Investing money in occupational health helps businesses meet their moral and legal obligations, as well as manage absenteeism. Elaine Kerr writes that employers must be reminded and made aware of the importance of occupational health services in protecting employee’s safety, health and well-being.
Occupational health providers (OH), as OH professionals are well aware, help businesses understand the relationship between health and work (Nicholson 2022).
This article will analyse and identify the strategies needed to manage a OH service. It will also evaluate the use of audit and quality management systems, and discuss the impact that policies and laws have on OH services.
This article will explore the introduction of OH Services to a large grocery store, Linton’s. Recently appointed as OH Manager, the author will discuss the implementation of OH Services, their role in reducing the high staff turnover and strategies for supporting employees with chronic conditions.
The OH services are provided by’s Supermarket, and include onsite support as well as remote support. This will enhance the business operations.
Manage OH Services: Strategies for Management
Many of the books and articles suggest that a business plan should be based on three factors when implementing OH services in this large supermarket.
The financial, moral and legal benefits that OH services can bring to a company are just a few of them (Nicholson 2022). The Society of Occupational Medicine 2022 agrees that a business plan should give stakeholders valid, transparent and compelling reasons to invest in OH services.
Businesses have a duty of care towards their employees, and are morally obliged to improve the health and wellbeing of their workers (SOM 2022).
Nicholson (2022) suggests that OH adds value to a company by reducing costs through managing and preventing absence. SOM (2022), highlights that UK businesses can lose up to PS28.8bn a year due to sickness absence. Work-related illness affects around 1.3 billion UK workers.
SOM (2022), on the other hand, suggests that investing in OH is the most effective and efficient way to manage long-term absences. Nicholson (2022) suggests that companies should weigh the costs of OH services against the value they provide to a business, such as a quicker return to work, health promotions, healthy workers, and compliance with legal responsibilities.
NHS Employers (2023) defines OH as a service that focuses on improving productivity by investing in employees’ health and wellbeing. World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) recommends that effective OH services require planning, good management and strategy.
It helps ensure that services are balanced and needs and priorities are met. Financial sustainability is also assured. Facilitating a strategic plan helps to foster accountability, focus and better results for an organization.
Gilbey (2014), while this reference may be dated, agrees that the strategy should include identifying the problems to be solved, the size of the problem, the research to support this, and the return on investment.
In Linton’s case, there is a high staff turnover and employees who have chronic health problems. Implementing an OH service can help employees manage long-term conditions through health promotion and advising them on reasonable adjustments or suggestions that may allow them return to or remain at work. (Work and Health Unit, 2019b).
Smaller OH providers may struggle to maintain clinical governance and lack a depth in knowledge. Outsourced services can provide more staff and a greater range of knowledge and skills, but they may not be as aware of local hazards or risks and lack continuity in service.
Stakeholder analysis is important when preparing a business plan. The representative of the OH board, which is usually a HR director, should be the first to be analyzed, since they are ultimately the ones who need evidence in order to implement OH services.
By bidding in the tendering process, the author was able to acquire Linton’s Supermarket as a client for OH services. According to the Work and Health Unit of the government (WHU, 2019a), 63% OH providers engaged in some form of marketing. However, targeted marketing is rare and only found in industries that require legal requirements such as engineering.
WHU (2019a), also found that 37% OH providers didn’t conduct any marketing. They cited they had enough work without this. However, these results are limited to 103 respondents and therefore are not representative of all OH provider in the UK.
Carnall (2014) suggests market research is a useful tool for understanding customer needs. Tjalvin & Moen (2019), explain the two main models for OH delivery, internal and external services.
A service provided internally is carried out by employees who are employed by the business and remain on site. This allows the OH practitioner valuable information about the workplace and the ability to develop relationships with the employees. Internal OH providers need to maintain their integrity when implementing workplace changes.
A company outside the organization can also manage an external OH Service, like the author’s OH Service, which will be implemented at Linton’s Supermarket.
