Some people seem to think that generating paper is a goal in itself, but the only good reason to write documents is to help you manage your business better. If it doesn’t help, you won’t use it and it will gather dust. So how can documents help? Any time you … Read More
When you are putting together a Return to Work program, one useful item is a set of functional job descriptions. These differ from the job descriptions you might already have by focusing solely of the physical requirements of a job rather than on the tasks; instead of “store packages on … Read More
Every good program seems to be weighed down with paperwork, and a Return to Work (RTW) plan is no different. In this case, the paperwork has a special name: Grab N Go kits. These kits are contained in a large envelope and are designed to be taken along when an … Read More
Return to Work (RTW) plans are one of those things that you never think of until it is too late to develop one, like a car emergency kit. Once an employee is hurt, you have four work days to sort it out before wage-loss payments start and your workers comp … Read More
Little-known fact: All Montana companies with five or more employees are required to have a Safety Committee. Even companies that do have one don’t always know how to balance the committee to make it truly useful. Sometimes everyone on the committee is a line employee; sometimes everyone is management. Neither … Read More
When an employee is seriously injured, on or off the job, getting a doctor’s release so they can go back to work can be difficult. Unless you can tell the doctor exactly what the job entails physically, he or she is unlikely to sign off on anything other than a … Read More
One component of a Return to Work Plan, and a good way to get employees working again as soon as possible, is to provide a light-duty option, often called a transitional job. Taking a little time to think through at least the outlines of how you can accommodate someone who … Read More
When an employee gets injured seriously enough to miss work, it seems easiest for them to stay at home until they are completely ready to return to work. But doing so has costs to the employee and employer that should be considered, costs that can be ameliorated by a company … Read More
So you have decided to develop an employee manual, or maybe you even have one already. Now what? Can’t you just stick it on a shelf somewhere in case you end up in a lawsuit someday? Well, you can. But it is a waste of money to do that, and … Read More
Every company is expected to have a mission statement, but there is little agreement on what a good one looks like. Some people think the mission statement should be short and easy to remember, others think it should include all the company’s major goals, from how it treats its employees … Read More