2022 Technology & Integration Issue

Technology & Integration

January/February 2022

Finding the balance between optimizing technology to improve efficiencies and ensuring employees feel heard and cared for is increasingly important for employers. This issue of @Work magazine shares guidance for how employers can select and integrate technology to support the work of absence professionals, streamline leave administration tasks, and expand access to health and wellness offerings while creating more time for personal and meaningful interactions with employees.

The CEO’s Desk

Technology & The Human Equation

Technology is an integral part of our lives. It’s a valuable tool that can improve efficiency and help you find time for meaningful interactions with employees who need guidance. However, this issue highlights the need to avoid relying solely on technology as it won’t serve you — or your employees well — without a human touch. Read more.

Features

An Employer’s Guide to the Technology Solution Galaxy

Employers are laser-focused on increasing efficiency and employee engagement. Technology can help achieve these goals by creating streamlined processes for leaves of absence, making pertinent information more readily available and digestible for employees, enabling the integration of data and processes, addressing behavioral health issues, and enhancing productivity tracking and reporting. Read more.

Balancing the Yin and Yang of Integrated Disability and Absence Management: Best Practices and Trends

Achieving equilibrium between tried-and-true best practices and emerging industry trends in integrated disability and absence management can be challenging. Layers of complexity create friction so it is useful to understand how to adopt an emerging trend while maintaining established processes. Read more.

Spotlight Articles

Program Showcase

Weighing In on Electronic Performance Monitoring

Electronic performance monitoring, which helps employers observe, record, and analyze job performance, is increasingly popular, and can help managers assess staff needs as well as improve productivity. However, employers should consider potential personnel costs and adjust monitoring approaches to avoid or mitigate these issues. Read more.

Employer Perspective

Remote Workers: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

Like many healthcare organizations, Temple Health did not have an established tradition of remote work at the onset of the pandemic. That paradigm shifted overnight when, within two weeks, non-patient-facing staff from legal, technical, administrative, information technology, and human resources departments, was required to work remotely. Read more.

Program Showcase

Finding “Magic” in the Claims Mix

Most disability cases — occupational and nonoccupational — resolve normally without intervention. But 10% to 15% of cases need additional attention to avoid becoming long-term claims. Organizations have developed tools — from simple paper-and-pencil lists to artificial intelligence (AI) applications — to identify potential outliers early in the process. Read more.

Expanded Perspectives:
@Work to Share

DMEC provides the following @Work magazine articles and podcast episodes to offer additional perspectives on and increase awareness of integrated absence management trends and challenges. The resources — available to members and nonmembers — can be shared with your colleagues and through social media channels.

2022 Trends

A 2022 Spotlight on Absence Management Trends

It is fair to assume that the employment disruption we have experienced during the last couple of years will continue in 2022. But with two years of experience under our belts, we should be able to anticipate some of the twists and turns ahead. One common thread amid the uncertainty we have faced is that the role of absence management professionals continues to expand in scope and influence. Read more.

Can Employers be Liable for Vaccine Side Effects — Or for Not Requiring Vaccination?

Some employers are required to enact a mandatory vaccination policy for COVID-19, and others are choosing to do so. In this environment, employers question whether they can be held liable for vaccine side effects if they mandate the vaccine, while lawsuits have also been filed against employers for failing to protect employees and their family members from the virus. Read more.

DMEC Podcast

Does Electronic Performance Monitoring Help or Hurt Employers?

While there’s a common belief that electronic performance monitoring (EPM) can improve productivity, this podcast provides a human resources perspective on the technology while weighing its benefits and detriments. EPM can have significant benefits for employers “when used with a degree of balance,” explains Coy Hillstead, EdD, DMEC member, in this episode. Listen.

Columns

Absence Matters

Technology: A Key to Better Service

Technology and innovation are critical to building and maintaining an efficient and compliant claims practice. The automation of simple eligibility determinations, communications, and integrated processes can be a game changer for the health and longevity of a successful program. Read more.

Integrated Absence Management

Hybrid Enrollment: What We’ve Learned and What’s Here to Stay

The shift toward remote work has created more flexibility for employees and opportunities to work for companies outside their local areas. This rapidly changing workforce creates a need for continual education for new employees and ongoing enrollment options. Read more.

Engaging Today’s Workforce

An Ongoing Shift to Telehealth: Considerations for Employer Benefit Programs

72% of employees say their health, safety, and protection, as well as that of their families, is more important than ever before. Technology innovations such as telehealth, which enable employees to access care from anywhere, help them meet their health goals. Read more.

Employer Solutions

Balancing Technology and the Human Touch for Employee Leaves

The need for leave is purely human. Yet the process isn’t always as human-centered as we’d like it to be. As employers outsource their disability and leave administration, they need to assess whether their vendor partners combine predictive analytics with automation to ensure employee leaves are handled with clarity as well as compassion. Read more.

Common Sense Compliance

Technology Helps Employers Meet Business Needs and Ensure Privacy

Technology solutions can make remote training more engaging, interactive, and even entertaining. Emerging services and technologies help employers manage an increasingly remote workforce securely and ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws. Read more.

Featured Case

Responding to Vague FMLA Requests

FMLA regulations require employees to provide notice of leave to employers. Those seeking leave for the first time do not need to reference the FMLA but must provide sufficient information to demonstrate it is necessary. Recent court cases illustrate the need for employers to reevaluate leave request processes and provide clear guidance on criteria that substantiates requests. Read more.

Leave Technology

Tailoring Technology for Small Employers

Several software solutions have been introduced to help employers manage the complexities of leave and accommodation requests. Initially catering to larger employers, vendors soon recognized a need to create solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees that were affordable and simple to operationalize. Read more.

The Disabled Workforce

Using the Technology on Hand to Create Systems That Work

Up to 11% of employees in the U.S. are applying for vaccine exemptions, and many employers do not have the knowledge or capacity to manage the volume of requests. While some organizations will outsource this work, many won’t have that luxury. However, it’s possible to leverage the technology on hand to improve efficiency. Read more.

DMEC RESOURCES

DMEC News

As we enter 2022, DMEC prepares to launch our second microcredential course on FMLA medical certifications and welcomes four new Employer Advisory Council members and two new National sponsors. Read more.

Legislative Updates

Check out the latest federal, state, and local compliance updates on the DMEC Legislative Updates. Recent posts cover the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19 vaccination rules. Read more.

Be sure to follow DMEC on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for additional insight & up-to-date news.

Continue the Conversation

Share insights and ideas around the Technology & Integration issue with other DMEC members in the DMECommunities Technology Solutions group. DMEC’s online networking groups give you the opportunity to connect with industry peers, ask/answer questions, share resources, and seek feedback. Get started.