Absence Management Scorecard
Tell us about your company so we can benchmark your score and email complete results to you
Industry
Company size
Locations
I am
Last Name
Reporting
Wellness program
Referrals
Operational
oversight
Question 1
Do you have a designated phone line or online reporting site that serves as a central portal for reporting both Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) absences and Short Term Disability (salary continuance)?
Yes
No
Don't know
Is paid time off also supposed to be reported through that same central portal?
Yes
No
Don't know
Question 2
Centralization
How centralized is the administration of each of
these types of absences within your organization?
By centralized, we mean that all reporting, tracking and managing is completed through one functional team.
Short term disability
FMLA
(salary continuance)
Completely centralized
Partially centralized
Not at all centralized
Don’t know
Question 3
Yes
No
Don't know
Do your employee benefits include a wellness program?
Which of the following does your wellness program provide? Check all that apply.
Wellness assessment Biometric screenings
Flu shots/vaccinations
Weight management
Nutrition education
Nutritious meals/snacks
Fitness programs
Smoking cessation
Stress reduction education Personalized health coaching Onsite health centers Concierge/work-life services Pregnancy resources
Elder care support
Other services
Does your wellness program offer incentives or discounts for employees to participate in any of the specific wellness activities above?
Yes
No
Don't know
Question 4
Disease management
Do your employee benefits include a disease management program?
Yes
No
Don't know
Question 5
Return-to-work program
Please indicate whether each of the following are components of your organization's return-to-work (RTW) program for employees with disability claims.
A written RTW policy
Yes
No
Don't know
An interactive process (employee, manager, human resources, case manager and/or physician talk about possibilities)
Yes
No
Don't know
Transitional RTW plans
Yes
No
Don't know
Guidelines for the duration of disability based on diagnosis
Yes
No
Don't know
Nurse case management
Yes
No
Don't know
Offering accommodations to facilitate RTW
Yes
No
Don't know
Question 6
Does your disability process and/or FMLA process include giving employees referrals to health management programs (e.g., employee assistance programs (EAP), wellness, disease management)?
Yes
No
Don't know
Question 7
Who is responsible for operating your organization's short term disability (salary continuance) program
day-to-day?
Internal resources — your own staff
External resources — an insurance carrier or other vendor
A mix of both internal and external
Does the same internal department administer both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA process for your employees?
Yes
No
Don't know
Don't know
Who is responsible for operating your organization's FMLA program day-to-day?
Internal resources — your own staff
External resources — an insurance carrier or other vendor
A mix of both internal and external
Don't know
Disability usage patterns
Yes
No
Don't know
Reports
Question 8
Are you able to produce or obtain reports that include:
Disability claimant status reports
Yes
No
Don't know
Disability costs reports
Yes
No
Don't know
FMLA usage patterns
Yes
No
Don't know
FMLA claimant status reports
Yes
No
Don't know
Are you able to produce or obtain reports that include both disability and FMLA information in the same reports?
Yes
No
Don't know
Long term disability
Workers' compensation
Sick leave (or paid time off)
Vacation leave (or paid time off)
Dental coverage
Yes
No
Don't know
Does this same external carrier/vendor that administers both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA also administer any of the following benefits?
Employee assistance
program, or EAP
Disease management
Health risk appraisals
Wellness programs
Group life insurance
Group medical benefits
Other leave of absence
Yes
No
Don't know
Select
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Agriculture
Construction
Education
Finance/Insurance
Healthcare
Information Management
Manufacturing
Professional/Scientific/Technical
Real Estate
Retail & Wholesome
Services
Telecommunications
Transportation/Warehousing
Utilities/Energy
Other
Agriculture
Construction
Education
Finance/Insurance
Healthcare
Information Management
Manufacturing
Professional/Scientific/Technical
Real Estate
Retail & Wholesome
Services
Telecommunications
Transportation/Warehousing
Utilities/Energy
Other
Fewer than 25 employees
25 to 49 employees
50 to 99 employees
100 to 249 employees
250 to 499 employees
500 to 999 employees
1,000 to 4,999 employees
5,000 or more employees
Fewer than 25 employees
25 to 49 employees
50 to 99 employees
100 to 249 employees
250 to 499 employees
500 to 999 employees
1,000 to 4,999 employees
5,000 or more employees
One state
Two to four states
Five or more states
One state
Two to four states
Five or more states
An employer
A broker
An employer
A broker
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SCORE
Recommendations
We've listed the five best practices that are most correlated with positive absence management outcomes and a summary of how your company's efforts compare, along with suggestions that could lead to improved outcomes.
A fully implemented return-to-work (RTW) program consists of elements such as:
•
•
•
•
A written RTW policy.
An interactive process in which the employee gets together with HR and the case manager to discuss ways in which the employee can return to work.
Transitional RTW plans designed to help disabled employees return to work safely and quickly. These might include accommodations such as modified or alternate duties until the employee is ready to resume normal duties.
