Conclusion

There is an incredible amount of monumental work being done across the Defence Team to promote and protect the health and wellness of all Defence Team members. In order to fulfill the promise to invest in Departmental Priorities and core responsibilities, significant progress and achievements have been made towards THW targets and desired outcomes. That being said, there is room for improvement in integrating THW into everyday activities of the DND/CAF. A successful implementation and delivery of the THWS will support the commitments outlined in SSE, addressing identified issues and gaps in DT services and programs. An effective delivery of the THWS supports preventing physical and psychological harm to Defence Team members, supporting and enabling further productivity, retaining and attracting talent, and amplifying investments made to develop qualified people.

In the first phase of the implementation of the THWS, gaps were encountered in the delivery of the Strategy and areas for improvement were highlighted. Success of the THWS will be achieved when each identified action item is progressing as outlined in the Strategy and THWS action plan. Annually, a summary of efforts and progress within the FY is essential to align with and monitor corporate performance. As a result of organizational/institutional changes there are currently five action items identified in this annual report that do not have an identified OPI, with even more in the next phase. This hinders the ability to share and acknowledge the ongoing work by the Defence Team to support its members. That being said, the release of the THWS late in FY21/22 has likely had a direct impact on this gap. Additionally, there is one item with an identified OPI for which a comprehensive status report was not obtained to present in the annual report. Furthermore, as the THWS was recently released, there are additional efforts currently being implemented across the Defence Team to support the health and wellness of members that have yet to be captured by the THWS umbrella. Stakeholder engagement and communication is of the utmost importance to ensure that efforts are captured in future annual reports so that duplications in effort can be identified and gaps in service delivery can be addressed. Finally, many action items mentioned potential risks to the implementation of their items due to limited resources including financial and personnel limitations. These concerns have been noted and we will work to support organizations in any way that we can.

As this was the first annual report on the ongoing and new initiatives across the Defence Team, lessons were learned in its production. Of note, we are working diligently to re-assess action items lacking an OPI and to determine the appropriate course of action. Additionally, lessons learned in the first phase of the THWS are currently being applied to the processes implemented, including the methods of gathering information from stakeholders, to address some of the gaps and difficulties encountered in the first phase. We are committed to continually working with stakeholders to improve the service it provides and to support the ongoing hard work of all involved in the THWS.