WorkMatters, a Unum Group company, has launched the Absence Tracker service, as part of its new initiative to help manage workplace absence because of illness, disability or injury, reports the Basingstoke based business.

The cost of staff absence to the UK economy rose to £13.4 billion in 2006, with over 40% of overall time lost attributable to longer periods of absence of 20 days or more. The average employee took around seven days off sick in 2006, losing UK businesses 175 million working days in total. Though some of the worst performing organisations lost 12 days per employee, the best performing organisations only lost 2.7 days per employee. ¹

The significant differences in employee absence amongst organisations demonstrate how important the management of workplace absence is for an organisation’s productivity. These findings are backed up by a recent sickness absence survey from Unum which asked employees in full-time work, whether they thought that they or their colleagues would have fewer sick days if there was a stricter reporting procedure in place - almost a third thought it would. ²

With this in mind, WorkMatters has developed the Absence Tracker solution. Absence Tracker provides the first point of contact for all absent employees. It is based on an intelligent software solution that enables individuals to contact a dedicated absence line and provide details of their absence. The employee’s details are captured, recorded and depending on the cause or duration of the absence, an email/ text notification will be passed onto the line manager immediately. This process leaves a clear audit trail for both employee and employer and delivers a low cost consistent approach to managing absence across a whole organisation.

Absence Tracker also facilitates analysis of absenteeism across the business to give a better understanding of the causes of absenteeism, the regional or divisional hotspots and the real impact it is having on an organisation.

Commenting on Absence Tracker, Wojciech Dochan, Head of Commercial Marketing at Unum said:

Employee absence is a growing challenge for employers and hits their bottom line. Employers who have more formal absence reporting and management can reduce levels of absence and improve productivity.

The Absence Tracker service provides employers and employees with a simple, efficient system of reporting and tackling absence. The audit trail enables employers to determine trends and patterns of absenteeism; track the impact of employee absence, promote the adoption of early intervention and programmes that help employees back to work.

To find out more about WorkMatter’s Absence Tracker solution, please visit: www.unumworkmatters.co.uk