Let’s spend some time discussing the final step of implementation: Acknowledge Successes and Improvements.
Often overlooked, the Acknowledge Successes and Improvements step is a mandatory requirement of your Excellence program’s implementation. This step requires you to identify any deficiencies and create a documented Action Plan based on the results of your Evaluation step. If no deficiencies are found, acknowledge and celebrate the success of what is working. After all, you have communicated the topic out to all employees, close the loop and communicate the end result. Remember, steps 2 and 5 should be communicated to all employees.
It is important to remember the identification of deficiencies during the Evaluation step is a positive experience. You will not be penalized by the WSIB if you identify areas of improvement of items that were unsuccessful. Deficiencies are a common outcome of implementation, and they serve as proof your Evaluation step was effective.
If a deficiency is identified, the WSIB will not be looking to see how your organization fixed the deficiency. Instead, they will be looking to see how your organization plans to correct the deficiency using a documented Action Plan. At minimum, the Action Plan should include the identified deficiency(s), a 2-3 sentence plan on how the deficiency will be created, who is responsible for implementing the action plan as well as a reasonable timeline for completion.
Remember, the timeline for completion must be reasonable and related to the Action Plan itself. For example, if your organization had selected the Risk Assessment topic and your Evaluation found that the completed Risk Assessment was not posted on the Health and Safety board, it would be unreasonable to set a timeline for completion at two months from now. However, if the Evaluation found that your Risk Assessment did not include Workplace Violence and Harassment hazards, it would be reasonable to set a timeline for completion in two months so that the Risk Assessment could be redone.
In the event that no deficiencies are identified during your Evaluation, it is important to take the time and acknowledge the success of your implementation. The acknowledgement of success could be an email to all employees thanking them for their efforts in implementing the topics and potentially some sort of reward, like a pizza-party or some other celebration.
Look back, recognize the successes and the work items, close the loop and complete the final step to earn that rebate!