Posted on Wed, May 16, 2012
What changes to your employee benefit plan do you think would result in the most cost savings? Sometimes, the answer isn’t what you would expect.
In hopes of reducing unnecessary spending, ensuring employee safety, and better managing return to work efforts, many employers scrutinize and adjust their benefit plans. However, every benefit plan and employee population is different and, as a result, it can be challenging to identify the company-specific cost-drivers that will make the most impact to an employer’s potential savings. Many employers lack the data integration and analytic capabilities necessary to identify true cost-drivers.
Join us for the DMEC Denver Chapter Meeting on May 24, 2012 at 2 pm at Elway’s Cherry Creek to learn how to identify significant cost savings by integrating all of your data to see your full benefits landscape.
As data experts, OCI has developed an analytic approach to identify cost-drivers and build scenarios to predict the impacts of plan changes. We’re pleased to share a case study detailing the analysis of one employer’s disability plan that shows how important and surprising the data can be.
Register online here. We look forward to seeing you!
Can’t attend the meeting? To read more about improvement strategies for benefit plans and review the case study that describes how one employer saved millions, check out OCI's analytic study, Improvement Strategies for Disability Plan Design.
Posted on Mon, May 07, 2012
Over the past two weeks, OCI has attended IHRIM’s HRMS Strategies Conference, the Louisiana State SHRM Conference and DMEC’s FMLA/ADAAA Employer Compliance Conference. Now we’re getting ready to exhibit at the Gulf Coast Symposium this week. At each conference, we’re seeing recurring trends and business needs.
Not surprisingly, a main concern of HR professionals and Leave Managers is navigating and staying compliant with ever-changing FMLA laws. What is surprising is how few solutions were offered at the events we attended to help Leave Managers with their FMLA compliance issues. Of the systems that are available, many come only as an “add-on” of another system, do not provide reporting or metrics to truly understand absence issues, or include a hefty price tag.
OCI is in the unique position of offering an independent leave management solution that integrates with any HRIS or payroll system already in place, improves legal compliance, accurately measures the direct and indirect costs of absence and is implemented quickly at a competitive price. As we look forward to future events and conversations with HR and leave management professionals, we’re confident that our solution will continue to meet the needs of and address the concerns of the industry.
Check out the features & functions of OCI’s LeaveXpert™ at http://bit.ly/ICoaW1
Visit OCI at Booth 304 at the Gulf Coast Symposium, and we’ll see you in Atlanta at the SHRM Conference!
Posted on Fri, Apr 27, 2012
Are you able to determine what number of employees are absent from your organization each day? Do you know who’s out, why they are out, and how long their leave duration is anticipated to be? Managing this information on a daily basis sounds overwhelming. But there are solutions in the marketplace today that can help you manage this information while staying compliant, reducing costs, and identifying key trends for business decisions.
A business intelligence solution which includes an integrated leave of absence data warehouse could be the first step toward better understanding your leave incidence, duration and cost. Having the ability to look at trends over time is crucial in maximizing your management efforts of both paid and unpaid leave benefits. In addition, this will give you the knowledge of which locations or departments in your organization are experiencing the highest absence rates or which job types or job schedules are linked with the highest duration.
Do you know which employees are most likely to be out an extended length of time? Of those employees, do you know which ones have the greatest opportunity for early intervention and management?
A daily disability feed from your vendor can be utilized to identify employee absences most likely associated with lengthy absence and/or high cost. But absence length and cost alone aren’t the only factors associated with which absences are the ones presenting the best opportunity for savings. Numerous characteristics of the absence have interplay into the length of the leave. Establishing a high risk score algorithm based on a daily disability feed is a great first step towards best managing those complex claims which are intricate but yet potentially shortened because of improved focus and care.
Do you know the differences in benefits consumption and which benefit plan design changes would be most beneficial to your organization?
An analysis of current disability expenditures might reveal gaps in current disability plan design or provide enlightenment as to which conditions are truly the most costly. Instituting a 90-day eligibility waiting period for new hires has the potential to reduce initial disability incidence if your current plan design offers employee enrollment in disability plans at an earlier day of employment. Furthermore, it might appear that mental health claims are the most prevalent and most costly, when in reality, based on the data, musculoskeletal claims are associated with the largest amount of your disability spend.
Having information, say from pivot tables or disparate spreadsheets only tells you what’s happened in the past. You need to be able to predict what will happen in the future.
