Many businesses are sitting on a minefield of workplace and staff data – data that can curb workforce absenteeism and save millions of dollars. 

With good data, an organisation can easily analyse absence reporting to understand both the work and non-work factors, contributing to illness, work stress and the relationship between absenteeism and workplace culture. 

Capturing absenteeism data in a centralised platform will help to: 

• Leverage data insights, such as absenteeism, EAP, workers compensation and engagement survey results 
• Review and evaluate the effectiveness of your management performance 
• Implement actions that resolve primary drivers of health-related absence 
• Ensure clear and well-communicated messages, policies and processes for both employees and managers
• Facilitate early notification alerts of absences sent in real-time and accurate data reporting and data collection
• Reveal deeper data-driven insights, such as duration of absence and the reasons behind the absence 
• Identify patterns and trends and benchmark these against similar industries 
• Track absenteeism in real-time to support early intervention and to identify key issues and trends before they become organisation-wide problems 
• Identify whether there is a group- or system-wide issue, and whether management or policies should be reviewed or if intervention is required
• Minimise risk by promptly identifying if there is an uptick in illness or injury, so the organisation can intervene to make the workplace safer. Serious cases can be quickly escalated to the appropriate department and communication can be instantly dispatched

Innovative data solutions that work

Real-time tracking of absence with a specialist absence tracking and reporting system like AbsenceTrack can be one of the most effective ways to get control of absenteeism and therefore, the overall health and wellbeing of your employees.

Using the power of Business Intelligence (BI), an organisation can benchmark absence rates, drill into individual absence records, better understand why employees are taking time off with detailed reason analysis, prompt management to carry out RTW interviews, as well as inform risk, consistency of policies, drive compliance and more.

Unlocking the value of a data-driven workplace 

When data analytics is accessed in an online platform or portal, it can be easily viewed at the organisation-wide, department and team level, revealing insights not possible with home-grown systems or excel spreadsheets. 

When employees report an absence to a centralised location, they can also immediately be informed of leave policies and procedures along with their responsibilities to ensure a robust and consistent approach across the organisation. 

As an added boon, the organisation can then provide immediate and confidential advice and support for employees who are unwell or injured, facilitating their recovery. For example, as a part of AbsenceTrack is AbsenceAssist, a 24×7 absence recording and nurse-led health advice service. 

Employees receive confidential health advice around the clock to improve recovery and overall wellbeing. A centralised database with individual employee records is also advantageous for understanding why employees are taking time off with detailed reason analysis as well as for compliance in terms of any return-to-work requirements needed.

Trigger management

Too often, cases are permitted to continue without intervention. Automated trigger management informed by organisational data can be a powerful tool to reduce absenteeism, ensuring:

• Line managers look more closely at employee absences
• Senior managers are alerted to employees who have high levels of absence
• HR is alerted when absence continues to escalate, ensuring the case is being managed appropriately 

As an example, our Trigger Management Module maps onto an organisation’s policies, procedures and specific absence needs. Each time an absence is reported and an alert is triggered, managers will receive a real-time notification email and/or sms. These alerts can be fully customised with attachments, including manager guides and instructions to ensure the recipient is aware of what steps need to occur in the process:

• Absence policy alerts triggered in real-time
• Automatic pattern alerts
• Attachments and guidelines customised in emails to managers
• Online filing system
• Alerts for referrals to occupational health
• Online e-learning and education tools for managers

Turning insights into action

Data collection and analysis also allow for early intervention of absenteeism. By using a centralised software like AbsenceTrack, HR leaders can take on a strategic role to turn ‘insights into action’.

By analysing trends in absence activity in real-time, such as duration of an absence by reason, and other key metrics, HR can identify people as well as behavioural and health risks that require proactive outreach. 

What follows can be open discussions, encouraging employees to voice their concerns and request help with effective management support, in particular with the more complex absence cases that require further investigation. 

With great data, an organisation can use reporting to understand both the work and non-work factors that are contributing to illness, work stress and the relationship between absenteeism and workplace culture. 

In this way, HR managers can ensure they are proactively assisting an employee’s wellbeing before an issue turns into a mental health problem. This, in turn, will have a positive effect on absenteeism and foster a healthier, happier working environment. 

Discover who is getting it right.  How this transport and logistics leader saved $16m by transforming absence best practice

We pride ourselves in creating a holistic approach to absence management that consistently delivers exceptional results for our clients, helping reduce absenteeism by up to 40%. Below is an example of aleading organisation that we worked with who reaped significant cost savings and boosted its bottom line thanks to a robust absence management program.

IIn this white paper, we reveal how one of the country’s leading transport and logistics organisations, employing over 10,000 + workers throughout Australia, used the power of data to rethink and future-proof its absence strategy.

The Challenge

• A need for a software platform to underpin the internal absence management strategy 
• High levels of short and long-term absence 
• Limited management engagement, resulting in over-reliance on human resources 

The Solution

• Deployment of AbsenceTrack software platform
• Design of internal processes to auto-populate absence leave at each depot
• Provision of daily/weekly and monthly real-time reporting and absence trend analysis
• Implementation of back-to-work discussions across the organisation
• Implementation of absence reviews based on system generated trigger points

The Results

• $1,600 saved per employee
• 32% reduction in absenteeism 
• 3.5 days saved per employee per annum

Discover how we can help empower your business with our range of innovative solutions.

Fill out the form below to find out how we can help you to take control of your absence management today.