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SMART goal setting for return to work

Best practice

Actively involve your injured worker in planning their return to work early, including setting SMART (specific; measurable; attainable; realistic; time-based) return to work goals.

Why this is important

Evidence shows when you build and share your worker’s recovery goals with everyone involved in the process, you maximise positive outcomes for the worker.[1]

Goals that you develop with the worker will be more meaningful to them as they will reflect their priorities and expectations. This means the worker will be more motivated to participate in the process and work towards their goals.

SMART goals also define the measures around a goal, which helps you and your injured worker to:

  • track progress towards achieving goals
  • reassess and reset your measures if required
  • recognise and celebrate when goals have been achieved.

Your toolkit

These strategies and resources will help you achieve best practice.

  • Adopt a collaborate approach to supporting a worker’s rehabilitation with regular engagement with the worker, employer, treating health practitioners and your insurer.
  • When you’re developing goals, consider focusing them around optimising function, participation and return to work. Read Principal Four of WorkSafe Victoria’s Clinical Framework for the Delivery of Health Services for guidance on developing goals that focus on these areas. You can also find examples of SMART return to work goals on page 14.
  • Regularly assess progress towards goals with your worker and other parties and reset or modify goals as required.
  • Read more about employers’ obligations and responsibilities in supporting an injured worker’s rehabilitation.

Register now for the Musculoskeletal Disorders Symposium

Running from 1 to 3 June, the MSD Symposium is fully online in 2021, featuring international and national experts, industry case studies, an expo and networking.

The focus of the symposium this year is safety by design. Presentations will focus on the latest evidence and systems thinking for preventing musculoskeletal disorders and designing healthy and safe work now and into the future.

Find out more and register now!

[1] Foreman P, Murphy G and Swerissen H. (2006.) Barriers and facilitators to return to work: A Literature Review. Australian Institute for Primary Care, La Trobe University, Melbourne.

 

Further information

For more information, visit our website, call 1300 362 128 or enquire online.

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