Knowing the past is only part of the information you’ll need going forward. You must have a toolset which allows you to forecast the future. A business intelligence solution with an integrated data warehouse can be that predictor which will give you knowledge of your data.
Posted on Mon, Apr 16, 2012
OCI is packing our bags for the upcoming IHRIM Conference in Chicago, IL!
IHRIM’s 2012 HRMS Strategies Conference and Technology Expo is taking place April 30 - May 3rd at the Hilton Chicago in the Windy City. OCI is pleased to participate for the second year in a row as an exhibitor in the Technology Expo.
IHRIM promises a packed schedule of HRMS education, information and networking events. The conference allows attendees to learn about and discuss solutions available surrounding issues that HR and HR system professionals face today and challenges they will likely face in the future.
To read more about IHRIM’s 2012 HRMS Strategies Conference click here.
Stop by OCI’s Booth #322 to discuss our solutions for HR professionals. Also, keep an eye out for OCI’s iPad giveaway during the raffle drawing.
To sign up for a demo during the IHRIM Conference, click the button below and a Sales Rep will contact you within 48 hours. If you need to speak with someone today, please call (800) 678-6613.
OCI will be at Louisiana SHRM April 26-27 in New Orleans. We’ll also be attending the Gulf Coast Symposium May 9-10 in Houston, TX.
Posted on Wed, Apr 04, 2012
By Scott Lenox, National Sales Representative at OCI
This week, we’re tackling Part II of the blog series Leave Management Software, No Really, Where Do I Start?!
Fully understanding the benefits your software vendor can provide, not only to your department, but other departments, and to the overall organization, will assist you in your internal discussions. Often times, purchasing a Leave Management software system will include different departments and decision makers.
Two departments that are typically included during the decision-making process are IT and Finance. Gaining Influencers around your idea and overall need can help you during these discussions. Ensure you fully understand the benefits your vendor has to provide before approaching different departments with your new goal. Communicating the benefits and advantages can ease the concern of setting up a new system. For example, an IT department may be extremely busy with existing projects. Luckily, many Leave Management software systems are in a SaaS (Software as a Solution) model, and Internet based. This model means the vendor is hosting the software, and you are accessing the software using a username and password via the internet, just as you would with your own bank account. Very minimal IT attention is needed with a model such as this, because all of the loading, upgrading, and ongoing maintenance is being handled by your vendor, not your IT department.
Another important factor to assess is establishing a budget. Don’t panic. You may have to go through a Procurement department, and/or design a business plan. During this process, more than likely, the final approval will have to come from Finance. Be ready to show tangible numbers based around ROI, cost savings, time savings, lowered RTW days, increased productivity levels, and employee retention. Try to tie these different beneficial areas into real dollars saved for the organization. Yes, that means pulling out the trusty ole calculator and figuring out average wages and applying those dollars to what additional lost days/hours around unmanaged leaves are costing the organization. Don’t forget to use your resources during building a business plan. There are templates of business plans out on the internet, and your vendor should be able to provide you with white papers around ROI studies they have conducted, and other published figures that can contribute to your findings.
Enjoy the fact that you are taking on a project that will truly benefit your department, the employees, and the organization. Better management of your leave data coincided with better reporting will give you the business intelligence needed to make better informed decisions around your leave management processes for years to come. I applaud you for taking the first step in learning more!
Scott Lenox has been selling in the HR and Technology industries for over 11 years. Scott grew up in rural Illinois about 100 miles west of Chicago. He now resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife and three year old daughter, Stella.
Posted on Wed, Mar 28, 2012
By Scott Lenox, National Sales Representative at OCI
This seems to be a question I continue to hear across a variety of different sized companies and at all different levels of HR leaders who are interested in moving from a manual leave tracking environment to a more automated system. Whether you have challenges with tracking FMLA, reporting, compliance, work flow consistency, a de-centralized leave management operation, or if you are simply looking to bring your outsourced operations back in house, the question remains the same, “where do I start?” Implementing a system can seem daunting at times, but in the end, it will give you administrative efficiency, improved compliance, a comprehensive view of your leave management trends, and a higher ROI of your HR department.
In Part I & II of this blog series I’ll try and offer some knowledge which can help make your journey in choosing a leave management system a little bit easier. These are tips that I’ve encountered while working in the industry for 11 years. Every organization is different, and these recommendations may not work for everyone, so I will try to keep my suggestions as general as possible.
