Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo, director of disability and absence management for New York-Presbyterian Hospital, redesigned processes to improve efficiencies, ensure a person-centered approach, and deliver an impressive return on investment. As the first winner of the DMEC Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award, Barnes-Iwediebo exemplifies leadership in integrated disability and absence management. Listen in to her story!

More resources:

• Read more about the inaugural DMEC Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award and the 2024 DMEC Emerging Leader Award winner in the @Work magazine article Celebrating Leadership and Innovation in Disability and Absence Management
• The True Payoff to Integrated Disability Management
• DMEC Awards

DMEC: Welcome to Absence Management Perspectives, a DMEC Podcast The Disability Management Employer Coalition, or DMEC as we're known by most people, provides focused education, knowledge and networking opportunities for absence and disability management professionals. DMEC has become a leading voice in the industry and represents more than 20,000 professionals from organizations of all sizes across the United States and in Canada.

This podcast series focuses on industry perspectives and delves into issues that affect DMEC members and the community as a whole. We're thrilled to have you with us and hope you'll Visit us at www.DMEC.org to get a full picture of what we have to offer. From webinars and publications to conferences, certifications, and much more. Let's get started and meet the people behind the processes.

Heather Grimshaw: Hi, we're glad you're with us. I'm Heather Grimshaw with gmec, and today we're talking about the Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award, which was established to celebrate the visionary ethos and spirit of DMEC co founders Sharon Colletta and Marcia Carruthers.

It pays tribute to their unwavering commitment to integrated disability and absence management, a field that demands courage, fearlessness and passion. Our guest is the first winner of this Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award, Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo, Director of Disability and Absence Management for New York Presbyterian Hospital. She was selected for the award because of her innovative work, her passion, and her dedication to integrated disability and absence management. She has agreed to talk with us today about her commitment to taking an integrated approach, which has resulted in an impressive return on investment for New York Presbyterian Hospital and its employees.

So, Krystle, there are some professionals in this field who do not recognize the term integrated disability and absence management. Would you please provide an overview for folks who may not be familiar with this approach and why you think it's valuable?

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Sure. Integrated disability and absence management for me is a holistic approach to managing absenteeism related to disabilities. You can achieve this by just being willing to streamline processes that support team members while reducing the impact on operations. So this can include anything from employee assistance programs, integrating policies that are going to cover both disability and absence return to work programs, and comprehensive support that addresses the needs of team members who are returning from a leave of absence. For us, we find this extremely valuable for our programs because we're able to centralize how we manage leave claims for 13 different sites so all 45,000 team members have the same process with streamlined communication and documentation. Creating integrated policies through a unified approach towards absence management has really allowed us to have consistency and clarity in our leave accommodations process. But most importantly, compliance with our program.

Heather Grimshaw: That's really helpful to hear, especially when you mentioned the 13 sites and the 45,000 team members that need for the consistency.

And I also appreciate the reference to the unified approach. Thank you. So how long have you known about integrated disability and absence management and what does it look like at New York Presbyterian Hospital?

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Yeah, it's hard to say. I think the term integrated disability is something we are. We're all working towards before it became a popular term. Because offering a holistic approach or to support team members is always the goal, right for us. At New York Presbyterian we have centralized accommodations program through a co source model with our vendor. So we combine short and long term disability management with leave and policies to ensure consistency in our program. We also introduced a centralized accommodations team about two and a half years ago to help streamline accommodations requests as well as a return to work program that focuses on getting team members back to work sooner in productive roles. Centralizing accommodations and focusing on return to work programs not only aids in supporting team members more effectively, but it also helps in minimizing downtime and enhancing productivity.

Heather Grimshaw: That makes a lot of sense. Your nomination form references your ability to ensure employees have the assistance and support they need while also minimizing the effects of employee leave on operations. Will you talk a little bit about how you've accomplished that?

