RTW: Focus on the Absence, Not the Cause, to Better Manage the Associated Costs

By Paula Aznavoorian-Barry, MS

Vocational Rehabilitation & RTW Program Manager
Liberty Mutual Insurance

Employee absence creates a $225 billion annual burden for employers, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These costs hit employers regardless of why an employee is away from work — a weekend accident, a workplace injury, sick time, military service, or any other reason. It is the absence, not the cause, that drives these significant costs.

Recognizing this — and the importance of return-to-work (RTW) programs in managing those costs — many employers are working across their organizations to develop and apply consistent RTW best practices. These practices aim to provide easier administration, process efficiencies, consistent management, and safe RTW while improving the ability to track and improve RTW program performance.

These employers are not dismantling the historic silos that manage specific programs, such as workers’ compensation, disability, and absence. Rather, each employer partners across its organization to develop a consistent approach to RTW, regardless of the underlying cause of the absence.

Beyond better controlling costs, containing lost productivity, and engaging employees, a unified RTW program offers another key benefit: compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. That act, and its amendments, requires employers to take a consistent approach to making reasonable accommodations for work and non-work related disabilities.

Is this hard work? Sure, but it is well worth the effort. Particularly since employers can follow a four-step process to build an effective RTW program that can be implemented across an organization.

First, make a commitment. The easiest way to unite independent areas of a company is to look across silos to quantify how much employee absence costs the company.

Seeing the big picture uncovers the potential value of a unified RTW program in managing this impact. Showing this impact is key to securing both an executive-level champion and company-wide commitment to this effort.

Second, construct a solution. Bring everyone involved in absence-related issues together as a team to develop a comprehensive set of RTW policies. Start by documenting existing procedures. Understand what works, and locate opportunities for improvement.

For example, areas of a company may have different approaches on when they welcome back an injured employee to work. Some may wait until the employee is fully recovered and ready to perform prior responsibilities, while others are willing to assign employees to light or transitional duty as soon as they have sufficiently recovered. Look across the current approaches to select the one that will have the greatest benefit for the company and recovering employee.

Third, communicate. Introduce the new RTW program to all employees. Train managers, supervisors, and front-line individuals on the program’s policies and the company’s expectations. Regularly remind everyone about the program. In all communication, stress both the benefits to the company and employees of having a coordinated RTW process, rather than a range of workflows.

Fourth, control the program. In the second step, the team created the infrastructure for a unified RTW program. In the final step, the team tracks the program against key metrics and benchmarks. It then recommends updates to the program based on that performance. Data will tell the story, pointing to success and new opportunities.

While developing a single RTW program can be challenging, it can also better protect a company’s finances and its employees’ health. This four-step approach may help employers look across the organization, understand the company-wide impact, and work towards a common solution.