PROACTIVE ABSENCE MANAGEMENT "MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE"
High sickness levels are increasingly a white collar problem as well
High levels of absence are not inevitable and can be tackled by improving the whole work environment, the AIRMIC conference heard today. Tom Grant (Director) and Dr Christopher Stoot (Medical Director) of Hanoun Medical discussed the success of car manufacturer Honda UK in cutting absence levels to just over 1%.
“Honda have succeeded because they genuinely put workers at the centre of their planning as part of a rounded view of risk management. They don’t just pay lip service,” Grant told a workshop. “They realise that their people are essential to the success and quality of their products and are willing to give them the priority they deserve.”
He cited five areas where Honda excelled in looking after their workforce:
- Pre-employment screening tailor-made to test fitness for the tasks that production staff will actually have to do;
- Extensive accident prevention measures;
- Ergonomically designed production lines to minimise bodily and mental stress and increase efficiency;
- Sensible rotation of staff so that they use different parts of the body instead of doing the same tasks day in, day out;
- An in-house rehabilitation team ready to move into action at a moment’s notice.
“The benefits are everywhere,” he said. “Higher productivity, better quality, reduced absence and lower insurance costs.”
Dr Stoot commented: “Rehabilitation is at the centre of what we do – and not just when someone is injured at work. If one of our people is hurt, say, playing for his local rugby team, he is still a wasted resource. It’s in everyone’s interests to get him fit again.”
Tom Grant added that absence management and rehabilitation are just as important in white collar industries; the gap in absence levels between manual and non-manual workers is closing, with stress playing a prominent part.
“Some managers in the financial services sector believe that proactive absence management just isn’t necessary. That can be an expensive mistake,” he said.
A recent CBI-AXA survey found that absence is costing UK employers £13.6 billion p.a. in direct costs alone.
Mark Baylis, Complete Communications, +44 (0) 23 8034 9719, +44 (0) 7775 693994, markbaylis@aol.com
Tom Grant, +44(0) 870 0112 868, tgrant@managedmedical.org.uk