Divisional Year End Reports
The WCB's operational planning process supports the Board Members' strategic plan. It is the responsibility of the WCB Executive to establish the operational plan and, through the plan, to achieve the strategy set out by Board Members. This is accomplished by dedicating corporate resources and effort towards a set of key results and operational objectives.

The WCB's operational planning model is an integrated approach that requires the Executive to develop Key Result Areas (KRA's), Objectives, and Programs that are, in turn, operationalized by the WCB staff. This ensures these elements of the operational planning model are mutually supportive and adequately resourced.

KEY RESULT:
Safety and Prevention

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
To eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses, as measured through a continuous reduction to the provincial workplace injury rate.

Interim Targets:
2008 - 3.70% 2009 - 3.50% 2010 - 3.30%

SUPPORTS STRATEGY STATEMENTS:

• Prevention
  We will promote workplace safety and injury prevention. We will support workers and employers in the development and implementation of injury prevention programs that eliminate workplace injuries.

PROGRESS MADE
Mission Zero was launched within the WorkSafe Saskatchewan social marketing campaign. Mission Zero took a franker approach to the subject of workplace safety and created a call to action that resonates with both workers and employers. Although a new entrant in WorkSafe Saskatchewan's tool kit for promoting injury prevention, market research shows that Mission Zero is quickly becoming a recognized icon for safety and prevention in Saskatchewan.

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour in July 2008. The MOU strengthens the WorkSafe Saskatchewan partnership that was established with the first MOU in 2002 and requires the partners to develop a collaborative provincial injury prevention strategy. Joint strategic and operational planning were in progress at year end.

The WorkSafe Saskatchewan partnership continues its support of relevant research that has applications in the workplace. Dr. Doug Gross, recipient of funding in 2007, will present his findings to the 2009 Compensation Institute in a presentation titled, Evaluation of a Back Pain Social Marketing Campaign.

Also in development through the WorkSafe Saskatchewan partnership are targeted prevention initiatives in specific workplaces, industries, and occupations. The partnership also is considering ways to increase education and information opportunities, whether through training, websites, or community outreach.

Other safety and prevention programs advanced in 2008:

• A quality assurance model is in development, to support the province-wide safety certification program.
• A new safety association was established. EnForm will be operational in 2009, offering workplace safety and injury prevention services and training to businesses in Saskatchewan's busy oil and gas sectors. Preliminary discussions are underway to establish safety associations in two additional sectors in 2009.

KEY RESULT:
Excellent Service

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
To achieve a customer satisfaction rating of 4.75 out of 5 as defined by the Common Measurements Tool Survey Method.

SUPPORTS STRATEGY STATEMENTS:

• Service
  We will provide support to injured workers, their families and employers when they need it most and be cost effective in our processes. We will return injured workers to wellness, including the return to suitable employment.
• Relationships
  We will continue to build positive relationships that serve the interests of workers and employers.

PROGRESS MADE
In 2008, the WCB's Saskatoon staff moved into newly renovated office space. Improving customer service was the reason behind the move. Prior to the move, Saskatoon staff worked out of 2 downtown locations. The new office space is downtown and easily accessed by car or by transit bus, the space is wheelchair accessible, and it has parking onsite. Having all Saskatoon staff in one location is more convenient, too, and supports the WCB's team-based work model.

WCB adjudicators often rely on medical standards and protocols to help them determine whether an injury is work-related. In 2007, work began on a project to use medical causation assessments to improve initial entitlement decisions. A pilot is scheduled for early-2009.

Because of the important influence health care professionals have on the treatment and recovery of injured workers, the WCB is in continual communications with health care associations. In recent years, the role of the health care professional in return-to work has been a focus of discussions. Talks between the WCB, the Saskatchewan Medical Association, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons produced a policy that supports timely reporting by practitioners when assessing and treating injured workers.

In 2008, the WCB contracted with the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA) to provide services to the most seriously injured workers served by the WCB. Through the arrangement, CPA offers peer support to help workers with significant injuries adapt to their changed circumstances.

The WCB has begun development of account management supports for small business owners. Early steps include identifying a small business contact within the WCB and developing a list of priority employers for first contact.

At year-end, the WCB was completing the research phase for the redesign of its website. The focus of the redesign project is improving customer service by supporting self-serve through secure online accounts, and offering a larger number of services and greater information through the website. Focus groups conducted as part of the research phase reinforced the direction of the project, saying that a greater number of easily accessed and secure online services was highly desirable.

The WCB conducts surveys with injured workers and their employers throughout the year, to gather their ratings of service and learn where improvements could be made. The practice of surveying our clients has been in place for over a decade, and our use of the Common Measurements Tool (CMT) has matured to a leading practice among Canadian workers' compensation systems and other organizations. Research findings have been used to target service improvements, often at the case management team level. In 2008, case management teams began creating service improvement plans based on each team's CMT data.

Other initiatives begun in 2008 include communication improvements at point of contact with the WCB, with some overlap with the website redesign project, and a forms review.

KEY RESULT:
Effective Processes

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
To ensure that 100% of key business processes have appropriate standards and controls in place that are monitored through quality control and quality assurance processes.

