According to the 2003 Marsh/Mercer Survey of Employers’ Time-Off and Disability Programs, the total cost of an employer’s time-off and disability programs averaged 14.9 percent of payroll.

The same survey notes that for every dollar an employer spends on payroll, 15 cents is spent on wage replacement benefits during an employee absence. For an employee earning $40,000 a year that means $6,000 goes to supporting days away from work. Multiply that by the number of employees and it is probable that you are leaving money on the table that could be applied to your bottom line.

A proactive absence management program can help ensure that employees are both present and productive.

What Will You Say When They Ask What Happened?
If you want to begin managing employee absences more aggressively, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are my current programs effective when it comes to controlling workers’ compensation costs?
• Do frontline managers play a role in the return-to-work process?
• What are the key causes of absenteeism in my organization?
• Have I created a work environment that encourages employee productivity and presence?
• How do I track my occupational and non-occupational absences? Should I be linking these two systems?