Time Well Spent: Maximizing Non-Work Administrative Time

Here are some things to think about as plan sponsors try to streamline their TAFW processes.

 

Although employees cherish time away from work (TAFW) and it can affect retention and engagement, it can be difficult for plan sponsors to communicate and administer, as well as emotional for participants. Plan sponsors that want to manage these benefits more effectively and improve their employees’ experience should look into optimizing TAFW administration.

 

What exactly is TAFW?

Employees typically associate “time away from work” with vacations, holidays, and other routine paid time off (PTO) activities. Infrequent but significant life experiences, such as catastrophic illnesses or injuries, the birth of a child, caring for an aging parent, or serving in the military, can also induce TAFW. Unpaid leaves of absence, such as personal sabbaticals or time spent pursuing philanthropic activities, may be covered by TAFW laws, and employees’ jobs may be protected during this time.

 

What makes it so difficult?

Benefits related to TAFW occurrences, such as short-term disability (STD), long-term disability (LTD), maternity leave, and military leave, must be dispensed similarly and without discrimination across the business. However, administration can be challenging, requiring collaboration between internal and external parties such as human resources (HR), human resource information systems (HRIS), payroll, benefits administration, legal, third-party leave administrators, and the employee’s manager, as well as medical care providers. TAFW can involve an employee’s personal health information (PHI) that is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Plan sponsors must combine employer benefits with workers compensation and disability insurance obligations in certain jurisdictions, as well as job protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Employers with a decentralized workforce or mix hourly and paid staff may face additional challenges. Employees who use TAFW benefits may be dealing with problems that are putting their health, family, and finances at risk, or they may require special accommodations to return to work.

These complications can be made more bearable by taking initiatives to optimize TAFW benefit management. Here are some things to think about as plan sponsors try to streamline their TAFW processes.

 

Consider everything.

Create policies and processes to deal with the TAFW’s varied administrative complications. For example:

• Will employees be able to augment their STD income or longer unpaid leave with sick time or vacation time?
• Will employees still be paid by the company while serving in the military?
• How will employees cover their medical insurance payments while on unpaid leave?
• What procedures will be in place for employees who need to return to work part-time after being on leave or who require specific work accommodations due to an injury?
• How would any state disability payments be integrated with employer-provided leave?
• When an employee’s FMLA work protection has expired, what will be done?
• Is it possible to automate leave management in the payroll and HRIS systems?
• How will employees be moved from STD to LTD status?
• When should legal be involved (for example, deciding if policy exclusions set precedent)?
• How will unpaid personal leaves be consistently authorized or denied?

It may be beneficial to form a cross-functional team to address ownership of these issues and coordination of responsibilities across departments. With legal guidance, administration policies and procedures should be well defined, and necessary data protections for employees’ PHI connected to leave administration should be in place.

 

Use a gentle touch.

Employees that take advantage of TAFW benefits may be going through a difficult time in their lives. Whether the event is happy, like adopting a child, or sad, like a terminal disease, the employee may be faced with increased personal care, caregiving, or financial responsibilities, as well as anxieties about keeping their work.

Employees who are accessing TAFW benefits must be treated with considerable respect by leave administrators, whether internal or third-party, because interactions during this vital time can dramatically effect employees’ emotional security, morale, and impressions of their organization. Administrators must be familiar with the company’s culture and TAFW philosophy. Employees must be informed about what is required to approve or extend their benefits (such as doctor’s statements or military papers), how long the benefits will be supplied, and what alternative corporate or statutory benefits may be available. Administrators must also treat employees’ PHI with the utmost care and discretion.

 

Look for the ideal partners.

It is critical to select the correct partners while outsourcing TAFW administration. Depending on company culture, workforce, and benefit packages, plan sponsors have varied requirements. An independent consultant can assist plan sponsors in identifying the most essential administration concerns and identifying partners that best fit the organization and its personnel.

Above all, TAFW administrators must strike a balance between precise and efficient administration and sensitivity to the requirements and privacy of their staff. Employees should not have to seek assistance from many parties because the proper partner can clearly connect with them and solve their concerns and inquiries. Vendors should have knowledge of state disability insurance benefits, if applicable, as well as regulatory knowledge, such as FMLA and USERRA work protection requirements. To enable automation while decreasing errors, vendor partners should be able to create data files that are compatible with the plan sponsor’s HRIS and payroll systems. Customer support agents should be well-trained and deliver consistent, reliable information.

 

Engage your workforce.

Employees who take use of TAFW advantages will form opinions about the organization based on their experiences during what is frequently a trying period in their personal life. Providing correct information, assistance, and compassion to employees during this period can significantly boost their engagement and commitment to the company. As a result, streamlining the administration of these complex but highly valued benefits benefits both the company and its employees.

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.benefitspro.com/2022/05/11/time-well-spent-optimizing-time-away-from-work-administration/