Absence Management/Disability Management/Return-to-Work

The enormous cost of absences

Many companies face daily unplanned absence rates as high as 20 percent or more. Direct and indirect costs of absences weigh heavily on the bottom line. Disability costs alone can easily be 8 to 10 percent of total payroll. Absenteeism and disability cost US companies over $200 billion in lost productivity. Unfortunately many employers fail to track and manage this cost. They may be aggressive at controlling other costs, but employee absence is viewed as either an unavoidable cost of doing business or is simply not understood.

Measure first

The starting point for absence management is to aggressively track absences. Many organizations have relatively little information on employee absences, their costs and their causes. Many human resource information systems and payroll systems fail to produce useful absence management data.

If nothing else, employers must be able to meet federal requirements for administration of the Family Medical Leave Act. Tracking and reporting on employee absences is no longer an option.

Address the root causes

Employers that wish to gain control of absence costs need to understand the root causes. The drivers of absenteeism can be related to supervision, organizational culture, compensation, workplace safety and many other factors.

A comprehensive approach

Disability return-to-work

Aggressive return-to-work efforts that provide modified duty for employees with medical restrictions are the ultimate win/win. There is a substantial body of evidence that shows that people heal faster at work. Simply being active and feeling capable and valued has an enormous impact on a person’s sense of well being and the speed of their return to full capacity. Early return-to-work also dramatically reduces the employer’s costs. These include direct medical, indemnity and replacement labor costs as well as the significant indirect costs in lost productivity.

Job design is central to a modified duty return-to-work program. This involves identifying tasks and assessing the physical demands and translating these into a meaningful work assignment.

How I can help

As with all my work, I will collaborate with your organization to implement systems and programs to track and manage employee absence. My focus is on employee well being and bottom-line results.

I can help you and your organization:

  • Implement an effective absence tracking and management system
  • Analyze the root-cause of employee absences
  • Develop action plans to reduce employee absences and associated costs
  • Define key program metrics
  • Design effective disability return-to-work programs
  • Train employees and supervisors on their role in return-to-work
  • Reduce direct and indirect disability costs

Technology partner

I am a distributor of ATOMS (Automated Time Off Management Solutions) software. ATOMS is an integrated suite of web-based software applications targeted at reducing the costs associated with employee lost time. ATOMS automates and streamlines the business processes associated with managing and administering your company’s time-off policies.

ATOMS modules include:

· Absence & Leave Management
· Work Scheduling
· Policy Monitoring
· Family Medical Leave
· Employee Profile (HRIS)
· Task Management
· Robust Reporting System

Employee profile (HRIS)

· Training, skills and education
· Employee evaluations
· Immunizations
· Material management
· Dependents
· Employee benefits

 

Integrated Disability Management

· Short term disability
· Long term disability
· Workers Compensation
· Return-to-Work
· Advice to pay

 

Safety compliance

· First Report of Injury
· Material management
· OSHA 300

To learn more about total absence management design and how I can help, please contact me.

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