FEATURE


Brazil, Russia and Turkey all have more extensive and complex regulations than Canada, Australia and Switzerland”, says Leigh.


A key strand of activity was understanding best- practice in different countries. “The benchmarking was extremely valuable in order to future-proof the program and identify the risks,” adds Leigh. She points out that levels of occupational health regulation are not necessary in proportion to standard practice. “So Singapore and Switzerland, for example, have relatively low levels of regulation, but standard practice is to provide a wide range of occupational health services to employees.”


Hearts and minds International SOS established a network of 36 experienced occupational health specialists to carry out the research in each country. “Quality assurance and consistency were critical


across such a wide base”, says Leigh Burns, Group General Manager, Medical Consulting, Training and Healthcare Management Services at International SOS. Therefore the team established two lines of peer review, the second of which was carried out by an International SOS Group Medical Director of Occupational Health.


Jacinta Negri is Manager for Health and Wellbeing at RBS. She believes that using medical experts in each country who could assimilate and translate complex information was critical to success. “That local perspective was invaluable”, she says. “Being able to speak to people in their own language and to understand the local culture and practice around occupational health was the key to unlocking the cooperation that was needed from the business and our suppliers.”


Given the tight timeframes RBS had set itself,


relationship building was crucial—especially because the organization had grown so rapidly. “As you would expect in such a newly formed organization, we needed to invest in engaging business owners and suppliers in what we were doing”, explains Jacinta. Again having local medical experts on the team was critical. “In winning hearts and minds, the network was much more effective than any single central operation could have been.”


Challenging assumptions International SOS’ research uncovered some interesting findings and, perhaps, some surprises for the Bank. For example, the amount of occupational health regulation is not necessarily relative to economic development of a country. “For instance,


Evidence base International SOS worked very closely with the Bank’s global team. “We particularly enjoyed working in a strategic partnership with International SOS, not only because of their expertise, but because of the commitment they brought”, adds Amanda. “This was an opportunity to participate in an engaging challenge and I’d say it’s been a unique supplier relationship.” As a result, the Bank has a robust understanding of occupational health requirements and provision (by a total of 43 different suppliers) across their international locations. “In effect this is a library on global occupational health”, says Amanda. “It is the evidence base from which we can—from a strategic procurement perspective—negotiate the best for our people. And there are opportunities to streamline, standardize and identify cost savings.” The project has also significantly raised the profile of occupational health across RBS and promoted its value. “This is about achieving the balance between a global program and local application”, says Jacinta. “We know what we need to do next, and we’re working with countries to progress the way forward.”


Unique approach International SOS’ perspective is that in commissioning this work the Bank has been proactive in meeting its responsibilities. “RBS had conducted a legal review of regulations in the 39 countries, but realized that legal analysis of requirements wasn’t enough to inform its long-term vision”, says Leigh “Using specialist medical expertise—both centrally and at a local level—was an extra step to provide a practical medical context to their analysis. We see it as unique.”


For Amanda, the challenges on a global scale are about striking a balance. “Our Safety, Health and Wellbeing strategy is about compliance and governance, and ensuring support to our business functions while streamlining provision and reducing costs”, she explains. “While there’s progress still to be made, the work on occupational health has been a significant step forward.” ■


Hotline Issue 1, 2011 7


“ Being able


to speak to people in their own language and to understand the local culture and practice around occupational health was the key...


”


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