Higher Educational Occupational Physicians/Practitioners (HEOPS 2016) believe that the different models of OH services can present advantages and disadvantages; in-house services can have a better understanding and knowledge of an organisation, allowing for open dialogue.
Smaller OH providers may lack the depth of knowledge required to provide clinical governance and can struggle with it. Outsourced services may have more staff available to cover absences, provide greater skills and knowledge and have better continuity.
Impact of laws and policies on OH Services
Kloss (2020), defines OH as a therapeutic and prevention branch of medicine. The OH professional is responsible for both the employee and employer, while also meeting the standards of their governing bodies like the Nursing and Midwifery Council or General Medical Council.
Oakley (2008) recognizes that OH professionals should manage their practice through their professional duties and responsibilities. OH nurses must adhere to the NMC 2018 Code which sets a high standard for nurses and identifies their responsibilities to follow relevant laws and policies in order to protect those they care about (NMC 2018).
Schultz (2018) also agrees that Governance is a method by which organizations are directed, controlled and held accountable. Implementing governance at work allows stakeholders to have confidence, allows organizations to perform to high standards and ensures organisations can cope to change.
Kloss (2020), suggests that an OH clinic’s role involves developing policies, cultures and practices in organisations to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of workers.
Health and Safety at Work, etc. The Act of 1974 is the main legislation which governs workplace safety and health in the United Kingdom.
“Keeping records is important for OH, since they capture the baseline health information about employees and help identify patterns of factors that contribute to ill-health.”
OH clinicians can use this legislation to give employers appropriate advice and make recommendations in order to manage ill health at work (Oakley, 2008). SOM (2017) also reflects that OH services are able to help businesses meet regulatory requirements for health and safety at work, as set forth by the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations, 1999. This regulation requires that a competent individual be present to implement health & safety in workplaces.
The competent person does not have to be a clinical professional. However, it can be expected that the OH provider will help support and manage work-related health issues and assist the competent person with managing safety and health in the workplace.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2024c) defines HR Policies as documents that provide guidance to an organisation on a variety of issues.
Policies help to ensure that employers and employees are treated fairly and equally. Some HR policies are required to comply with the law. For example, businesses with more than 5 employees must have a health and safety policy. Nicholson (2019), states that the management of absenteeism, work-related ill-health and absences is easier with OH services.
Maintaining records in OH is important, since they capture the baseline health information for employees and allow them to identify patterns of factors that contribute to ill-health (Oakley, 2008).
According to the NMC (2018), all nursing professionals are required to ensure that medical records and data are stored securely, and that they are accurate and clear. The Information Commissioners’ Office (2024) emphasizes this. Under the UK GDPR legislation (2018), data can only be collected and stored for legitimate purposes.
Oakley (2008) explains OH records are owned by the OH company who holds them. The OH records belong to the clinician that makes them. This is referred as a data processor. The data controller is responsible for keeping these records confidential in the name of the employee.
Use of quality management and audit systems in OH
Quality management systems and audits will be essential to provide an effective, robust, safe and evidence-based service in OH.
Monitoring quality and auditing is done to identify knowledge gaps, assess the need and measure quality. Any audit should serve as a tool for improving practice, and be evaluated based on standards or criteria.
Nicholson (2018) agrees that quality clinical audits for quality management are essential. He acknowledges that clinical audits can help identify strengths, improve areas, and promote the best practices. For those in management or leadership roles, quality improvement tools are essential to achieve high standards in clinical practice.
Leaders are responsible for implementing quality improvements and encouraging individuals to engage in improving their clinical practices (NHS Education for Scotland, 2024). Thornbory & Everton (2018) note that clinical audit can be a pointless exercise if methods or standards aren’t relevant to the practice.
The NHS (2024), a national health service, has developed a benchmarking tool to help with auditing the clinical practices within OH services. Management of Health at Work Knowledge is a web tool designed to improve the clinical practice of OH. This tool is available to NHS providers as well as external OH service providers. It aims to improve the quality of OH. This tool helps identify areas for improvement and improves the clinical practices of OH.
