March winner for the icare aware award announced

NSW's insurer and care provider has awarded the icare aware award for March to Life Without Barriers, a social-purpose organisation supporting more than 400 communities across Australia.

The non-for-profit organisation scooped the award in recognition of “how they are valuing the safety and wellbeing of their employees in a sector facing enormous growth,” icare said in a statement.

“With the number of Australians aged 65 years and over forecast to more than double over the next 40 years, the increase in the aged care workforce is substantial,” said Jason McLaughlin, icare’s general manager for injury prevention and pricing. “Forward-thinking employers like Life Without Barriers are investing in vital skill requirements like injury prevention. It is very rewarding when NSW organisations from all industries not only develop a safety mindset, but also come up with transformative ways to prevent injuries and build a sustainable safety culture. At the same time, they grasped an opportunity to control the costs of premiums by reducing injuries.”

In 2016, Life Without Barriers enforced its Health, Safety and Wellbeing strategy to address its increasing workers' insurance premiums and a relatively low safety awareness among its diverse and growing workforce.

“We knew we needed to act quickly so we set up a team of experienced health and safety professionals, developed a two-year strategy and introduced safety branding across Life Without Barriers to make sure the strategy resonated with our people,” said Scott Orpin, Life Without Barriers executive director of people, safety, and culture. “The investment paid off: the first 12 months saw a 20% reduction in the number of safety incidents reported. At the same time, the average number of days off after an injury has dropped by 50%.”

Orpin said the program's success were due to a safety culture that “starts with senior management commitment,” a good strategic plan, and the “right people to lead the change.”

“We want our employees to focus on their jobs – improving the lives of the people we care for,” Orpin said. “This can only be achieved when everyone is safe and healthy. By creating and maintaining a safety culture, we have sent a clear message that safety matters.”