Understanding Integration: Starting Integration - A Best-Practices Approach

Had they to do it again, many employers that already integrated delivery of employee benefits say they wouldn’t just leap into it. Instead they first would garner corporate support or spend a little more time in planning, training and communicating.

For some employers, the hardest step toward integrating benefits can be the first one. To learn from the experiences of employers that already integrate their benefits, IBI asked employers already integrating what first step they now would take in integrating benefits compared to the first step they actually took.

Steps they took

Employers’ actual first step tended to be concrete and aimed at moving them quickly toward their integration goal.

Most commonly, they:

• consolidated claim management in an integrated claim practice - such as a common claim intake or a transitional RTW program regardless of cause of injury
• began integrating wage replacement on the non-occupational injury side
• sought a single vendor for their integrated program.

Employers that participated in IBI’s case studies of integration experiences frequently established consolidated claim management in independent or co-managed claim units as a way to avoid turf battles. Frequently, however, case study participants first conducted planning, education and training efforts before launching their integrated program. Commonly, the integration wasn’t company wide, but began in a pilot program or with only one region or unit of the company.

Steps they now would take

When respondents were asked what steps they now would take, given their experience with integration, many varied their approach. Some still would begin by establishing a substantive part of their final program, but as many now say they first would seek senior management support - four of those nine through extensive use of data resources.

Another six said they would create database resources that would help them plan or monitor their integrated program. Six more suggested that they would spend more time preparing for the change and/or devote more resources to education and training before kicking off an integrated program.

Of employers that moved away from "Consolidating Claim Management" as a first step, seven now first would seek support for the change, respectively, from senior management (5), supervisors (1) or employee unions (1). Two would do more planning or create a cross-silo task force to build support, and another would gather integrated data.

Same goal, different approach

When we include second steps employers say they now would take, 19 would consolidate claim functions in a first or second step. This response indicates that while planning and garnering support is a plus for many, they would keep their eye on the end product and start the process after only a quick detour to smooth the path by gathering support or engage in more planning.