Absence - bad data worse than no data
Absence - bad data worse than no data
Basic operational problems undermine efforts to tackle the cost and burden of absence. HR is urged to tackle data management and process issues to build an effective platform for strategic absence management initiatives.
Efforts to reduce the high costs associated with absence will be undermined if organisations fail to address fundamental problems managing their data and key business processes, according to a new research report.
The report, published by Webster Buchanan Research in association with Computers in Personnel, points out that much of the focus in absence management today falls rightly on the need to develop an effective absence strategy. This includes; preventative well-being programmes, occupational health, prompt intervention policies and consistent disciplinary procedures.
But the report called "Managing absence: the missing links" argues that these initiatives will be hard to execute unless organisations have first established a strong operational framework, built around effective data management, processes and procedures. It points out that inefficient manual processes and poor information management can hinder everything from the way individual absence cases are managed to long-term trend analysis.
Webster Buchanan Research suggests that effective absence management is a combination of ten strategic and operational activities. Strategic approaches include defining policies, establishing preventative measures and analysing trends, while operational measures include distributing information, managing individual interventions and overseeing costs. The report points out that an absence management strategy cannot be executed effectively without putting these operational components in place.
This doesn't need to be costly. In fact, the report argues that most organisations will already have some of the key components in place, even if they're not necessarily taking advantage of them today. With absence estimated by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development to cost on average £692 per employee per year, or almost £350,000 per year for a 500 employee company .
Chris Berry, managing director of Computers In Personnel. "By automating manual processes, gathering relevant data from the very beginning of an absence episode and distributing it quickly and efficiently, organisations can handle short-term and long-term absence far more effectively."
13 November 2009
Created on: 13-Nov-09 10:26
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