A group of large employers are about to find out what's working and what's not within their leave management programs.

Dozens of them, in collaboration with The National Business Group on Health, have launched the “Leave Optimization Forum” to identify both best practices and common challenges managing paid time off, vacation and sick leave programs, as well as short-term disability, unpaid parental, caregiving and bereavement leave, among other types of leave programs. The Forum also plans to create consensus around the gaps, set priorities and seek solutions in the marketplace and policy arena.

“By bringing experts together, the Forum aims to share the challenges and opportunities around leave and absence management policies and their intersection with health, well-being and productivity,” says LuAnn Heinen, vice president of well-being & workforce strategy at the National Business Group on Health.

Indeed, when employers were surveyed by HR Daily Advisor about their biggest challenge regarding leave management, recordkeeping and complying with the requirements of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act tied as the biggest problem area with 20 percent each, followed closely by scheduling with 16 percent. Employee abuse of leave is a problem for 10 percent and consistent application is an issue for 7 percent. A lucky 4 percent have no or very few issues when it comes to managing employee leave.

The goal of the Leave Optimization Forum, Heinen says, is to identify and share strategies and solutions that employers can leverage when designing and evaluating their leave programs including:

New approaches to stay at work and return to work
Model approaches and products for trending leave topics including parental and family leave policies
Tools to navigate current mandated paid sick and family leave requirements
Potential game-changing technology including shift swapping apps and return to work engagement platforms
Intersection of leave and behavioral health
Employer case studies highlighting integrated approaches to leave and absence management

“With the rising cost of managing employee time away and growing regulatory and compliance burden, the launch of the Forum is coming at an ideal time,” Heinen says. “Employers must design and consistently administer programs that align with their business priorities and regulatory requirements across a wide range of job categories and work locations.”

The Leave Optimization Forum convenes nearly 50 leading companies, industry partners and subject matter experts on employee leave. Members include Amazon, Aon, Cigna, Darden, Dell, Facebook, General Electric Company, General Mills, PepsiCo, Prudential, Unum and Willis Towers Watson. Ophelia Galindo, Global Director, Leave of Absence, Disability & Accommodation at Amazon, serves as Forum chair.

Get a head start on overhauling your leave management program:

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New collaboration aims to overhaul leave management programs

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