CIPD and Simplyhealth published their annual survey on Health and wellbeing at work in April 2021. It is based on responses gathered online from late November to mid-December 2020, between the 2nd and 3rd waves of Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. Continue reading
Category Archives: Blog
73% find Engage easy to use
The latest Honeydew Customer Satisfaction survey closed at the end of March. Engage software received an overall score of 4 out of 5. Out of the 203 respondents, 73% find Engage “easy” to use.
“Very user friendly & easy to use”
“Easy to follow”
“Intuitive & easy to navigate”
76% said Engage helped them manage Covid-19
We are glad to report that 76% of our users told us that our service helped manage absence during the Coronavirus pandemic.
We were quick to create a new Coronavirus absence category and new absence causes were added along the way to respond to the ever-changing situation.
Messages to employees were updated regularly so absentees and our call handlers worked very hard to ensure the correct absence information was logged in Engage.
Overall 4-star rating
Honeydew absence reporting service and customer support both received 4 out of 5.
“Efficient & Helpful”
“Brilliant, the perfect team”
“Great help when needed”
You said, we listened…
The most important feedback tells us what we can do better. Based on your comments we will focus on:
- Accessibility of our services
- Helping newly hired or promoted managers with training
- Emphasising politeness, fairness and kindness in call handler training
Some managers asked to create tasks manually. This feature has already shipped!
We’ve also improved the way expected return dates are captured.
You can find notes about other new features on our blog.
Automate your absence policy
Many HR teams spend a lot of time putting together a comprehensive absence policy. Sadly, their efforts are watered-down if managers don’t know or understand the policy, or if they forget to check what absences meet the trigger criteria. Some absence triggers are so complex that you definitely need a computer to check who trips them. Working with spreadsheets is the worst enemy of a sophisticated absence management process. Never fear, Engage is here to help.
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Creating absence management tasks manually
Engage is normally configured to alert managers to events that trip company triggers. Often, these events should result in a review meeting, welfare call or potentially a referral to Occupational Health. These tasks are then logged in Engage to keep a complete record and receive reminders for anything that is still outstanding. As an additional option, managers can now choose to create a task manually, too. Continue reading
When do you expect to return to work?
A key part of capturing full absence data is knowing when the employee thinks they might be able to return to work. Engage absence registration forms have always had a date input field for the estimated return. However, a lot of absentees struggle to provide an estimated date because their situation can easily change from one day to the next.
Early intervention before the absence becomes long term
Most companies that have an absence policy define what is considered Long Term Absence. There are usually management tasks linked to absence that is categorised as long term. Commonly, managers are asked to refer long term absentees to Occupational Health and to have a welfare meeting with the employee. But how many organisations would start these activities already as soon as the manager knows the absence is likely to become long term?
Truth or myth? Employee must be present at a capability meeting
This is a myth.
It is not uncommon for a capability procedure to stall or even come to a complete standstill because the employee is refusing to attend a capability meeting. Without the meeting going ahead, the employer is unable to continue with the necessary stages of the process and a resolution one way or another remains pending. This does not have to be the case, however, since a capability meeting can also be held in the employee’s absence. As long as the employee has been given reasonable opportunity to attend or to submit responses in writing, the employer can justifiably proceed without the employee present. Continue reading
Myth: RTW interviews are not needed for short absences
You might think, as many do, that Return to Work (RTW) interviews are only necessary when an employee has been off work due to a serious illness or injury or for a long time. In fact, the opposite is true. Continue reading
Truth or Myth? You need to be referred by a doctor for mental health support
Myth. Mental health issues can be complex and vary widely in severity. It is not always clear to the sufferer if their symptoms amount to a defined illness and even if they would like to seek help, the prospect of being diagnosed with a mental health condition – and the stigma that goes with it – can be daunting. Therefore, it’s good to know that anyone can get help without it becoming a note on their GP records. Continue reading
Myth: You need to be 100% fit to return to work
There are two common misconceptions about return to work after illness: 1) that you have to be fully recovered to return and 2) that you cannot return until a medical certificate runs out. Excluding contagious diseases or health and safety reasons barring a return, “you don’t have to be 100% OK to return to work. The earlier you can return to work the better. Work is often part of treatment, and getting back to work is part of the recovery process” (Professor Burton, NHS). Continue reading