Does your absence management software just tell you who is absent? Or does it help you understand why? Biings turns absence data into information that is useful for HR decision-making.

An absence often begins with a simple piece of information: an employee isn’t coming to work today. For HR teams, this information has to be recorded, processed and, sometimes, sent to the insurer.

But this information can also tell a much bigger story. How often do absences occur? Are most of them in certain teams, positions or populations? Do they happen over and over? Are they short or long? Are there small signals that should spur management to take action?

This is precisely where the role of traditional absence management software ends and where Biings begins.

 Absences have to be recorded. Understanding absences is an HR issue.

An absence management tool is typically used to report and track cases, manage doctor’s notes and facilitate administrative procedures. While these features are essential, they are not enough to create a true absence management policy.

Biings offers two complementary features: case reporting and follow-up, plus absence analysis and understanding.

The tool provides HR indicators in real time, on a twelve-month rolling basis and based on different focusses of analysis (department, position, age, seniority, employment rate, gender, etc.) to identify the groups at risk and better understand the breakdown of absences. On the administrative side, it prepares and pre-populates most of the fields on insurance reports, sends those reports online and retrieves the claim numbers.

In other words, it does not just answer the question “Who is absent?”, but reveals trends and situations on which the company can take action.

Short-term absences: A signal not to be ignored

This is particularly true for short-term absences. A series of short absences can easily go unnoticed. While they can seem insignificant when taken individually, their frequency can be an early indication of a worsening situation.

Frequent short-term absences can easily become long-term ones. And, the frequency of absences impacts employees who are present at work.

Seventy-two percent of long-term absences start as short and repeated absences.

The sooner a situation is identified, the more easily action can be taken before it turns into a long-term absence or a series of difficult-to-manage situations. The goal, of course, is not to draw hasty conclusions based on a single absence. Instead, it is to combine data, identify trends and enable HR and managers to respond at the right time.

From data to action

With Biings, absence monitoring is no longer primarily reactive management, but becomes a more proactive approach.

Indicators provide an objective basis to understand situations. Notifications facilitate monitoring and point up actions to be taken. Using preventive workflows, Biings can recommend actions to managers and refer only the most concerning cases to HR. This provides HR and managers a more structured vision to apply their absence management protocol and co-ordinate the various stages of management.

This approach makes it possible to gradually construct a true absence management policy: Measure → Understand → Detect → Act → Evaluate. After all, a digital tool’s purpose is not just to save time in administrative processing. It is also to support HR decision-making.

Ultimately, its purpose is to help reduce the frequency and duration of absences, improve prevention and better your teams’ health, engagement and performance.

Monitoring absenteeism

Each recorded absence becomes a piece of data. An analysed absence becomes information. And information that is understood makes it easier to take decisions.

But tools and indicators are not enough to address absenteeism over the long term. They must be part of a comprehensive approach that reflects the realities of the company and its HR issues. This is why data collected through Biings can represent the starting point for a true action plan: assisting HR and managers, prevention, supporting employees, changing managerial practises and training in the management of delicate situations.

This is where the expertise of Ismat Group, our HR consulting subsidiary, is particularly relevant. Our specialists can help companies analyse their concerns, and define and implement appropriate measures, particularly through consulting missions, support and training.

Biings provides an objective view of the situation. Ismat Group’s experts help transform this vision into an HR approach. The goal is to move from case-by-case management to a structured, coherent and time-based absence management policy.

Measuring absences is a good start. Then, by including them in a true HR approach, they can be monitored.

To see Biings in real-life conditions, request a demonstration: Elodie Avayou – elodie.avayou@biings.com

UCare: Understanding to offer better support

While data can be used to identify a situation, it can never replace people. This is the value of the complementary approach proposed by UCare, Qualibroker Swiss Risk & Care Group’s care management expert.

The objective is twofold: to reduce the duration and frequency of absences and to facilitate a return to work as soon as possible, while maintaining contact with the absent employee. Providing this type of support to employees is a concrete HR commitment that can make a big difference in the employer’s brand.

UCare’s approach is based on early and systematic monitoring: taking action right from the first signals, assessing the situation and offering support that is tailored to the employee's needs. An occupational psychologist or care management coach and specialist can intervene with care to maintain contact with the absent employee.

The goal is not just to encourage a rapid recovery, but to encourage a long-term return to work, in a relationship of trust and with effective co-ordination between the employee, the company, the insurer, disability insurance and other stakeholders.