section 3 - Outcome 1 - 0-3pts

Results

You probably do not have an adequate training program. In relation to injury management this can mean that your worker’s are unaware of your early return to work policy, their responsibilities to report injuries and disclose information or your expectations of behaviours.

In addition your line managers (supervisors) will most likely not be aware of the importance of their roles and consider that return to work and management of injuries is not their responsibility. This will invariably lead to lengthier periods of time off of work (for even relatively minor injuries) and can also create a general level of dissatisfaction amongst the workforce.

It will be difficult for you to enforce your business code of conduct or behavioural expectations if you do not provide adequate training for your staff which may mean your general work culture and climate will be negative.

Next steps

  1. Perform a simple training needs analysis for your employees. This can be as simple as creating a spreadsheet that lists all of your business roles/tasks with a list of the skills required to perform the tasks. You should include a knowledge of your safety and injury management procedures in this. You could then consult with your employees to determine what skills and knowledge they have and cross reference this against your skill matrix. This will help you to understand the training gaps within the business which you can begin to address systematically. This method will ensure that all training is covered but just as importantly is relevant to your business.
  2. Make sure that injury management/early return to work is part of your standard induction program.
  3. Make sure that you keep training current. In the case of injury management you may wish to have injury management as an agenda item for team meetings or you may diarise regular updates to training as part of your training matrix (above).
  4. It is important to keep records of what you have done. This will prevent double-ups of training and also will be a vital part of any disciplinary or SafeWork SA activity. It is also a legislative requirement.