Welcome to Absence Management Perspectives: A DMEC Podcast. The Disability Management Employer Coalition, or DMEC, as we're known by most people, provides focused education, knowledge and knowledge networking opportunities for absence and disability management professionals. DMEC has become a leading voice in the industry and represents more than 16,000 professionals from organizations of all sizes across the United States and Canada. This podcast series will focus on industry perspectives and provide the opportunity to delve more deeply into issues that affect DMEC members and the community as a whole. We're thrilled to have you with us and hope you will visit us@dmec.org to get a full picture of what we have to offer, from webinars and publications to conferences, certifications, and much more. Let's get started and meet the people behind the processes.

Heather Grimshaw: Hello, and welcome to Absence Management Perspectives: A DMEC Podcast. I'm Heather Grimshaw, communications Manager for DMEC, and I'm here today with Debby Kweller, a longtime DMEC member and association leader who recently stepped down from the board. We've asked Debby to provide some perspectives on her career in the absence and disability management industry, the changes she's seen, and what she sees ahead. Debby, would you please introduce yourself and then we'll get right to our discussion?

Debby Kweller: Sure. First off, Heather, thank you for inviting me. I really look forward to sharing my DMEC experience. I have been happily retired since 2013, although I thoroughly enjoyed my 17-year career as the leader of an integrated disability. Third party administrator, innovative Care Systems helped employers develop a self-insured and administered alternative to the California State disability program. This allowed administrators to integrate the state along with short term disability, long term disability, and workers compensation programs.

Heather Grimshaw: So my first question for you is, when you reflect on the last 30 years in the industry, what are some of the high points that come to mind that you think have shaped the industry?

Debby Kweller: Well, Heather, I first became aware of what today we call total absence management in 1988, well before DMEC was founded. In 1988, I helped cofound a California specialty workers comp carrier. I became very aware that employers were not applying the same prevention and return to work programs for non-work-related illnesses and injuries. Benefit and risk managers were not even talking to one another. Workers compensation risk managers had a lot more control over managing risks using special occupational provider networks, and they actually figured out how to capture data to measure outcomes for their CFO bosses. Benefit managers were not focused on managing disabilities primarily because they didn't realize they could or should. I was convinced at that time that employers should integrate their occupational and nonoccupational disability management. It just made common sense. It really wasn't until 1993 when I discovered DMEC. I was working as an independent consultant for a large aerospace company, and they wanted me to identify and survey large employers who are integrating disability management. And by the way, I also wanted to know what others were doing to comply with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the new 1993 Family and Medical Leave laws. In my search to identify employers for the survey, I met the DMEC cofounders, Marcia Carruthers and, Sharon Kaleta. I went to San Diego to meet with them and I agreed to share my survey findings with them if my climate permitted. But most importantly though, I learned that DMEC had local chapter meetings where people could come together to share best practices and provide education. I was absolutely thrilled to find people who shared my passion for developing the IBM concept and exploring how to support employers with Ada and FML compliance. And then in 1097, I participated in a certified Professional Disability Management class. CPDM (certified professional in disability management). I think it was the first time it was offered and all of us in the class contributed to its improvement. We all recognize that we were pioneers and agreed to present our experiences at the local chapter meetings and annual conference. We learned a lot from one another, which I now know is the spirit of DMEC. I attended annual conferences, compliance conferences and webinars from 1993 until I retired in 2013. DMEC clearly offered me the best educational and networking value in the industry. I always came away with a new friend and learned at least one new idea. And then finally, in early 2017, the DMEC expanded its board beyond its founders and I was truly flattered to be asked to join the board, even though I had been retired for three years. I served as Secretary and Governance Chair before retiring from the board last December.

Heather Grimshaw: I so appreciate the opportunity to hear kind of that progression and I think it's really interesting. I still hear people talking about the need to increase communication between people who are handling workers compensation and other leave management. And it is interesting to hear how some of that has evolved, though it sounds like there's still some opportunities for improvement there.

Debby Kweller: This has been a 30-year journey and I suspect with COVID-19 is going to continue, right?

Heather Grimshaw: Yeah, I think Covet has changed everything for everyone in so many different ways. So what are some of the examples of how the absence and disability management industry has changed in the last 30 years?

