It’s not only potential clients and organisational superiors who deserve to be schmoozed! There are several key reasons why employers should go the extra mile to demonstrate care and concern for injured or ill workers:

• It provides motivation to rehabilitate, producing better health outcomes;
• It promotes organisational loyalty and lifts morale; and
• It increases the likelihood of safe, durable and speedy return to work.

Let us know if you (or your employer) need more convincing of the importance of RTW TLC and we’ll whip up a dot point summary of the evidence for it. For now, we’ll assume that you see the light and dive straight into our top ten tips for sweeping injured / ill workers safely and chastely off their metaphorical feet…

1. Get in early. When it comes to schmoozing, it’s a case of you snooze, you lose! As soon as you hear about a problem, do everything you can to offer support. Direct the employee to appropriate services such as the EAP, drive them to and from the doctors, and make sure that they know about the kinds of treatment that might be appropriate, for example physio and remedial massage.
    
2. Be supportive and empathetic even if you feel sceptical about the legitimacy of the injury. Remember, you’re not a doctor and it is difficult to judge the severity of a health problem without such expertise – and even then it can be a challenge! Be very, very wary of expressing disbelief. A loss of trust has potentially negative consequences for the employee, the employer and everyone in between.
    
3. Demonstrate management care and concern. Managers should send cards and call injured workers to check on their progress. This is the kind of personalised touch that lets someone know that they’re missed and that people in the workplace are concerned for their wellbeing. Involve coworkers and team members as well: because the goal is to make the employee feel supported, the more the merrier! Sending a card takes little effort and won’t cost more than a few dollars, but it can have a huge, positive impact.
    
4. Assist the injured worker to return to work asap. In many cases, the best place to rehabilitate is the workplace. Emphasise the rehab benefits of early return to work and while you're at it, let the worker know that the organisation values their contribution and wants them back on board as soon as they're able.
    
5. Give the worker all the information they need. You’ve probably got posters detailing what happens in the case of illness or injury plastered around the workplace, but don’t forget that workers are only human and will need to be reminded, especially if they’re stressed, anxious and in pain. If someone’s still off work after a week, sitting down with them to fill them in on all the details (including the wage step-downs that can be expected in the future) is a really good idea. There is much less room for resentment down the track if everyone is on the same page to begin with. 
    
6. Ask the worker what you can do to help. Schmoozing isn’t just about talking, it’s also about listening. Not only will this make the worker feel acknowledged and understood, it will also allow you to better understand their situation. With the best intentions in the world, if you don’t know how to help, you don’t have much chance of helping successfully. The person best placed to tell you what the injured or ill worker needs is the injured or ill worker. So ask them what you can do to help. So simple and so effective.
    
7. Investigate sensitively. If a claims investigation is initiated, make sure that it is handled sensitively and promptly – and never let investigation take the place of intervention. Remember that being investigated is stressful and can impact poorly on relationships. Take proactive steps to diffuse the bomb of suspicion and acrimony before it blows all your first rate schmoozing to smithereens!
    
8. Be accommodating. Where appropriate, offer meaningful modified duties and reduced hours during recovery. Illness and injury can both impair capacity but people are often better off at work, as long as the environment is safe and duties are suitable.
    
9. Ask the worker’s family what they need. The worker isn’t the only one affected by illness and injury: often, their family will also experience difficulty. Supporting the whole family through the process of recovery is a great way to promote loyalty and motivation.
    
10. Make appropriate changes to equipment, processes and culture. If there’s been an accident, demonstrate that you’ve learned from it and put some effort into ensuring that it won’t happen again. Not only will this drive home to the worker that you’ve taken their problem seriously, it will also help you avoid similar problems in the future.