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Sure. I can give one example. We have an enriched parental and maternal leave benefit at New York Presbyterian that allows parents to take six months off for a leave to bond with their newborn. Now this is an amazing benefit, but six months is a long time to be out of work and disconnected from the social dynamics of the workplace when you think about it.

So about a year or so ago we partnered with our COPE NYP program to help parents transition back into the workplace by offering services for postpartum and anxiety about returning to work.

We saw that studies show that about 24% of mothers experience anxiety when returning to work, which we all know can lead to low productivity and isolation. Offering these services creates a sense of belonging and helps team members feel supported. So I think both our centralized accommodations team and return to work programs are excellent examples of this as well of a proactive strategy to support team members through their challenges. We're showing team members that we are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment, which is so important for their well being and the overall organizational success.

Heather Grimshaw: That context is helpful and it's powerful to hear you talk about acknowledging how employees may feel disconnected from social dynamics at work when they are out on leave. It sounds like the programs you've designed have helped to address that issue and create a bridge for employees to reengage. It would be helpful to hear you talk about the systems you have put in place to track and manage employee requests for leave.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Sure. We track and manage our leaves through our disability vendor via Co Source model. As I mentioned, all team members can contact one number and apply for a lead to get information about their eligibility. The co source model, though, with the centralized point of contact for leave and eligibility information, streamlines the process for team members, which can just make a really big difference in their experience not having to contact multiple locations and speak to multiple people. We have also access to leave reports via our vendors website, including a portal for team members, leaders and our HR business partners. This allows them to check the leave status updates in real time. So having real time access to those reports through our vendors portal adds another layer of transparency and convenience for everyone involved. So we also now my team has an internal ticketing system where we can answer questions via phone, email or chat to help guide team members through the leave in accommodations process. So with that, we're trying to cover all bases by combining automated and personal support methods for team members.

Heather Grimshaw: I appreciate the reference there to the combination between automated and that personal interaction. There's so much focus on the need for technology to streamline the myriad tasks and pieces and parts that are involved in leave and accommodations, and I can only assume that really pulling those pieces together and having a balance there is so important.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Yeah, it really is. As I mentioned, we're servicing 45,000 employees and not everyone is as excited about technology or AI right. As, you know, as we are or as other people are. And we have to remember that we're here for them. We're here to meet their needs. And so. So having multiple options is extremely important to the success of our program as well.

Heather Grimshaw: Absolutely. And your nomination form cites innovative solutions and novel approaches to streamlining absence management reporting and how you have monitored the effectiveness of these programs and adjusted strategies accordingly. You've mentioned a few of your innovations already, but I am hoping that you'll talk a little bit about the innovative strategies you've introduced and the data you've used to monitor monitor success.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Sure. One of the things we created, one of our strategies specifically for nursing was to create a task bank that focused more on the nursing skill set versus their individual roles or jobs. Creating a task bank tailored to the nursing skill set helped us streamline the processes, the processes for returning staff so this approach minimizes the need for additional training and allow for a quicker reintegration of returning team members. We're getting people back into their seats quicker. It also helps in better placement of staff based on their skill set. One of the things we also did was upskill our own accommodations team. And by certifying our Accommodations team in ADA regulations, we enhanced their ability to engage in more informed and supportive conversations with leaders. This expertise allows for better guidance and accommodations decisions, both benefiting the team members and the organization.

But I would say overall, for the last several years, a solution. Our solution has been to just have a dual approach to absenteeism. Absenteeism. Excuse me. So for short term leaves, we're engaging earlier with team members, specifically for workers, comp and others, but to ensure compliance with processes and supporting a smoother transition back to work.

This helps in managing immediate absences much more effectively and then for the longer term leaves, maintaining connection with team members and addressing their needs to support the eventual return to work. So this is helping us ensure that they don't feel disconnected as we talked about before, or unsupported during their absence.

