FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS We don’t have caregivers in this company; we don’t have that problem here?
ALL companies have caregivers…no one is exempt. It is true that companies who typically employ a younger workforce may not have as many caregivers, but all companies have caregivers. You don’t have to be living with the person to whom you provide care to be a caregiver. Caregivers fall along a wide spectrum of care tasks from mowing the lawn and helping with bills, to helping with bathing and feeding.
For example, recently we have worked with two organizations in the Cincinnati area. Neither denied that they had caregivers, but both significantly underestimated the issue. Both companies came in at National averages for the number of caregivers in their workplaces, between 15-25%.
Why should I, as an employer, care?
This issue is costing you large sums of money every year…and it is preventable!
The reasons: Caregiving employees have increased absenteeism (both planned and crisis); they come in early and leave late; they are distracted at work; they use work time to find services, coordinate care, check on the care being provided; they impact the efficiency, effectiveness, and morale of managers and co-workers; they use more health insurance benefits; they use more FMLA benefits…
Why should I care about unmanaged eldercare when healthcare costs are sky-rocketing and are my major concern?
Burned out caregivers are significant contributors to the rising healthcare costs. It was reported in 1996 by American Demographics that utilization of healthcare benefits by caregivers comprised 19% of the total cost of healthcare for the company. Caregivers often end up sicker than those to whom they are providing care.
How much is unmanaged eldercare in the workplace really costing my company?
It is estimated b/t 15-25% of every workforce are employees providing care to an older loved one. These employees have increased absenteeism, workday interruptions, healthcare and FMLA utilization, etc., etc. 20% of these employees will quit their jobs to provide care. Not only is this a costly individual decision for the employee, but this decision is costly for the company. The costs associated with employee turnover have huge impacts on the organization’s bottom line. Furthermore, the caregiving employee’s productivity and general attitude affect managers and co-workers and their productivity and morale. The financial impact of all these factors combines to staggering dollar amounts.
For example, a Cincinnati area company that employs 500 people loses over 1.8 million dollars each year to unmanaged eldercare – equal to about 15% of their salary budget.
What is the Return On Investment (ROI)?
The most valuable return on this investment is employee retention. The time, money, and valuable expertise that is lost when employees leave is far more costly than an eldercare program.
Since 1996 it has been reported that eldercare programs have a $3-5 return on every $1 spent (MetLife). Recently, the National Security Agency reported an $8.62 return on every $1 of their eldercare program.
How do you measure the ROI?
The greatest challenges in ROI calculation are singling out the effects of one benefit. A post-survey of employees can give the most accurate representation of how many employees are using the benefit and what they think of it. The highest value of the program comes from how it affects people’s commitment and satisfaction b/c it is these that contribute to all the factors that cost the company money (i.e. retention, time saved, reductions in absenteeism, turnover, training and recruiting expenses, and use of healthcare and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits).
We measure return like this…if you save/retain one employee using our program you will have more than recovered your cost!
Our company has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), isn’t eldercare covered?
Maybe, but what is your eldercare benefit? Most company’s eldercare EAP benefit is an 800 number for resource and referral. There are several issues here:
1) There are many barriers to recognizing you are a caregiver.
2) You don’t know where to look for help.
3) You don’t know what to ask for when you find out where to look for help.
Imagine being at your wits end and calling this 800 number to be asked, “What type of services do you need?”. Do you even know what type of services are available? How do know what type of services you need? How do find out about different services? How do you evaluate the services being suggested? All of things are just too overwhelming to a caregiver already in a compromising position.
While your EAP may have a benefit…do your employees know how to access it and will they get the help they need when they do?
What are your tangible products and actual solutions, what exactly are you going to do for me?
EEC will give you an extensive report that will help you understand just how caregiving is impacting your workplace. From this we will design and facilitate educational seminars to provide awareness and answers to employees’ most pressing questions and concerns. EEC partners then work one-on-one with the individual caregiving employees to help them find resources specific to their needs (geography, finances, personal preferences, etc.). We also have a database that employers can purchase for their employees. This database makes searching for services and resources easy. As a program, these solutions allow employees to be present and effective at work.