Why now is the time to get a grip on absence management

Many companies do not keep a close eye on their absence management practices and quite often cannot tell us where their people are. In the SME space, Ellipse's recent research report ‘Sickness absence risk and attitudes in UK SMEs’ highlights that a third of SMEs do not use an absence management system. Most just use spreadsheets, record on paper or not at all in some cases.

While larger companies are usually more sophisticated in this regard, this does not mean that their processes are fit for purpose. As well as impacting on life insurance cover, poor absence management hinders early intervention, a vital tool in getting employees back to work after illness or injury.

Inconsistent processes

Absence recording processes are often inconsistent. Generally originating from business acquisitions, companies can find that different business units and subsidiaries are using different systems. A lack of harmonisation can leave these companies with complicated, inconsistent absence policies. So while they may be recording data in a system or systems, the data is not easily accessible or actionable for the purposes of early intervention.

Regardless of company size, businesses should create a single view of where and how their people are, at any time. Centralising absence recording systems is a must to achieve this. After all, if we are not informed of a serious absence, it’s highly unlikely that the employee is receiving the right level of support to help them at what will be a very difficult time.

A missing link

This is where employers are missing the link between absence management and Income protection. Income protection is not just an employee benefit that businesses call on in week 28 of an employee’s absence.  The product actually offers business benefits as early as week four by intervening with dedicated case management.

Early notification is crucial and successful where a robust link between absence recording and case management is provided. A reliable, consistent process, supported by the company’s insurer, will ensure the right people know when and how to react to the absence data.

Creating this link is another major challenge. For SMEs, we are recommending an integrated absence management and early notification referral process. This ensures notifications are always made when absences hit certain condition type and absence length triggers. While such an integrated product may not be suitable for larger firms who already have systems and processes in place, they can achieve the same effect with thorough internal procedures implemented by well-trained and supported HR. Companies should lean on their income protection insurer for support in devising these processes. 

Early notification shouldn’t be difficult

Such a strategy to enable early notification will not only improve wellbeing outcomes for the employee, it will reduce productivity losses for their employer by improving their chances of an early return. Knowing where and how your people are, is the very basics of wellbeing. All companies need to make sure they do the simple things right and by doing so they will also mitigate risk and reduce future insurance premiums for both income protection and life insurance benefits.

This article was provided by Ellipse.