Step 5 - Review
Now you get to review your work and use what you have learned to continually improve. Examine what you’ve done and the data you’ve gathered. Use that to find out if you’ve achieved what you wanted and to identify what you learned along the way, and to clarify next steps. Since you’ve been tracking all along, this is the time to tell the story of your work to prepare for your next improvement journey.
View a short training on this topic.
Why review matters
Review helps measure change and progress towards the end goal. If you are tracking implementation along the way, review helps identify issues early when they are more easily corrected. Findings from your review will help demonstrate the value of your efforts to workers and leadership. The data you’ve gathered will be valuable in determining what’s next.
Put together a review team
Having review team members from multiple levels of the organization and a range of work groups will help make sure you have various perspectives. This team will gather information and review and interpret results. Recruit workers who are interested in getting involved.
Suggested elements to review
- Leadership engagement
Were leaders updated on progress regularly? Did they receive the information they needed to stay informed, aware, and supportive? - Participation
Share your findings with workers and ask for their feedback in whatever ways work for your organization, individually or in groups. - Policies, programs, and practices
Review changes to policies, programs, and practices. Are they understood? Were they effective? Are workers reporting a positive change in working conditions?
Use data to drive change
Data can be gathered in a variety of ways, including walkthroughs of the physical environment, observations of changes in practices due to new policies or programs, and surveys. Go back to what you said you would track and see if anything was missed. What changes would you make when you do this again?
Communicate findings
If you have been regularly communicating on progress, this is an opportunity to share what’s been accomplished and the impact it has had on worker well-being.
Continual improvement
Of course, you’re not finished yet! This review will be a jumping off point for your next journey. What worked well? What didn’t work so well? What was discovered during this process? What does that tell you about what should be next?
Maybe you will decide to move from reducing injuries from a particular cause to looking at reducing harmful exposures or increasing psychological safety. Whatever it is, you now have the skills and the tools to start this process all over again.
Resources
Total Worker Health® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Participation by SAIF does not imply endorsement by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.