4th Quarter 2009
Leave Absence Management to Us
Offer your clients a solution for handling employee leave
Employee leave isn't a simple subject. There's sick leave, vacation, STD, FMLA and many other types. Planned and unplanned absences don't just decrease productivity, they increase administrative overhead — an estimated three-plus hours weekly that distract managers from their core job functions.1
Limited time and resources also compromise the handling of leave management. In a recent survey, only 26 percent of employers were consistently following their own absence policies; 75 percent felt they were not properly managing their employee-leave programs.1
With up to 10 percent of the workforce out on any given day,2 you can position yourself as a more valued partner to your clients by offering them an effective outsourcing solution.
Fair, consistent and comprehensive leave management
We developed the Absence Management Solution to help employers with this burden. Our Absence Management Service Center offers:
- Compliance with all state and federal regulations
- Seamless integration of disability and leave
- Single-point intake (telephonic and web)
- Staffing by disability and leave experts
- Access to all Benefits Department resources
- Smooth, seamless transition to Long Term Disability
Our Absence Management services include our Health Advocacy Solution (see article this issue), which assists employees as they navigate the health-care system.
Reasons to Outsource Absence Management
- Compliance: Up-to-date application of federal and state regulations ensures that employees receive fair treatment and job protection
- Tracking: Employers see absence patterns that let them redirect resources as needed, while online management reports show real-time absence information
- Consistency: Outsourced leave administration brings impartiality to leave management
- Communication: A single source of intake ensures that employees and employers are notified quickly
- Productivity: Coordinated leave and STD claim management allows identification of claims that may progress to LTD, as well as enabling early intervention that can reduce the duration of disabilities
1. Mercer, The Total Financial Impact of Employee Absence, October 2008
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey; Circadian Information, Shiftwork Practices, 2005