Successes

Reduction in Absenteeism delivered through a Telehealth & Workforce Analytics Service

Case Study Key Findings

• Strong ROI:  22% reduction in absenteeism resulting in $1.2 million saved annually
• Impressive Compliance:  95% of back to work discussions completed within 24 hours
• Wellbeing Culture:  Immediate and personalised health care and attention for staff with a nurse-led service

For one 24-hour Australian hospitality business, staying in operation involves managing around 1,800 staff, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

So it’s not surprising managing absenteeism for such a large organisation was a challenge before DHS, particularly given the organisation was using a manual spreadsheet. This cumbersome process meant managers simply spent all their time managing absenteeism, and trying to find replacement staff on the fly. Its high absenteeism rate also meant sections of the business would have to be closed while replacement staff were sourced, leading to a significant loss of revenue.

Since implementing DHS’ Absence Management Program nearly three years ago, the business has been able to:

• 22% reduction in absenteeism
• $1.2 million saved annually
• 95% of back to work discussions completed within 24 hours
• Provide personalised health care and attention to staff with a nurse-led service

For this entertainment business, operating involves some 1,800 staff seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and any absenteeism costs the business lots of money.

Three years ago, the organisation was managing its absenteeism with a manual excel spreadsheet, which took many hours of administration effort, leading to wasted hours and resources.

This manual process meant it needed three managers for every 24 hour shift purely managing absenteeism and people. These managers had no time for anything else, so there were a lot of wasted resources due to this very expensive and manual model.

The Solution

This current absence management model was costing the business significant time and money, and as a result it could never track trends, help staff recover, or target efforts to proactively reduce absenteeism. 

It decided to bring on board DHS to take on the burden of managing staff absenteeism, as well as facilitate data capturing to track trends and issues, while improving staff care.

DHS set up a direct reporting line for staff to call in absent, and made a nurse available to answer staff queries and offer personalised health care where necessary. When a staff member calls the line to report they are not coming in, a DHS nurse takes the call and then forwards the relevant information to that staff member’s manager, so the manager can find a replacement. 

DHS takes out the middleman of that process and streamlines absenteeism so the business can better manage it.

Now, the business is looking to expand the use of DHS’ Absence Management Program across other areas of the organisation. 

The Results

The client is delighted with the DHS Absence Management Program. It has allowed it to bring senior managers back into the operation without the daily burden of identifying who's called in sick, what time they called in sick, how long they will be away, and tracking this manually before they even find a replacement.

DHS ensures workforce planners actually receive a notification immediately about whether somebody is going to be absent, and their location, which is then delegated out to their direct manager in a confidential and personalised way. 

As a result, the administration burden has been removed, saving a significant amount of time and money. DHS allows the business to personalise the follow ups with staff, to ensure they are receiving appropriate care from its medical team.

The nurse-led service helps staff members seek out further health care if necessary, leading to faster recovery times, and positive staff morale as the client can now demonstrate it cares for its team. To reinforce this, the client also implemented DHS’ COVID Hotline during 2020 to help it manage the significant regulatory and health requirements for staff during this period, something which has been a boon during COVID and has given staff and managers peace of mind.

Want to find out how DHS can help your business leverage absence management technology to foster an engaged and productive workforce? Contact us today.