Proactive Health & Absence Management

1. Proactive Health &Absence Management Northwest Contact Centres Project 19 October 2004

3. Agenda • The Issue of Absence • Current Practise • A New Paradigm • Case Study • Media Views

4. The Issue of Absence • It has a direct cost. The CBI estimate this at £1,3 million for every 1,000 employees. • It has a direct effect on customer service and productivity. • It affects the morale and general well being of employees ‘taking up the slack’. • Absence wastes valuable management time.

5. Two Key Diagnosis Groups 20% of Employees Drive 80% of Cost Percentile of Work Force Source: Mercer Human Resources, HSE, various studies Source:David Cochrane 2001, Aon Public Sector, 2002 Increasing Litigation Risk Early Intervention is Essential Companies Paid Damages Probability of Return to Work 12x Average Payout of £51,000 Time of Intervention in Weeks Source: Dr Paul Roberts, MFOM Source: Occupational Health 1/2003 The Problem - Important Considerations “Back” “Stress”

6. Absence • Short term: Repeated genuine spells or malingering • Long term: Over 10 - 14 days • Methods of managing absence include: • Ignoring it ‘The nature of the industry’ • Overstaffing • Occupational Health (Case Management) • Management intervention Common factor: absence rate remain high!

7. Current Process Flaws • Managers are not able to challenge ‘medical reasons’ for absence with credibility. • Managers can not provide medical assistance. • Insufficient tracking means that many patterns are not identified. • Most referrals to Occupational Health are too late or non-relevant.

8. 1. Report Absence 2. Medical Advice 4. Follow up 6. Online Reports 3. Immediate Notification 5. Auto Trigger Active Health Partners • Trigger reports: • Consecutive days • Frequent Spells • Accident at Work • Litigation Risk Absence Management from ‘Day 1’ Mindful of occupational issues Is absence work related..? Accident at work..? Employee Line Manager & HR Nurse Contact Centre

9. 3. Employee Consent 4. GP Research 1.Referral OH/Case Mgt 2. Client Notified 6.Rehab Report/Prog. 5. Further Information Active Health Partners Case Management Employee Line Manager & HR Nurse Contact Centre

10. Absence rate 2003/2004 Absence rate 2003/2004 AHP Launch AHP Launch 2003: client SAP data 2004: client and Active Health Partners reconciled data 2003: client SAP data 2004: client and Active Health Partners reconciled data Case Study – Logistics and Distribution company • Trail of 1,300 employees in 5 locations • Reduction in absence of 32% in 5 months • HR Director determined service is self-funding • Retrospective IT system shows manual error rate

11. Selected Media Coverage

12. Thank you……..