Data Insights: From Informative to Actionable

Employers face important decisions surrounding the benefits they offer their employees. Once they decide which programs would be the most beneficial to their population, it is imperative to measure the effectiveness of the programs to determine the impact and value to their employees. High-level outcomes are a start, but employers need to request deeper, actionable data to truly improve the employee experience.

When it comes to disability and leave programs, it is important to drill into the data to determine the root cause of what impacts an employee's decision to come to work. There is a wide array of reasons that may lead an employee to be away from work. Health conditions and organizational factors are two key areas that can be explored.

Finding the Drivers of Absenteeism

Sharing broad health categories in disability data is a good start, but it doesn’t tell the full story. To make meaningful changes, employers need to look at specific conditions and diagnosis codes that are driving claims. That’s where the real insights are. By looking at specific medical conditions and where they are occurring within the organizational structure, an employer can begin to target specific pilot programs that may impact the population that truly needs assistance.

For example, an employer may learn that the major diagnostic category of mental disorders is driving their short term disability claim utilization. Broad solutions can miss the mark. To really support employees, it’s important to know which mental health challenges are most common in each part of the organization. High rates of depression and anxiety in call centers may be expected, but data can also highlight unexpected issues — such as elevated substance abuse in a particular division.

From Insights to Impact: The Power of Partnership

Each organization's population is different. While it is valuable to understand current industry trends in employee absenteeism, it is important to mine claim utilization data to gain valuable insights on what impacts the employee's decision to come to work.

Collaboration between benefit providers and employers can validate data outcomes and drive the right programs to positively impact the health of their employee population. Moving from asking “what is the data telling us?” to the strategic question “what can we do with the data?” will transform an organization and their approach to data.

With support from The Standard’s Absence Management Services, employers can analyze trend data to uncover meaningful opportunities to support employees and reduce absenteeism.

Contact your account manager with questions about your program or find a representative near you for questions or more information about absence and data resources.