First, I would recommend determining the need. Start with asking questions. The more questions you ask, and the more honest the response, the better. Some questions that you can ask of your leave management operations may include:
- Do I know how many employees are out on leave at any given time?
- Do I know why these employees are out on leave?
- (Here’s the big one) Do I know when these employees are expected to return to work?
- Do I know how much money these leaves are costing our organization?
- Do I know what leave policies are working or hurting our return to work numbers?
- Do we have the right practices in place that benefit the employee and the organization?
- What are we currently using to track leaves? Calendars? Excel Files? Access Reports?
If you hesitate on one, or more, or all of these questions, you may be in the right position to start exploring a leave management software system.
First, you’ll need a Project Manager. Whether this person is you, or someone you assign, the Project Manager needs to own the project AND be able to make key decisions. Having one person in charge of the overall project will keep the project moving while meeting deadlines that the Project Manager has designated important. Some examples of key dates may include:
- Budget meetings
- RFP Process – vendor research, demos, references, finalist selection,
- Contract finalization
- Implementation meetings
- Testing
- Go Live Date
Taking that first step to begin vendor research can be a bit overwhelming. Once again, where do I start?! You may run into some technical terms that you may not fully understand. (That’s okay, odds are you weren’t a MIS major or rebuilding computers in your garage in high school so don’t get discouraged!) Stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish for your organization. Do plenty of research online, talk with other HR leaders to see what they can share/recommend, attend speaking engagements at conferences that can give you insight, and last but not least, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call a vendor and start asking questions. Ask them if they have a demonstration of their system available, and if they can send you some information to review. Doing this once or twice, you will be on your way to understanding how the whole process works.
Stay tuned to next week’s blog post - Leave Management Software, No Really, Where Do I Start?! - Part II
Scott Lenox has been selling in the HR and Technology industries for over 11 years. Scott grew up in rural Illinois about 100 miles west of Chicago. He now resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife and three year old daughter, Stella.
Posted on Thu, Mar 22, 2012
Last week, HR blog TLNT posted an article by John Hollon entitled “Top 10 HR Issues for HR Pros? They Haven’t Changed Much This Year.” Once again, the issues of FMLA tracking and coverage remains among the top questions HR professionals have, since changes to the law are happening continuously. For example, the Department of Labor’s 2012 proposed rule implementing FMLA amendments enacted by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010 (FY 2010 NDAA) and the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (AFCTCA) will expand who is covered under each of these laws.
Here are some of the proposed changes in a nutshell –
Military Service Member Exigency Leave
Prior to Proposed 2012 Rule Changes - While FY 2010 NDAA immediately expanded coverage to families of the Regular Armed Forces deployed to a foreign country, the definition of foreign country was vague.
Subsequent to Proposed 2012 Rule Change Approval - The definition of foreign country will be expanded to include deployment in international waters.
Military Service Member Caregiver Leave
Prior to Proposed 2012 Rule Changes – FY 2010 did not immediately extend Military Service Member Caregiver leave to veterans because serious injury or illness of a veteran was not defined.
Subsequent to Proposed 2012 Rule Change Approval – The definition of serious injury or illness of a veteran will be defined extending caregiver benefits to veterans meeting the newly defined criteria.
Airline Flight Crew FMLA Entitlement
Prior to Proposed 2012 Rule Changes –The AFCTCA established that non-flight time hours count toward the minimum FMLA requirement but did not institute this rule in a detailed manner.
Subsequent to Proposed 2012 Rule Change Approval – Specific rules will create more detailed service eligibility requirements.
Remember, overextension of FMLA benefits means you’re providing leave benefits which do not count towards the FMLA benefit.
Posted on Wed, Mar 14, 2012
We are pleased to share that over the last several months, we’ve added quite a few new customers to our LeaveXpertTM solution!
OCI launched LeaveXpertTM in 2010 and has received a positive response from the HR industry since. Over the past several years, OCI customers and other employers have asked us to help them improve their absence management via our robust data management and business intelligence solutions. At the launch of LeaveXpertTM, we recognized the need for an end-to-end absence and leave management solution in the human resources marketplace.
While several offerings exist to track leave requests, very few offer the data expertise and reporting capabilities on which OCI’s core business and competencies are built upon. Our years of experience in providing data management and specialized reporting solutions allowed us to create a tool to manage the regulatory leaves but also provide employers with the information they need to improve their absence programs.
