When designing a RTW, claims and/or injury management team (and ‘team’ for the purposes of this article could be one person or several) a number of factors should be considered. These can include but are not limited to:

• Legislative requirements – what are the minimum legislative requirements that must be met?
• The size and type of organisation – is it a heavily regulated or high risk industry; a small company or a self-insurer?
• Resourcing - how many staff do you really need?
• Financial and human capital – what’s your budget and do you already have staff that ‘fit the bill’?
• Who to recruit – can you source internally or externally?
• Organisational culture – who will best fit your industry and culture?

Starting from scratch

First item on the agenda – consider and understand the legislative requirements that dictate what must occur in certain circumstances i.e. ‘appointing’ a RTW Coordinator or resourcing a self-insurance team etc. The organisation size and type (and/or the annual remuneration) can then be the next step in determining your resourcing needs.

So what does the organisation require? Is it solely a RTW Coordinator as is often the case for a small company?

Is it an Injury Manager with Allied Health that can provide more hands on rehabilitation? This is sometimes relevant in a high risk industry.  

Is it a Claims Manager? Or is it a larger organisation that requires a full team of Workplace Risk specialists?

For the purposes of this article we are focusing on smaller organisations.

Meeting the need

My earlier point ‘how many staff do you really need’ is something to ponder.

Does the workload, budget or other factors (such as high risk activity or geographical spread) support the need for a dedicated resource? Or can flexibility be created within existing roles by realigning some tasks?

Maybe you are the sole RTW Coordinator in a small organisation. Educating and up skilling others within the company might help you in your role. Not necessarily to undertake tasks for you but to at the very least, make it a little easier for you to do your job.

But of course, if tasks can successfully and effectively be delegated then go for it!

For those of you that have seen the movie, the “Jerry Maguire'’ quote is apt here: “Help me help you”.

• Can another staff member take the injured worker to the GP with a RTW Plan the RTW Coordinator has drafted?
• Can the Insurer’s Injury Manager meet with the Treating Provider and worker to help drive the RTW process?
• Can training and education be provided by the Insurer to help the company have a better understanding of the role and responsibility of a RTW Coordinator?
• Can other divisions/departments provide short term suitable duties?
• Can, can, can….I’m sure you can think of plenty more ‘cans’ that could be listed here

And there is help at the other end of the phone. Call your Claims Manager. They have a wealth of knowledge, experience, information and support that they can provide.

All of this, coupled with Supervisors/Site Managers taking some ownership of the RTW process could make all the difference.

Finding other solutions

If staff numbers and budget doesn’t allow for a dedicated RTW Coordinator role then what are the solution/s?

In small to medium organisations there may be fewer resourcing options. Sometimes lines between traditionally defined roles can be successfully blurred provided there are clear objectives, communication and appropriate training.

Are there others within the organisation that can be up skilled in order to fulfil the role?

For example - an HR Generalist, H&S Manager, Risk Manager, Office or Admin Manager that have been ‘accredited’ as a RTW Coordinator and have some understanding (or at the very least, an awareness) of workers compensation requirements could be an alternative option if a dedicated resource is not required.

A combined ‘Claims & RTW Manager’ can (and does) work in the right circumstances - although at times they may need to play ‘good cop/bad cop’. This can be challenging but is doable.

And don’t get me wrong, the roles listed above are just a sample of internal, existing roles that might be considered when determining who could undertake the role of RTW Coordinator. Plenty of other ‘blended’ roles could be contemplated.

So who fits the bill?

Well that depends upon a number of factors including the industry size and type, the company culture, the geographical spread.

I have been so fortunate to recruit and work with some pretty wonderful and talented RTW Coordinators. What seemed to make them successful in the role was their ability to demonstrate some (or all) of the following qualities:

• Empathy
• Compassion
• Active listening
• Great communication skills
• Patience
• Be able to ‘think outside the square’
• Confidence
• Ability to influence
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Tenacity
• Effective time management
• Good grasp of medical terminology
• Sound understanding of the legislation

And add to that a sprinkling of humour…“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine”.

Knowing how the organisation ticks is therefore useful when in recruitment mode.

You may need a RTW Coordinator that is tough and tenacious or one that is a little more laid back but still gets the job done. You may need one that only does the role intermittently and therefore needs to keep their knowledge current or a RTW Coordinator that is prepared for significant travel if the role covers a large geographical area.

On that last point, I have always been of the view that a RTW Coordinator (if it is their predominant role) should endeavour to be out more often than in - with the worker, at the doctors, at the worksite etc. Tackling the role entirely from behind a desk is not, in my view, an ideal way to achieve successful RTW results; unless of course that is the only option available at the time.

Culture fit or culture shock!

Let us focus for a moment on the ‘cultural fit’.

I’m treading carefully here as a blanket approach cannot (and should not) be applied and recruitment should always be approached in a fair, appropriate and non-discriminatory manner. However, typically most organisations tend to recruit candidates they feel match the company culture. Fitting, or at the very least being able to understand and adapt to the culture, is an important consideration.

There is also a school of thought that taking a risk with a candidate who may not necessarily be the ‘right fit’ can  facilitate greater innovation.

All that said; if the culture is toxic then a different and much broader approach (and solution) is needed.

When consulting with clients I unfortunately witnessed a number of situations caused or exacerbated by poor cultural fit. One in particular involved a timid, gentle and inexperienced RTW Coordinator appointed to an organisation run with an iron fist by a strong, autocratic ex-Defence Force Manager.

As you can imagine this did not end well as the organisational cultural ‘fit’ was clearly lacking.

Ultimately it is about getting the right person with the desired skills, approach and communication style and making sure that they are provided with support, training, information and tools so that they can “help me help you”.