Debby Kweller: Well, when I started this industry career in 1988, only very large employers had considered integrated occupational and non-occupational disability. There was no Ada or FMLA, which we now know greatly expanded the concept of managing absence. I think the industry evolution is reflected in how we tried to define what we were trying to manage at the time. Initially, when large employers were trying to integrate occupational and non-occupational disability, we refer to that as Integrated Disability Management, or IBM. In the early 1990s, the term health and productivity management began to emerge. Dr. Hank Gardner, who was a healthcare pioneer, urged organizations to implement health and productivity strategies. I think he coined the term Human Capital Management, although that term didn't really catch on at that time. With the advent of the 1993 FMLA, the focus expanded from disability management to leave and disability management. Today I believe we use the term total absence management, which is very comprehensive and refers to an employer's policies, procedures or programs to reduce employee absenteeism and maximize productivity. This includes not only disability management, but also Ada, FMLA and anything else that will come along that may impact employee productivity. And what has come along? Oh my goodness. covid 19 has caused overall absence management upheaval. Just when many employers were getting their arms around the Ada accommodation process FMLA medical certification, state paid lead laws, return to work process certification, there are now emerging COVID-19, workplace requirements and legislation. The landscape is bound to continue changing required employers to continually review their absence management policies. They're having to deal with vaccine and mass requirements, remote working, changing types of employee accommodations, new mental health ramifications, family needs, etc. And etc. For what is the impact on absence data tracking management and predicting this is a whole new frontier?

Heather Grimshaw: That's such a great point. It seems so overwhelming just in and of itself, and then you add in the coveted pieces and it really tips the scales. One of the things that I have heard from others in the industry is that while disability and absence management has always played a really important role for players of all sizes, today that role has really gotten kind of a spotlight on it. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on that in terms of that evolution that you shared with us and things that you've seen change.

Debby Kweller: Well, Heather, certainly there has been more of a focus on employee productivity and with COVID that has really exacerbated people and their working opportunities. I don't think you can walk through any town in this country and not find employers begging for employees they can ill afford to have somebody be absent from work. And so therefore, those people who are managing absence are really part of a key solution during our evolution from pre-COVID 19 work.

Heather Grimshaw: Absolutely. I like the way that you phrase that a key solution. And so what types of changes do you expect to see or envision in the future?

Debby Kweller: It's a whole new ball game right now. It's a new frontier, really. There's all sorts of new workplace requirements, new legislation that's coming along. One of the things I think that DMEC has done extraordinarily well is pivoted through COVID-19 onset. And I think what I most appreciate about DMEC is that it's so forward thinking and responsive to professional member needs, regardless of employer size or professional experience. This is particularly true recently because DMEC continues to provide its members with really pragmatic solutions to changes in the absence management environment, which we are seeing now. And a good example is how DMEC supported the members at the onset of COVID-19. I also really appreciated that DMEC pivoted extraordinarily well in providing educational services to members during the Pandemic by holding the virtual conference, which was no easy feat. They also developed mini COVID-19 webinar resources and most importantly, provided a collection point of many other federal, state employment law and industry resources. So they really brought a lot of solutions to the membership despite not having the networking opportunities that you might have at a conference. Aside from sharing best practices and providing networking opportunities, DMBC also fosters a family culture where we all look forward to being together at the annual conferences and we really, truly care about one another.

Heather Grimshaw: I agree. There is certainly a family culture which is, I think important for people who are under so much stress every day, feeling different challenges that come their way. And that leads me really to one of my last question, which is for folks who are just starting out in this field, why do anniversaries like the 30th anniversary for DMEC matter?

Debby Kweller: It's a good question, Heather. I think anniversaries are important to provide those just starting out with a historical perspective of how absence management evolved. Early on in my career, I heard a quote from a leadership book by Marshall McClellan. He was a Canadian theorist who said, it is important to look in the rearview mirror when driving into the future. And I think this concept still holds true. I've never forgotten that. And the DMA's anniversary is, let us reflect on the past, learn from our mistakes and fail forward.

Heather Grimshaw: That's really well said. And I will never forget that quote either. I love that. I think it says a lot.

Debby Kweller: It stuck with me for a long time.

Heather Grimshaw: Yeah, I think it's easy to forget where you've been and all of the different ways that the industry has evolved and really become, I want to say more sophisticated when you think about the ADA, FMLA and all of these different laws that now govern the way that people behave and certainly the different education that's available. So I think especially in an environment where employers, as you said earlier, are really struggling to find and retain employees who can help them achieve their goals, these kinds of things are increasingly important. And that really does bring me to my last question, which is what is the benefit to participating in organizations like DMEC for professionals at every stage of their career?

Debby Kweller: There's so many benefits to members, but most importantly, I think, is that DMEC has demonstrated over the years that it is so forward thinking and responsive to all member needs, regardless of employer size or professional experience. DMEC has done an extraordinary job of coming forward with particularly the webinar resources and providing collection points for all of the resources that are available to professionals. And they seem to stay on top of what's going on in our environment, if you will.

Heather Grimshaw: Thank you. I appreciate those comments. I appreciate your time today and we certainly hope that you plan to stay in touch.

Debby Kweller: Well, I Will, Heather. Although being retired for eight years, I still am in contact with many of my DMEC colleagues and have had the good fortune to see Marcia Carruthers every week. So that's a real positive thing for me. And it's there's hardly a week that goes by that we don't talk about DMEC in some fashion.

Heather Grimshaw: Well, That's Fantastic. I Love It. Well, thank you so much.

Debby Kweller: You're So welcome. Thank you, Heather, for having me.