Implementation of a sickness absence management solution or "Case Management"
According to surveys by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published in 2023, around 70% of unplanned absences from work were due to illness or accident (1).
When the absenteeism rate is too high, it represents a major burden for the company. :
- Higher cost of temporary replacement (recruitment, cost of temporary work, cost of replacements, etc.).
- Disorganization of operations
- Deterioration in quality of life at work and start of a vicious circle.
Faced with this situation, it seems obvious that the implementation of an absence tracking system is essential. This makes it possible to understand the origin of absences by providing answers to the following questions :
- What is the average length of absence?
- Do they all have something in common?
- Which populations are most affected (men, women, positions, ages, working hours, etc.)?
- Is it sick leave or work-related accidents?
In addition, once the answers to the above questions have been obtained, concrete measures can be implemented to reduce absences and, simultaneously, improve working conditions for employees.
The public sector is particularly sensitive to this problem for several reasons:
- This is a highly labor-intensive sector.
- Public sector organizations are subject to strict compliance with laws and regulations, particularly in the social field.
- It is a visible sector with a duty to set an example.
However, solutions for managing unplanned absences are relatively rare on the market. Human resources management software does, of course, integrate the recording of sick leave, but the service provided is at best very administrative (dematerialization of the certificate, remote transmission of files in the best cases).
We can mention the BINGS software that has been specifically developed to meet this need, as have SUVA’s tools to help organizations in this area.
To make up for this lack of solutions, Teamwork Berne has developed an add-on for SAP ERP that specifically addresses the need to track and analyze long or repeated absences (series or accumulation of short, scattered absences over a given period).
Application of the "Case Management" to manage absenteeism
The Case Management application is an SAP add-on. The advantages of such integration are :
- The collection of reliable information directly in the ERP system (HR infotypes):
- Basic personnel data
- Organization data
- Employee absence and attendance data
- Enhanced user experience (HR employees)
- A solution that will remain compatible with various SAP upgrades, including the transition from ECC to S/4HANA
Beyond its integration with SAP human resources management, Case Management has been developed as a true business solution. Fully customizable, Case Management adapts to the needs of HR departments in all organizations, and in particular to their internal and external management rules:
- Labor law: labour law legislation, public transport regulations, etc.
- Departmental instructions
- Dunning rules and reminders
- Referring occupational health physicians,
- Types of unplanned absence
- Ect.
Detection of long-term and repeated absences
Once the solution has been configured, it will draw on the information contained in infotype 2001, dedicated to recording sickness absences.
On this basis, Case Management will carry out the following actions:
- Absence analysis by the system and creation of cases in accordance with business processes
- Assigning or transferring cases to managers
- Case follow-up and processing by managers
1
Definition of management rules
Definition of a long-term and repeated absences
2
Solution configuration
Creation of workflows, access management with SAP roles, integration into corporate portal and EDM
Absenteeism follow up
Whether a case is manually opened or automatically detected, case follow-up by human resources is an important step, as it allows them to:
- Detect difficult personal situations as early as possible, and provide appropriate responses (listening, meetings with internal or external mediators, adjustments to workstation/time, etc.);
- Collaborate with others while securing access to sensitive information;
- Rigorously document all these steps and exchanges, and reduce the risk of subsequent disputes.
Early detection
Case manually opened
Automatic detection
System generated case
1
Absence Audit
2
Case generation
3
1st contact / meeting
4
Follow-up
5
Decisions / measures
Automatic documents generation
Combined with another SAP add-on, DocBuilder, HR managers can automatically generate a wide range of documents, such as:
- Meeting forms
- Authorization for information exchange
- Certificates
- Case management: closing criteria
- Reintegration: intervention plan
For large organizations, with a high number of employees, this represents a real time-saver, but also provides security and the assurance of good practice for HR managers
FSO: Federal Statistical Office
ERP : Enterprise Resource Planning
EDM : Electronic Document Management
HRIS: Human Ressources Information System
