1. Joy Reymond, Head of Vocational Rehabilitation
Services, Unum
The benefits of early
intervention
27th
April 2016

2. 2
Unum UK
45 years in the UK
40% of UK Market
Many products:
GIP, CI, SPI,
Dental ……
1.6 Million people
Expert return-to-work services

3. 3
What are the impacts of sickness absence?
• Long-term illness (those off work for 6 months or more)
costing UK private sector £4.17 billion a year
• ~ £770,000 a year for a typical employer with 500+ staff
• Growing problem as the working population ages
• Impact on company productivity, focus, culture

4. 4
Early Intervention in Context
Prevention Early Intervention Protection
Preventing
physical and
mental health
issues upfront
Managing
emerging problems
before they
become serious
and long term
Paying the claim;
Helping staff
recover & return to
work faster
RESILIENCE & WELLBEING

5. 5
The impact of early intervention
17%
Average reduction
in length of
absence through
early intervention
18%
Reduction in length
of absences
relating to mental
health
Absence of 7 months
reduced to 6 months

6. 6
Examples of Early Intervention Services
Employee Assistance Programme
Early intervention helpline
Vocational rehabilitation services
Mental Health First Aid
Positive ageing guide
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

7. 7
What is early intervention?
• PERMISSION / RECOGNITION: Stepping in at the first sign
of physical or mental ill health
• PURPOSE: Providing support proactively to try and prevent
the condition deteriorating
• APPROACH: Stepped Response
• Simple & low key at first, progressively stepping up as required
• SKILLS: Ensuring managers are aware & know where to turn
to for help, advice, assessment, direction.
• ATTRIBUTES: Clear, consistent, credible, impartial, empathic
- both in planning & implementation

8. 8
What are the Key Imperatives for HR &
How does Early Intervention Impact this?
Key Corporate and HR Imperatives
•Aligning HR strategy with corporate business objectives
•Culture
•Competitive Advantage
•Talent Management
•Cost Management
•Innovation
•Flexibility
•Productivity
•ROI, Earnings

9. 9
People Make the Company
• Company Culture
• How you manage people when they are not well
• what culture do you want for your company
• what message do you want your people to hear
– We value you
– We will make an environment (physical and otherwise) that engages you
and maximises your passion & creativity for the work, your motivation and
productivity
– We want you to be well and at work
– We expect that if you can work, you will
– We will support you if you can’t
– We are paying attention
– We are connecting / communicating with our team members

10. 10
Competitive Advantage
• Attract and retain talent
• EI contributes to a Positive environment which retains high
contributors and enables them to maximise their contribution
• Managing stress
• Performance management
• Removing barriers to contribution
• Engage and motivate
• Positive Management
• Health and wellbeing
• accommodating

11. 11
Driving Profitability
• Operational Expenses
• Productivity
• Efficiency
• ROI

12. 12
Summary:
the Strategic importance of Early Intervention
• An effective wellbeing strategy needs to encompass
prevention, early intervention and protection
• Proactively stepping in at the first sign of an issue can
make a big difference
• Significant savings to be made for the employer
• Better outcome for the employee, returning to work quicker
• Vital that line managers are aware of the services
available and where to turn to for help

13. 13
How can this work in practice?
Employee
•Diagnosed with Parkinson's, no absence, but increasing symptoms – &
struggling to continue
•Been at the company for over 20 years
Employer
•Less than 40 employees, want to do the right thing
•This employee key to the business
Action
•Ergonomic assessment recommendations & new equipment
•Change work hours
•Provided taxis to allow easier access to work
Early
Intervention
Result
•Employee remained at work and felt valued
•Employer kept a valuable member of staff at work

14. 14
Example – Stress
Employee
•Skilled Worker; Performance declining; employee anxious; occasional time
off; team no longer functioning smoothly
Employer
•Considering a performance improvement plan
•is it illness driving poor performance or the other way around?
Action
Early
Intervention
Impact