benefits
Homewood Health
ALWAYS CO-OPERATE WITH
THE INSURANCE COMPANY
10. Do co-operate with the insurance
company who is paying the disability
claim. Rebecca McAfee, Manager
of Disability Claims and Rehab Services
at The Co-operators Life, says
that employers are key to the process.
“We ask them what their behaviour
was like at work before the claim. It’s
important for employers to be open
and honest. Those who are the most
helpful allow us to better intervene
to help someone heal and return to
work more quickly.”
11. Do be open to suggestions from caseworkers.
For example, they might
suggest that the employee work a different
shift in order to avoid a certain
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person.
12. Don’t assume that the insurance
company is purely business-minded.
“Many of our staff have experience
as nurses and physicians, and we are
here to help the employee, not just as
a business,” said McAfee.
ADDRESS TRIGGERS IN YOUR
WORKPLACE
13. Do address potential stressors in your
workplace. “Examine your own workplace.
Are there any easy fixes you can
tackle right away?” said Greco. “For
example, if you have an employee who
becomes stressed out when a particular
client calls, train them to transfer the
call to a supervisor.”
14. Don’t forget to include 360-degree
feedback in performance reviews. Let
employees rate their supervisor anonymously,
and identify if there are any
behaviours that might be triggering a
stress response.
15. Do try to prevent stress and depression
from creeping up by encouraging fitness.
Mitskopoulos recommends starting
a walking group, providing a discounted
gym membership using your
volume or being flexible about hours so
that employees can get some exercise in.
16. Do review the CSA Group’s whitepaper
on Psychological Health
and Safety in the Workplace at
http://bit.ly/1fn45Fb.
HOW TO EASE THE TRANSITION
ON DAY ONE
17. “Do bring people back gradually,” said
Greco. “I always ask them to return
on a Wednesday. It’s not a full week,
so they can ease back in. Schedule
their first few days to have meetings
with a number of people to get caught
up on what has happened.”
18. Do welcome them with positivity.
“Send out an email to the team welcoming
them back, but it’s up to the
employee to share more details if they
wish,” said Greco.
19. Do have faith in their abilities. “It
doesn’t take them long to be right
back at it,” said Greco. “It’s like riding
a bicycle. They integrate very quickly.”
n
Yafa Sakkejha is the General Manager and
Partner at The Beneplan Co-operative. She can
be reached by email at yafa@beneplan.net.
42 ❚ JANUARY 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL