FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is ePAS™?
ePAS™ (Employee Physical Aptitude Screen) is a measurable and legally defensible screening process that is designed to better serve a company’s current and future employee placement objectives. ePAS™ has 3 primary applications:
1. As a Post-Offer-Pre-Hire Screen – used to determine an employee’s physical capability for a specific job BEFORE they are hired.
2. As a Healthy Worker Audit – used to determine if an existing employee in his/her current position is at risk for an injury resulting in a future workers comp claim.
3. As a Return-to-Work Assessment – used to determine what an injured employee is physically capable of, prior to returning them to a specific job.
What are the benefits of using ePAS™?
The primary purpose of ePAS™ is to lower a company’s annual Workers’ Comp claims which can result in lowering their existing Workers’ Comp insurance premiums and may provide a current discount on a company’s premiums with its insurance carrier by incorporating a new “Hiring Practice Program”.
A secondary purpose is to reduce a company’s employee turnover rates by testing the long term physical capability of their employees either before or after they are hired. This may also help to decrease the company’s health insurance costs by hiring and maintaining healthy capable workers.
How does ePAS™ work?
With ePAS™, measuring an employee’s physical ability is not based strictly on strength, as most would assume. The metrics for measuring physical ability in a physically demanding job involves evaluating resultant heart rates and postures as well as other factors while performing basic physical tasks, (lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing, etc) According to a recent Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index for 2012. Of the top ten injuries listed, ePAS™ assessments can reduce or eliminate approximately 60% of those injuries shown (i.e. overexertion, falls on same level, bodily reaction and repetitive motion). How does the ePAS™ screening process work?
Specifically, ePAS™ Post Offer-Pre Hire and Healthy Worker Audit assessments take about 40 minutes using specialized portable equipment designed by KEY and are conducted by a licensed Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist or Athletic Trainer specially trained by KEY. These screens can be performed on-site or at a designated company facility or clinic. KEY Assessments provides the KEY trained and certified Assessment Specialists and portable equipment to conduct each screen. The results of each assessment are provided to the company’s HR department to assist them with their final employment decision process for each prospective or current employee. The cost of each exam is $200.
Who is KEY Assessments?
Since 1987, KEY Assessments has been the leading provider of Functional Capacity Assessments in the Industrial Therapy market. The Company holds three Patents and provides equipment, software and training to our client base of over 1000 trained Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Certified Athletic Trainers in over 300 therapy clinics, Employer facilities and hospitals located in 41 States and 6 countries. These Assessment Specialists use the KEY System to measure an injured employee’s ability to return to work, to conduct Healthy Worker Audits on existing employees and to conduct “Prior to Hire” assessments on prospective employees. These processes are collectively known as Functional Capacity Assessments.
KEY’s clients have provided these assessments for their corporate clients for hundreds of employees within several industries in various sectors. As a result of this growing demand for an effective Physical Aptitude Screen, KEY Assessments is now working directly with Human Resource Departments, Risk and Safety departments and Risk Management Consultants to offer ePAS™ directly to industry.
How does my company benefit if I use ePAS™?
The cost for training an employee in many industries is traditionally high. As most companies are aware, the #1 reason most employees quit within 6 months is the job or workplace was not what the employee expected and the #2 reason is because the job was a mismatch with the person’s ability from the beginning.
A recent article published by the Sasha Corporation after conducting over 19,000 exit interviews entitled “Compilation of Turnover Cost Study” for the average hourly employee in the USA concluded the true turnover cost for an employee averaged between $3,500 to $8,000 per employee (depending on the sector and job position).
Although most companies use common pre-employment screens (i.e. drug screens, vision screens, physician’s physical screens), most companies can benefit from a specific assessment tool to evaluate the actual physical capability of each prospective or current employee in a workplace environment where most of the positions are physically demanding. Even a physical exam only evaluates an employee’s physical health, not their physical capability.
How do I know if ePAS™ will work for my company?
The President of KEY Assessments, Glenda Key, and Jim Lewis, Director of Business Development are available to outline this screening process in further detail and to answer any questions you or your staff may have. If you feel that the ePAS™ assessment program has merit and could benefit the long term interests of your company, you can contact our office to schedule a presentation.
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