Innovation and stakeholder experience fuel WorkSafeBC

When Laura Ruiz joined WorkSafeBC, she was following a passion that propelled her through a bachelor of science program in cognitive systems at the University of British Columbia.

“I was always passionate about leveraging knowledge of human behaviour to build better applications,” says Ruiz, who completed an internship with WorkSafeBC and joined full time after she graduated in May 2020.

As an experience design coordinator, Ruiz conducts usability testing on WorkSafeBC’s products and services, evaluating people’s response to tools such as online portals that serve the needs of workers, employers, and health care providers.

As the provincial agency dedicated to promoting safe and healthy workplaces in British Columbia, WorkSafeBC supports businesses, workers and industry in understanding their responsibilities and upholding safety regulations. While its mandate has remained the same since its creation in 1917, the pace of economic and technological change in recent years has required the organization to be agile, to focus on innovation, and to capitalize on the diversity of thought its employees bring to work every day, says Todd Yule, head of innovation & technology and chief digital officer.

“Through initiatives like our test kitchen, we are changing the way our employees can participate in and lead innovation,” says Yule. “We’ve accelerated the development of tools and engagement to continuously improve service to workers and employers.”

With this in mind, Ruiz works with teams from the organization’s prevention, assessments, and claims and rehabilitation divisions, to evaluate how users interact with new features and functions in their products and services.

To assess new improvements to WorkSafeBC’s online portal for example, she selects a group of users by age and geographical region, among other attributes, then evaluates their experience when logging in to check information related to their claim or business.

“From the log-in process and navigation, to clear language and overall experience, it’s important we test every aspect of our systems,” she says, explaining that ensuring ease and effectiveness of the tools are but two components of evaluating the overall experience.

“Feedback collected through these engagement sessions allows for continuous improvement opportunities for the teams building the tools,” says Ruiz. “We do this work to help ensure that the services we provide to workers, employers and health-care providers are easy to navigate, effective at helping stakeholders achieve their goals, and enable an overall positive experience.”

That commitment to both innovation and continuous improvement is shared not just by the teams she works with but by the organization’s 3,400-plus employees, says Yule.

“We’re here to serve the workers and employers of B.C.,” he says. “That’s our mission, and it’s reinforced whether you’re on the front line or in a support role. Everyone has a role to play in making a difference.”

The organization also pays close attention to its own employees, assessing their needs and striving to address their concerns.

“We have a team dedicated to understanding employees’ needs,” says Yule. “We value continuous feedback, and we give employees various tools to help them influence and shape our culture. Investing in our team is key to our success.

“We’re a knowledge-based organization,” he adds. “When we support our employees to adapt and innovate, we can deliver a better stakeholder and employee experience that also encourages positive workplace health and safety outcomes.”

WorkSafeBC has increased course offerings focused on developing an innovative mindset to support employees. For Ruiz, WorkSafeBC’s emphasis on training, mentorship and skills development was one of many reasons why she came to the organization.

“I was surprised at how passionate people are about making workplaces in B.C. healthy and safe. I’ve always wanted to work in a role where I can make a difference.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's BC’s Top Employers winners, published February 8, 2022 in the Vancouver Sun. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.