Functional Employment Testing

How do you know you are not hiring your next workers' compensation claim if you are not testing them?

                                       Don't take that costly risk.  One claim is one too many.

WorkSmart Solutions is licensed to provide post-offer/pre-employment and fit-for-duty testing through the WorkSTEPS Functional Employment Testing Program.  WorkSTEPS is an ADA compliant, legally defensible testing program used by employers nationwide to reduce their workers' compensation costs, often by as much as 70% during the first year.  WorkSTEPS has the largest employment testing database in the nation, with licensed providers in 48 states.  More information about the WorkSTEPS Functional Testing Program can be obtained by contacting WorkSmart Solutions and from the WorkSTEPS web site, www.worksteps.com.

What does Post-Offer, Pre-Employment testing consist of?

~ Medical history review with a clinician, including past work-related injuries

~ Comprehensive musculoskeletal evaluation including strength and range of motion to document pre-existing limitations or impairments

~Cardiovascular measures such as blood pressure, resting heart rate, and 3 minute step test.

~Dynamic lifting in a safe, progressive lifting sequence

~Job-specific testing to evaluate the capability to safely perform the essential job functions

Post-Offer Functional Employment Tests will help you:

~Decrease work-related injuries and accident rates

~Significantly lower workers' compensation costs

~Reduce turnover

~Increase productivity by hiring elite workers, ready to contribute

~Decrease healthcare costs

~Decrease disruption to production when skilled workers become disabled

"On average, one in fourteen assessments result in a "not capable" determination, saving employers an estimated $38,000, on average, for each such determination."

What is a Fit-For-Duty (FFD) Test?

As an employer, you want to be sure all your employees are medically and physically capable of performing the essential functions of their job, and that they are legally compliant with their job's regulatory requirements.  This is particularly critical for employers in highly-regulated and/or high-risk industries.

FFD testing is for existing employees that are returning from an injury, illness, surgery, or extended absence.   The outcomes of this type of test will help determine next steps, including return to full duty, returning to same job with modifications, returning to a different job temporarily, and/or undergoing additional rehabilitation.     

For those employers who do post-offer testing, FFD testing allows for comparison of the initial baseline measurements to the new data collected after injury to allow healthcare providers to establish appropriate rehabilitation and return to work goals and prevent unnecessarily lengthy treatment.  

Post-Employment Physical Agility Testing

This is a non-medical agility test, designed to be used preventatively on a periodic basis to ensure that existing employees continue to be able to meet the physical demand criteria necessary to safely perform the essential functions of the job.  It is typically administered on employees in positions affecting public safety, such as firefighters and police officers, or as a re-certification requirement.