Conference held in Toronto on January 24, 25 & 26, 2005
Chairs: Tim Tiernay, TD Bank Financial Group; Stephen Bogardo, Richtree Markets Inc.; Jason Hanson, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP; Brenda Rantz, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal

CD-ROM: Over 11 hours of video presentations

To purchase, please contact Federated Press.

PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION

Case study: Practical tools for reducing your "lost-time" experience
Tim Tiernay, TD Bank Financial Group

• Managing employee absenteeism
• Building a measure and monitoring system
• Establishing priorities and creating policy
• Tracking techniques for management reporting

"Excessive absenteeism is one of the many challenges HR has to deal with, but applying a disciplined approach is a way to reduce your absenteeism, as well as generate bottom-line savings to the organization. You need to provide consistency and fairness in how you manage your workforce."

Video: 45 minutes • Overheads

Panel discussion: Training managers to deal with excessive absenteeism in the public and private sectors
Jean-Marc MacKenzie, Medcan Health Management Inc.; Glenn Thurston, City of Ottawa; and Sharon E. Hyland, Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre

"At Bloorview, we have a program for our managers called "Attendance Awareness" which encompasses guidelines on how to define problem attendance, how to counsel employees, what the process is and what support they can expect from occupational health department and HR staff. What we have found successful is giving managers very clear, distinct and structured tools."

Video: 37 minutes • Overheads

Developing effective attendance strategies: Improving employee productivity and well-being
Anne P. Nicoll, Mercer Human Resource Consulting

• Impact of time off: direct plan costs
• Trends driving and influencing absence rates
• Strategic approach to addressing health and productivity in the workplace

"A suggested attendance/performance management approach to someone who is off work and well (not someone who is sick, but rather who needs time off), is paid time-off banks, more common in the U.S. than in Canada, and which help push the envelope on traditional paid time-off approaches."

Video: 46 minutes • Overheads

Case study: Incorporating an attendance awareness process at the Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre
Sharon E. Hyland, Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre

• Strategies for managing absenteeism: workplace programs
• Sick-time tracking through the Cognos system
• Criteria for possible termination
• Proactive initiatives: wellness programs and committees

"Strategies for managing absenteeism include a flexible and understanding manager, open communication with the employee, and consideration of personal problems, probing patterns and poor job match or conflicts in the workplace."

Video: 36 minutes • Overheads

DESIGN & ACCOUNTABILITY

Case study: Real-time attendance management at Richtree Inc. – Tracking and analysis of part-time and full-time employees
Stephen Bogardo, Richtree Markets Inc.

• Keeping the lid on absenteeism
• Reducing absenteeism workplace accidents
• Tracking absenteeism: a systems approach

"If you want to manage anything, first thing you have to do is to learn how to measure it. How can you measure employee morale and productivity? A systems approach to tracking absenteeism includes daily computer-generated reports, flagging the exceptions, follow-up discussions and analysis and disciplinary action."

Video: 61 minutes • Overheads

Launching an effective attendance awareness program: Fostering employee accountability
Jean-Marc MacKenzie, Medcan Health Management Inc.

• Management model: holding people accountable
• Recognition training behaviour management issues
• Metrics and integrated trends

"Absenteeism management is more about understanding how to make a watch then simply telling time. People do not show up for a reason: absenteeism is a symptom. Like all performance issues, absenteeism is manageable."

Video: 52 minutes • Overheads

Case study: Redefined corporate culture & attendance management strategies at TELUS
Kendra Innes, TELUS Corporation

• Wellness strategy and implementation
• Ability management strategy and implementation
• Ergonomic strategy and implementation reactive to proactive
• Reporting tool: workforce information and team member summary

"I'd like to share with you our strategic planning and positioning of our wholistic program. Attendance management is only one part of the equation, as understanding presenteeism and what it takes for an organization to see productivity, profitability through its team members and what can be done to maximize their potential."