Additionally, OCI unveiled two versions of its leave management tool in December of 2011. In response to customer and industry needs, providing multiple versions of the system allows OCI to provide absence management regardless of a company’s size, number of leaves, or absence policies.
OCI’s new customers are not only within the human resources and employee benefits markets. OCI continues to add new data conversion and integration services for customers in the P&C/risk segment.
Interested in OCI? Click here to view our products and services.
Posted on Fri, Mar 09, 2012
There’s only one month left until OCI kicks-off our busy spring and summer conference schedule! We have a busy next few months ahead of us. We’ll be attending and exhibiting at several conferences nationwide. Our upcoming event calendar is below. Click here to schedule a meeting with an OCI Sales Representative during a conference and learn about LeaveXpertTM, the essential leave mangement solution for your organization. We’ll see you there!
2012 Western Region IPMA-HR Conference
April 11 – 13 | Phoenix
RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition
April 15 – 18 | Philadelphia
FMLA/ADAAA Employer Compliance Conference
April 25 – 27 | Minneapolis
Louisiana State Conference on Human Resources
April 26 – 27 | New Orleans
IHRIM 2012 Conference
April 30 – May 3 | Chicago
Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues
May 9 – 10 | Houston
SHRM 2012 Annual Conference
June 24 – 27 | Atlanta
Posted on Mon, Mar 05, 2012
In part two of this blog series, one KSAOC highlighted was analytical orientation. Decisions should be based on data and data trends and not on gut feelings and notions. An analytical orientation enables you to measure and understand improvements in program effectiveness. In this final segment of how Leave Specialist KSAOC’s are enhanced by your HR Technology, we will focus on how HR Technology can improve your understanding of and can help reduce your disability and workers’ compensation cost and utilization.
Ask yourself the following –
How well am I able to measure my disability and workers’ compensation cost and utilization?
Both monthly statistics and year-over-year information should be readily available. These statistics should be provided independently from your vendor management to eliminate all sources of potential bias. Accurate measurement is the sound basis for all future steps in the analytical process, so ensure that you’ve taken the best steps.
Am I easily able to interpret the statistics received?
You are probably quite adept at understanding incidence, duration and average cost metrics. But what about identification of high-risk claimants and correlations between factors influencing absence? Having a plethora of metrics doesn’t provide value to the Leave Specialist or the organization if the metrics are not understood properly.
Can I effectively communicate analytic results in such as way that they lead to action and change within the organization or reinforce the programs already underway in the organization?
If your data indicates that incidence is trending upward and is primarily associated with one particular location, then you have the data you need to approach management at that location with initiatives to curb the upward trend. Appropriate communication should also establish HR’s position at the C-Suite table. Demonstrating the full value of analytics will include a return-on-investment analysis justifying your analytic efforts and actions.
So how does HR Technology aid in assisting in the above mentioned Leave Specialist KSAOCs?
Selecting an HR Technology tool that provides a user-configurable web portal will open the doors to your data in ways not experienced before. The portal will provide reports such as Claim Incident Reports, Top Condition or Injury Reports and Lost Time Trend Reports. The user will not only have access to this data in a web-hosted or cloud solution, but these types of reports can be based on current data. Reports can also be scheduled to run so they are waiting for your review as soon as you arrive in the office.
In addition to a user-configured web portal, the HR technology tool chosen should provide predictive modeling tools allowing leave specialists the ability to access and analyze data.. The types of predictive modeling tools that should be available include tools that provide a High Risk Claimant Analysis. This type of tool should identify not just claimants who have a high risk of future cost, but more importantly those claimants whose expected claim experience has the most opportunity to benefit from early management and early intervention. Additional types of predictive modeling should provide tools which are able to identify relationships between your leave management policies and your lost time trends. For example, to what extent are employees absent on FMLA also migrating or simultaneously out on paid benefits? What trends and patterns of behavior are you able to determine? Predictive modeling helps identify these trends and isolates areas for improvement in your leave management policies.
Finally, and most importantly, effective analytics should lead to change in your organization. What type of change? Change that increases productivity by maximizing the number of employees who are at work through minimizing the effects of absenteeism. If analysis has determined that a high percentage of employees absent on FMLA also have lengthy disability or workers’ compensation claims, then quite likely the interactive process is not working effectively during the early stages of the FMLA absence. Understanding this problem from data analysis and subsequently developing better programs and policies will reduce the burden of absence and demonstrate the effectiveness of your analytical skills and the value of your department to the organization.