Connect4Work is proud to offer vocational rehabilitation Consultancy services across Ireland.

Whatever helps someone with a health problem to stay at or return to and remain in work. Vocational Rehabilitation is an idea and an approach as much as an intervention or a service.

Absenteeism or Attendance?

All organizations, big and small, have to deal with absenteeism – it is inevitable! Absenteeism is usually unpredictable or uncertain and often unexpected resulting in feelings of loss of control as to when a return to work can happen.

Has this ever happened in your organization?

Does your organization struggle with supporting people back to work after an absence?

Many organizations do not have the necessary internal resources to develop and implement return to work strategies for employees who acquire an illness, condition or impairment which impacts on their ability to carry out their job.

Do not wait until one of your employees is at risk of absence or already absent from work. Now is the time to put in place strategies to promote attendance. Safeguard your employees wellbeing by focusing on ability, supports and attendance at work. Achieve improved engagement and communication.

Connect4work Services

Absence from work (for a variety of reasons) is to be expected. The unexpected part is when, why or how long it will happen for. It is part of life! – but it should in no way diminish a person’s right to live their life to the fullest of their capacity – and that includes work.

The Connect4Work services are part of a continuum from policy/consultations to early interventions (proactive stay at work strategy) to case management (reactive return to work strategy) and underpinned by training.

Planning for Improved Attendance

Connect4Work works directly with HR Managers, Occupational Health or Line Managers by giving them the support they need to reduce incidences of or risk of repeated absenteeism, reduction in the time required and cost of managing the absence.

Every organization is different. Each employee is different – and yet there is a commonality across both when it comes to exploring options to avoid an absence or planning a return to work if an absence has occurred. Both want the same thing…..

What is that?

To achieve a sustained return to work!

As an employer, you will want to retain your valuable and experienced employee, supporting them back to work enables attendance and improves employee engagement.
As an employee, you may not be sure where to start and need assistance to get back to work.

Why is this service needed?

Employers often struggle to support an employee – Where do we start? Is a common question I hear during initial planning conversations. When people are at risk of absence or are already absent from work, they often feel vulnerable, disconnected from work, anxious about how they can continue working or when they can return. We will help you put a plan in place – one that ensures both you and your employee understand what is involved in and can contribute to the planning process.

When organizations proactively engage retention strategies, they achieve a more inclusive workplace where the diversity of their staff is supported and management are compassionate. Employees feel valued and trust their employer to look after their wellbeing. Employees are more engaged and therefor more productive. The workplace culture can then become an environment where open communication enables conversations to take place with acceptance of disability, mental health or other challenges faced by employees. This is a culture employees will want to be part of, loyal to and engage with. Wouldn’t you want this for your organization?

Did you know there is Grant Aid Assistance available?

Grant aided assistance is available to private sector employers, which aims to assist the retention of an employee who has acquired a condition or impairment which may undermine their continued employability. The cause or nature of the illness, condition or impairment is not relevant for the purpose of the grant.

how Connect4Work can help you

How proactive are you in protecting health and safety to reduce the risk to employees? Did you know that 80% of adults with disabilities acquire their disability during their working life? Would you like to replace absenteeism with attendance and retention?

Did you also know that after 6months absence, 50% of employees do not return to their own job? How can you better support your employees make this transition back to work?

What difference would it make to your organization to achieve increased productivity, improved quality of work and reduce costs at the same time? Employee retention is a critical issue. With the costs of employee turnover increasing — as much as 2.5 times an employee’s salary depending on the role and other indirect costs:

lowered productivity, decreased engagement, training costs and cultural impact, it makes business sense to support and retain existing staff.

Free Company AUDIT

Complete the Free Attendance Management Audit now to gain clarity on how proactive your organization is in managing attendance.
Upon completion, a summary of the audit will be emailed to you.

By completing the Audit, you will identify areas that may need some attention, updates or reviews – and that is ok! That is the purpose of an audit – to highlight any areas in need of attention.

It is not always obvious to everybody, but having a proactive approach to attendance management (instead of referring to it as absence management) will achieve improved attendance rates– and more!

In particular, the audit focuses on the following:

Early interventions – how to explore options for staff to remain in work and avoid an absence.
Case management – planning for a safe and sustainable return to work after an absence.
Culture of compassion – enables managers to demonstrate empathy for their staff who may be feeling vulnerable and in need of assistance
Diversity – promotes a workplace that is open the diversity of the workforce and the challenges that life has thrown their way
Inclusion – empowers people to ask for help, safe in the knowledge that the organization is supportive of their staff

Our commitment to you

When you call, you will be listened to, we will work with both you and your employee to identify a solution to work for both of you. Our goal is to provide proactive strategies that make you an employer of choice!

attendance management Consultation

Want a customised assessment review of your attendance management practices and protocol?

This consultation includes:

Complete assessment of your attendance management audit
Review the audit with our Certified Disability Management Professional staff
Report to include a review of the consultation and next steps to improve your retention rates at your organisation