Video: 55 minutes • Overheads

Case study: The next era of management attendance programs
Sunil Khambaswadkar, Algorithmics Incorporated

• Absenteeism related findings
• Algorithmics enabling work culture
• Fostering individual employee accountability

"An enabling work culture includes a management mindset and accountability. As a manager, I trust my employees to do their work/project/assignments, at an expected quality level, in a timely manner. This fosters trust and accountability making the 9 to 5 day irrelevant to a degree."

Video: 27 minutes • Overheads

INTEGRATED ABSENCE MANAGEMENT

Best practices case study: Reviewing a fully developed attendance management program at McMaster University
Simon P. Ouellet, McMaster University

• Setting the framework for success
• The various roles: HR, management, employees
• Progress, current status and successes

"We went from a traditional approach involving fear and an unhealthy labour relations climate to building an inclusive community with a shared purpose and a having a healthy workplace."

Video: 50 minutes • Overheads

Case study: Attendance management in a multi-union/non-union environment
Catherine J. Brown, Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology

• Designing and implementing a modified work process
• Getting buy-in from staff, management and unions
• Complying with union collective agreement provisions
• Reviewing the cultural fit of your procedure

"The keys to success with an attendance management program are to develop a procedure/policy, which will work for your organization; the temporary modified work agreement should be a living document; you need a good cultural fit of solutions, whether it be a collaboration or education of stakeholders; invest the time to return employees to work; and work with benefits providers or seek third party assistance."

Video: 34 minutes • Overheads

Managing absenteeism in the changing workplace: Hill & Knowlton's alternative work arrangements
Ruth Clark, Hill and Knowlton Canada

• Managing workplace attendance with individual obligations
• Latest trends in flex time programs and attendance management
• Teleworking and reduced absentee rates

"Offering modified work arrangements show how much we value employees as people. It builds commitment, reduces absenteeism and increases productivity. Here's an example of what we've been hearing: People are so surprised when I tell them my working arrangement – it certainly adds a new dimension to the company. Truly forward thinking. The company is taking advantage of technology the way you are supposed to. We are walking the talk – and at this point, we are doing it well!"

Video: 39 minutes • Overheads

New employment standards: The legal aspects of absenteeism
Jason Hanson, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

"The recent changes to the Employment Standards Act with respect to the new "family medical leave" for example, are somewhat tricky to administer. We are developing some case law, making appropriate rulings based on the legislative policy underlying the Act."

Video: 21 minutes • Overheads

Case study: Absence management – An integral part of company policy at the Ontario Clean Water Agency
Janice Cameron, Ontario Clean Water Agency

• Establishing a work/life balance team
• Absence strategies and promoting wellness programs
• OCWA's employee assistance program

"At OCWA, we recognize and promote a work/life balance with a variety of programs and absence strategies that are positive rather than punitive."

Video: 23 minutes • Overheads

ABSENCE PREVENTION THROUGH INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS

Case study: A new approach to managing absenteeism – Corporate wellness program
Brenda Rantz, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal

• Components of short-term and long-term absence programs
• WSIAT's employee wellness program and EAP
• Education and prevention programs at WSIAT
• Benefits of an employee wellness program

"My presentation focuses on five key components of an employee wellness program: how to develop them in order to implement them or to review your own program and update it."

Video: 33 minutes • Overheads

Panel discussion: Creating a positive attendance culture in the public and private sectors
Angelo M. Pesce, Baycrest Human Resources Management Consulting (Panel Chair); Susan E. Turner, IBM Canada Ltd.; Drew Sousa, City of Mississauga; Thomas N. Imrie, Toronto Police Service; Joan Burton, Industrial Accident Prevention Association; Peter Marks, Homewood Employee Health; Francis Hartman, Sleeman Breweries Ltd.

• Steps that employers can do to create a healthy workplace
• Impact of work-life conflict on key organizational outcomes
• Stress prevention and reduction strategies
• Culture, policies and employee participation: mental health case facilitation process

"In creating a positive attendance culture always leverage your available resources and ensure your processes, relationships and actions are a reflection of your corporate values. You need to mitigate risk and loss when you focus appropriately on the prevention and recovery of employees in stress. And lastly, be respectful of the process needs of every stakeholder and the implications to Privacy legislation."

Video: 139 minutes • Overheads