Guidelines for the duration of disability, which would be based on a physician's diagnosis.
The ability to generate and obtain reports allows an employer to keep track of every aspect of an employee’s leave and see patterns, which can be used in subsequent return to work efforts. These reports should include as many of the following items as possible:
•
•
•
•
•
Disability usage patterns
Disability claimant status
Disability costs
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) usage patterns
FMLA claimant status
As part of a disability or FMLA process, a referral process can direct employees to the appropriate health management program, such as a company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), designed to help employees deal with personal or medical problems that might adversely affect their work performance.
A central portal to help employees and employers report short term disability (STD) or FMLA leaves can also be used for other paid time off, such as vacation. Our research has shown that absence management programs achieve better outcomes when a central portal is used.
Using the same resource for STD and FMLA leaves (as well as other benefits) makes sense: Integration dramatically improves the participant experience while reducing administrative costs and inefficiencies, ensuring consistency and improving outcomes. And outsourcing both to an insurance company or third party administrator can help to further maximize success.
There are a number of other ways companies can better manage absences that are interrelated to positive outcomes, but they are not as strongly predictive of success as the five best practices listed. One example is the ability to generate reports that integrate disability and FMLA information. Other examples include initiatives to promote wellness, prevent illness and boost employee morale. These can include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wellness assessments
Biometric screenings
Flu shots/vaccinations
Weight management programs
Nutrition education
Nutritious meals/snacks in company cafeterias
Fitness programs
Smoking cessation programs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stress reduction education
Personalized health coaching
Onsite health centers
Concierge/work-life services
Pregnancy and newborn resources
Elder care support
Offering incentives or discounts for participating in wellness activities
Scorecard results are based on the Guardian Absence Management Activity Index and Study (2018)
Guardian® is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® .
©2020, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. All rights reserved.
2020-94456 (2/22)
Your company's absence management efforts scored:
Not Advanced
Moderately Advanced
Highly Advanced
Scores range from 0 to 10. The higher your score, the more positive the outcomes your program is
likely achieving.
43%
29%
28%
< 250 employees
Benchmark
56%
21%
23%
250-999 employees
64%
14%
22%
1000+ employees
5.5 Average
4.8 Average
5.9 Average
Not Advanced
Moderately Advanced
Highly Advanced
Contact Us
0.0
Submit
Sick leave
(or paid time off)
Vacation leave
(or paid time off)
Dental coverage
Completely centralized
Partially centralized
Not at all centralized
Don’t know
Select
Select
Select
First Name
Email
Company Name
8
7
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1
Does the same external carrier/vendor administer both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA process for your employees?
Does this internal department that administers both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA also administer any of the following benefits?
Does the same internal department administer both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA process for your employees?
Does this internal department that administers both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA also administer any of the following benefits?
Wellness programs
Disease management
Disease management
Wellness programs
Does the same external carrier/vendor administer both short term disability (salary continuance) and FMLA process for your employees?
(0-3.25)
(3.26-5.12)
(5.13-10)
(0-3.32)
(3.33-5.19)
(5.20-10)
(0-3.36)
(3.37-5.23)
(5.24-10)
(0-3.25)
(3.26-5.12)
(5.13-10)
(0-3.32)
(3.33-5.19)
(5.20-10)
(0-3.36)
(3.37-5.23)
(5.24-10)
Workers' compensation
Does the same external carrier/vendor that administers the short term disability (salary continuance) also administer any of the following benefits?
Does this internal department that administer the short term disability (salary continuance) also administer any of the following benefits?
Does the same external carrier/vendor that administers the short term disability (salary continuance) also administer any of the following benefits?
Does this internal department that administer the short term disability (salary continuance) also administer any of the following benefits?
Which of the following does your wellness program provide? Check all that apply.
Wellness assessment Biometric screenings
Flu shots/vaccinations
Weight management
Nutrition education
Nutritious meals/snacks
Fitness programs
Smoking cessation
Stress reduction education Personalized health coaching Onsite health centers Concierge/work-life services Pregnancy resources
Elder care support
Other services
Does your wellness program offer incentives or discounts for employees to participate in any of the specific wellness activities above?
Yes
No
Don't know
Which of the following does your wellness program provide? Check all that apply.
Wellness assessment Biometric screenings
Flu shots/vaccinations
Weight management
Nutrition education
Nutritious meals/snacks
Fitness programs
Smoking cessation
Stress reduction education Personalized health coaching Onsite health centers Concierge/work-life services Pregnancy resources
Elder care support
Other services
Does your wellness program offer incentives or discounts for employees to participate in any of the specific wellness activities above?
Yes
No
Don't know
Other leave types
(e.g., workers’ compensation, state mandated leaves, company-provided leaves)
Other leave types
(e.g., workers’ compensation, state mandated leaves, company-provided leaves)
Completely centralized
Partially centralized
Not at all centralized
Don’t know