SUPPORTS STRATEGY STATEMENTS:

• Service
  We will provide support to injured workers, their families and employers when they need it most and be cost effective in our processes. We will return injured workers to wellness, including the return to suitable employment.
• Strategic and Risk Management
  We will follow a planning process that anticipates and responds to the environment, that integrates operational planning, and that results in service and management excellence and efficiency. We will follow a risk management process that identifies and mitigates risks that jeopardize the implementation of the strategic plan.

PROGRESS MADE
This Key Result is made up of a series of long-term projects that began in 2008 or earlier, and continue through the 2008-2010 planning cycle.

The WCB's case management model has a significant Information Technology system at its base. Virtually every case management decision is supported by a computer-based assist. The claims IT system was last reviewed and redesigned nearly 15 years ago. It no longer offers the efficiencies or meets the requirements of users. In late 2008, a multiyear project was launched to develop and implement IT supports that will support case management into the future.

Also underway in the Revenue and Employer Accounts department is a review of coverage to industry and occupations. Phase I of the project is researching and analyzing industries and occupations that are excluded under The Workers' Compensation Act, 1979. The research report was received in late-2008 and is under consideration.

The review of the Permanent Functional Impairment rating methodology completed in 2008. A decision on the findings of the review is pending.

Several administrative and case management processes completed in 2008 or are scheduled for review through 2009 and 2010.

• Improvements to the payment processes were completed.
• A quality assurance process will be applied in 2009 to the performance management system used to conduct annual performance reviews of WCB employees. Compliance and reporting processes have been implemented.
• A draft quality framework has been completed, with implementation anticipated by the end of 2009.
• Work on a framework for defining standards of service between WCB departments will advance through mid-2009.

The completion of 2 projects is delayed:

• The planned evaluation of the effectiveness of team-based case management; and,
• The development of a management framework for administrative policies and procedures, and for policies and procedures in Revenue and Employer Accounts, are delayed. The new completion date for the REA project is mid-2010.

KEY RESULT:
Competent People

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
To hire, develop and retain a competent work force as measured by the WCB's Human Resources Alignment Index. Target to be determined.

SUPPORTS STRATEGY STATEMENTS:

• Service
  We will provide support to injured workers, their families and employers when they need it most and be cost effective in our processes. We will return injured workers to wellness, including the return to suitable employment.
• Employee Relations
  We will promote pride in WCB employees and require accountability for individual and corporate achievements, and responsibility for how work is accomplished.

PROGRESS MADE
The WCB aims to attract and retain a workforce that is representative of the clients it serves. The adoption of best and leading practices in human resources management is central to that goal.

Progress in 2008 supported this Key Result. The WCB was recognized as a top Saskatchewan employer, earning the Top 10 designation for 2008. The WCB continues to enjoy positive relationships with educational institutions, through its "Building the Future" student bursary program and aimed at attracting Aboriginal students and students with disabilities to the WCB. Career fairs are regularly attended by the organization.

A formal training needs assessment for the WCB's frontline staff completed in 2008 produced a training proposal that is under consideration.

Projects that are continuing on schedule for completion in 2009 include:

• An evaluation of tools and surveys to measure and track the WCB's corporate culture.
• Options for the development of an employee recognition program.
• Development of formal evaluation processes for WCB trainees as part of case management training modules.
• A Human Resources strategy to address the risks facing the WCB relative to succession planning.

KEY RESULT:
Financial Integrity

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
To protect benefit entitlement and maintain competitive rates by maintaining funded status.

SUPPORTS STRATEGY STATEMENTS:

• Strategic and Risk Management
  We will follow a planning process that anticipates and responds to the environment, that integrates operational planning, and that results in service and management excellence and efficiency. We will follow a risk management process that identifies and mitigates risks that jeopardize the implementation of the strategic plan.

PROGRESS MADE
The WCB is bound by its Act to maintain a fully-funded status; that is, there must be sufficient funds available to meet its financial obligations for the life of all the injury claims in the system.

The projects that support this Key Result ensure the WCB is safeguarding its financial and other assets, and that it is in compliance with the professional standards of accounting and actuarial associations.

For example, the WCB is implementing a best practice framework for internal controls over financial reporting (ICOFR). Once implemented in 2009, the framework provides assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepting Accounting Principles (GAAP). In a similar vein, another project is preparing the WCB for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), with a 2011 completion date.

Other projects safeguard assets or contribute to the efficiency of the WCB's work practices. The development of efficiency indicators for key business processes is on schedule for completion in early-2009. Another project will manage the risk of rising medical costs through the implementation of soft tissue treatment guidelines. The guidelines are now complete, with an early-2009 rollout.

The Workers' Compensation Act, 1979, and its regulations, define which industries are covered by or excluded from the Act. If an industry is covered, meaning that it receives the protection and benefits of the Act, all employers within that industry must register with and pay premiums to the WCB. Compulsory registration treats all employers within these industries fairly and shares the cost of the workers' compensation system among all employers. Through an agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency, a data exchange in 2008 produced a list of businesses that are not registered with the WCB and perhaps should be. Starting in 2009, the WCB will contact these businesses to confirm whether they need to register and, if so, to arrange for the payment of premiums.

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