According to Edwin Quick, chair-elect of the Certification of Disability Management Specialists Commission, a single-track, separate view of benefits plans is over. Disability management plans, in particular, need to be integrated into an entire benefits program rather than being reserved for return-to-work and stay-at-home purposes.

In an article published on the Society for Human Resources Management’s website, Quick pointed out that employers these days “need a holistic view of employees’ needs,” and should meet those needs through a variety of benefit programs ranging from health care coverage, to wellness coaching, to ergonomic assessments, to disability management.

Rather than being a stop-gap for employees who are injured and unable to work, Quick said disability plans need to be part of integrated disability management initiatives. Such initiatives are more proactive because they offer resources through other benefit lines. IDM, for example, focuses on return-to-work strategies that include modified job duties and temporary alternative assignments and work-at-home programs.

A holistic program linking disability to other initiatives is becoming more important, Quick explained, because of trends such as an aging workforce and unhealthy habits. As such, IDM practices can include policies to develop interventions; data to determine root causes of unscheduled absences and to identify health risks and an ROI study of programs – the cost of administering a particular initiative as compared to the size and number of claims that are reduced.

For more information, log onto http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/DisabilityManagement.aspx.