A useful assessment describes how work actually happens. Before opening the questions, choose a clear scope and gather enough information to understand the people, tasks and working conditions involved.
Choose a manageable scope
Start with a site, team or group of similar tasks. A single business-wide answer may hide differences between the office, a warehouse and employees visiting customers. WorkSafe’s psychosocial assessment guidance recognises that separate assessments may be appropriate for different work areas. It also recommends using evidence and considering hazards together. Read the assessment guidance.
For example, an office team might mainly report conflicting priorities, while a customer-facing team experiences aggressive behaviour during busy periods. Recording those circumstances separately makes it easier to choose useful actions.
Bring workers into the conversation
Ask people who do the work what makes it difficult or unsafe, when the problem occurs and what would help. Include different shifts and employment arrangements so that one group’s experience does not stand in for everyone’s.
In Victoria, employers must consult employees about health and safety matters affecting them, so far as reasonably practicable. Where employees have an HSR, consultation must involve that representative. Read WorkSafe’s explanation of consultation.
Offer an appropriate way to raise sensitive concerns. General assessment notes should capture patterns and work conditions without exposing individual complaints or medical information.
Gather a small evidence bundle
For a first assessment, consider collecting:
- A recent workplace observation or inspection.
- A summary of worker feedback.
- Relevant incident and near-miss information.
- Previous actions and any evidence that they worked.
- Records relevant to the task, such as workload or maintenance information.
WorkSafe’s hazard-identification guidance explains how reviewing internal records can reveal patterns worth investigating. A pattern is a reason to investigate; it does not establish the cause on its own. Explore sources of evidence.
Make uncertainty useful
If you cannot answer a question, record what is missing and who will obtain it. “We need to observe the evening shift” provides a clearer next step than assuming daytime conditions apply throughout the business.
Before starting in Averto, write down the assessment scope, the groups consulted and the evidence available. Then complete the questions using that information, with unresolved matters carried into the action plan.
This article provides general guidance for Victorian workplaces. An assessment needs to reflect your work and any applicable specialist requirements.