SOM (2019), recommends that when implementing a new OH service, the OH provider provide regular monitoring, as well as quality, performance and statistical data to the client to help define and measure the progress of the operational goals.
The report highlights the need for key performance indicators. These should be based on the OH service provided and include the time taken between referral and consultation as well as presenteeism, customer satisfaction, and sickness absence statistics.
Moreover, it is important that service level agreements (SLAs), which define and agree on the service requirements between the OH provider as well as the client are also defined. SLAs are used to evaluate the performance of OH services. However, initially they will be flexible and can change with the contract.
SLAs can include referral management, appointment scheduling timeframes and closing cases. NHS Employers agrees that organisations need to ensure that the expectations of the OH services are clear, and that they monitor them regularly. KPIs and SLAs play a crucial role in the success of OH Services. Facilitating these will allow the contract to run smoothly, as both parties are aware of the needs to support the organization (Paton 2012).
When commissioning a service in OH, an action plan that is specific to your organisation can be a useful tool. Action plans are a good idea and help the employer and OH provider agree on what’s needed to support business goals.
Governance, collaboration and change
Governance is essential to ensuring a high quality service in OH. This allows for an open and honest organisational culture, led by leaders that are compassionate and inclusive.
Leaders must ensure that they are transparent in their decision making when supporting staff to deliver high-quality OH Services. This can be done by promoting a team culture and acting as role models. They should also champion workplace equality and diversity issues.
Craig and McKeon (2015) concur that positive team dynamics create great organisations. Teams are more productive when they are supported and know their purpose. Teamwork requires constant attention and work, good communication, and the wellbeing of every team member.
Ronquillo Ellis and Toney Butler (2023) claim that the best way to manage a group is to use a leadership style that involves a dynamic, collaborative and multifaceted approach.
Transformational leaders are often those who inspire a shared vision, promote innovation and creativity and foster an atmosphere of trust. They also lead by example. Linton’s staff may accept the change of appointing a new OH service provider. Some staff may find it difficult.
CIPD (2024) suggests that the best way to implement change is through positive social interaction and negotiation, rather than authority and control.
Change management is also a critical process for any business. Because change can be challenging, it’s important to consider the use of models that can help an organisation structure and coordinate changes in order to achieve its vision (Ovington, 2023).
CIPD (2024a), also acknowledges that organizations will benefit by using techniques, such as change models, to implement organisational improvements. These changes will be implemented effectively by positive leaders committed and supportive of the team.
Managing communication and change management can help to avoid major resistance from employees.
Craig and McKeon (2005) support the idea that leaders should combine leadership skills and organisational policies with practices. This will ensure teams feel supported and perform better, and encourage open communication.
Johnson (2017) says leaders need to manage crises quickly and effectively. Mikusova and Horvathova (2017) define crisis management as a situation that is disruptive or unexpected, which could threaten an organization. OH professionals have the clinical expertise to help organisations navigate crisis, and can create an action plan that will support and inform business (Nicholson2020).
In a recent survey, CIPD (2024) found that one third of employees have experienced conflict at work. Conflict is bound to occur in a workplace like Linton’s. Conflict can arise at work due to a variety of factors including bullying, harassment or behaviour.
Although not all conflicts are bad, they can become worse over time. They should be addressed as soon as possible (CIPD, 2024b). HR policies can be used to address bullying, harassment, and equality. These policies are vital and should be visible throughout the company to encourage respect and positive attitudes.
Thornbory & Everton (2018) also suggest that businesses should have policies and procedures to deal with workplace conflict. OH practitioners can work with HR and line managers to develop policies that will help manage workplace issues.
The conclusion of the article is:
This article concludes by exploring the essential strategies for managing an OH service effectively. This article has examined the benefits of OH services in Linton’s Supermarket.
Moreover, the report has shown that investing in OH Services not only helps to manage absenteeism as well as cut costs but also ensures that businesses meet their legal and ethical obligations.
This article emphasizes the crucial role OH plays in protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of workers in the workplace. Businesses can save money and demonstrate their commitment to employee health and safety by implementing effective OH strategies and systems.
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