Arbeidskansen: from repressive to warm-professional approach of absenteeism

Arbeidskansen employs individuals for whom the regular labour market is hard to access. The non-profit organisation offers a very diverse range of employment opportunities: catering, metal processing, assembly, packaging, mail service, domestic helpers, ironing workshops and so on. All departments together employ about 300 people.

"Anno 2023 Arbeidskansen was struggling with 16% absenteeism," explains Mensura absenteeism expert Nathalie Vanaenrode. "The specific employee population certainly played a part, but could not explain that high figure. So change was urgently needed. Not only were absenteeism costs soaring, some long-term absentees did not find their way back to the workplace."

Mensura sat down with the prevention adviser, the general manager, and the person in charge of social services. "Together, we mapped the issues and gauged the existing absenteeism actions," Nathalie continues. "Absenteeism was dealt with quite repressively through company doctors," adds Roland Daubies, prevention consultant at Arbeidskansen. "A thoughtful welfare and prevention policy was missing, due to a lack of HR capacity."

Mensura sharpened the expectations of the management and prepared the minds for a new vision around absenteeism and reintegration: the warm-professional approach. Nathalie: "The relationship of trust between employee and manager would be the starting point from now on, but flanked by clear agreements and a set of calibrated procedures."

Managers were given training to interpret the collected absenteeism data correctly and conduct absence interviews. Roland: "The effect of all the efforts did not last. After a year and a half, our short-term absenteeism already dropped dramatically to 3%."

Roland: "Underneath our absenteeism were a variety of pain points, from physically demanding working conditions in the steel workshop to difficult home situations. As a prevention adviser, I very consciously wanted to change the course of absenteeism. First, a people-sized approach to absenteeism was imperative. Furthermore, we were no longer allowed to take action on gut feeling. So I started monitoring some absence indicators."

"Nathalie gauged my absenteeism vision very well, but also dared to counteract it," he continues. "For instance, she appreciated my sense of social responsibility, but at the same time she pointed out to me the risk of a lack of set agreements and clear procedures. She convinced me of the warm-professional approach to achieve a sustainable reduction in our absenteeism rates."

"During a workshop with the human resources department and the coordinators of the various departments, we gave concrete form to the absenteeism policy," Nathalie says. "How does an employee report sick from now on? What procedure will then take effect? From what frequency will there be an absence interview? In what way does the manager keep in touch during the absence period? And so on.

The coordinators received all the necessary support during various training sessions to monitor absenteeism within their departments and intervene correctly within the philosophy of warm professionalism. If an employee stays away from work often or for a long time, it is important to know what is going on. That requires mutual trust."

"If a person's home situation barely allows them to work, that has to be resolved first," Roland explains. "With our recently launched social service as a hub, we try to help where possible to also improve the private situation of our employees.

Meanwhile, the new absence vision is well supported and I am pleasantly surprised by the commitment of our coordinators. They no longer shy away from talking to employees. Occasionally, they call me for a second opinion. Absenteeism has become negotiable with us in the workplace and that is a huge turnaround."

The impact of the new absenteeism approach? Roland: "Today, short-term absenteeism stands at 3%, a spectacular improvement. Our long-term absenteeism rate does hover around 10%, which remains too high for now. We give ourselves a year to bring that down to 6-7%. The ambition is to reintegrate as many employees as possible. The fact that we have many different departments and activities within Employment Opportunities is an advantage."

"Systematically re-engaging long-term sick people in the work context and providing them with adapted work is now top priority," Nathalie points out. "Furthermore, it is important to keep the absenteeism policy under the spotlight. By regularly reporting on absence indicators, staying in dialogue with managers on the topic, training new managers, etc."

"Thanks to Mensura, we have arrived at a workable system to track and reduce our absenteeism," concludes Roland. "They have listened to our needs and requirements and outlined a policy and action plan based on that. The policy shows great professionalism and is tailored to our rather distinct organisation."