Heather Grimshaw: That's wonderful. And I think it's really interesting too to hear you talk about the tasks versus the roles and the ability to then match people in a different way, which makes a lot of sense. And it's also one of those things, as you mentioned earlier, that demonstrates, I would think, to the employee that you are actively looking for ways to. To bring them back into the fold.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Yes, definitely.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Two things come to mind. Proactive outreach and effective communication. With the introduction of our centralized program, a centralized accommodation program, we now have a team of people dedicated to engaging with team members on leave and doing a level of case management we weren't able to do before. So our program allows us to proactively reach out to team members to keep them engaged while on a leave of absence. Just having these additional resources, these upskilled team members who are dedicated to.

Now, maintaining this type of work has been phenomenal for us. We also partner with our talent acquisition team to find tasks instead of vacant roles that may match the skill sets of someone returning from a leave of absence. So looking at the tasks, as you mentioned, versus the roles just open up a door of opportunities for us for not only the Return to Work program, but the At Work Accommodations program. Right. So now we're working on prevention, not preventing people from having to take a leave because we're finding work for them to do and jobs for them to do that match their skill set. Through this proactive outreach approach, we found that team members are just excited to hear from us and looking forward to reconnecting with their colleagues. They just want the support where previously if you were approved for a long leave for an extended period of time, you know, your company may have just left you alone. Right. And here we are now, constantly engaging. We've enhanced our communication and that involved communication not only with the team member, but the leaders, the providers, all parties, to make sure that people know we are willing to work with them, we're willing to meet their needs to get to get them back to work. Right. It's not a one shoe fits all. We truly manage every case, case by case, to assess the needs of that individual.

Heather Grimshaw: I love that saying not one shoe fits all. And I think that also your earlier references to data about anxiety related to returning to work, as well as the references to the tasks versus roles to help people either stay at work or return earlier, is again a testament to the work that you've done. So I appreciate you sharing that. There are references to risk woven through throughout the nomination form. And I'm hoping that you will talk a little bit about why taking an integrated disability and absence management approach requires a bit of, as we say at dmec, moxie.

Our CEO Brian Bass talks a little bit about this in a column that I'll include a link to in the episode, but really hoping to hear why you think that's a strategic move for people in this realm that's worth taking.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Sure. I love that. A little bit of Moxie so I would say overall, integrated disability and absence management is a commitment to both. It's a team member's wellbeing and operational efficiency. Right. So by addressing the team members needs and implementing a consistent and compliant process, you create that supportive work environment that benefits the team members that we're here to help as well as the organization. So yes, I think that does require a little bit of moxie. As you put it because you have to be willing to go out on a ledge and take a risk.

I always tell people I am an employee advocate. I am here to help people. It's, you know, it's in the name right human resources. So as long as I have that in my focus, I'm willing to push the envelope on anything. Strategically speaking though, it's important to have leadership's buy in for your program. When I first started with New York Presbyterian about six years ago, my team looked very different. We had six advisors, we only managed a handful of sites rights, we didn't have a system and everyone was pretty much managing leaves very differently. But we met with senior leaders, we explained how important managing absenteeism is and compliance with leave laws and regulations. And I think that's when we really started to pick up traction, when the message was coming from the top down. So now we're a team of almost 30. We've invested in systems and vendors, we have more content and a robust knowledge base of information for team members and we've made our work more visible, which is very important. Our executives now see leave rates and absenteeism on a weekly scorecard. We're training managers and having more on having more thought based conversations. And we're seeing that more people want to understand how they can not only drive their leave rates down, but how they can support team members. So that allows us to have better participation in our programs overall. Our ongoing goal is to foster a more inclusive culture and reduce that stigma around disability and accommodation needs.

Heather Grimshaw: That's so impressive to hear you share that evolution of the team from 6 to 30 and all the work that you are doing to elevate this really important and meaningful work to help support employees during times of need. And I think our listeners will certainly appreciate your comment about elevating awareness of the work and what that looks like holistically throughout the organization. So this is amazing work. Congratulations again on this first award, first of many moving forward and what a wonderful champion you are for this integrated disability and absence management. Thank you so much.

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: Thank you so much, Heather. It was a pleasure.