"We saw working with Hewitt LCG as an opportunity to form a collaborative partnership that would move us to state-of-the-art processes — including fully integrated systems and reporting in a relatively short period of time." - Sally Graupman, Weyerhaeuser, Manager of Disability and Absence Management

Challenge

In 2006, Weyerhaeuser had an intenal team of 15 employees managing its self-insured short-term disability program. The system they used was home-grown and originally created to manage workers' compensation claims. While it was easy to use, the system did not fully automate the claims management process, and staff had to perform a number of manual steps. The system provided only limited reporting capability, and concern was growing over the long-term viability of their system in meeting their needs. Additionally, since the claims process incorporated only limited medical case management, employees had come to expect that their short-term disability claims would go through a simple "process and pay" routine.

FMLA administration, on the other hand, was decentralized across 300 business sites throughout most of the 50 states. Leave administration, particularly around state laws, was growing more complicated, increasing the administrative burden on HR and managers in the field.

Solution

Weyerhaeuser asked Hewitt to take over management of its short- term disability, FMLA, and other leaves for its 40,000 employees, starting on January 1, 2007. Hewitt responded by helping Weyerhaeuser create a whole new way of approaching disability and absence management. Now, Hewitt's employees handle claims, working on-site at Weyerhaeuser's corporate headquarters. Competitive leave programs with clinical intervention and paperless administration have been rolled out. Disability claims are medically managed using duration guidelines, and medical expertise is easily available whether it comes from one of the two nurses working on-site or through other Hewitt resources. Additionally, the new processes include an employee-initiated telephonic intake process and, for the first time, a centralized approach to tracking and managing leaves.

Results

From the beginning, the strong Hewitt/Weyerhaeuser partnership produced results. Weyerhaeuser realized cost savings through a reduction in short-term disability incidents and in the duration of those incidents. Additionally, the company hopes to reduce risk through consistent practices that the new, centralized approach to FMLA brought to the organization. With access to company-wide reporting, Weyerhaeuser's Employee Benefits team is now able to begin integrating nationwide leave information with their healthcare data to gain greater insight.

While Weyerhaeuser has already made substantial changes to its absence management programs, Hewitt remains committed to working with them on ongoing improvements and identifying opportunities as Weyerhaeuser's business changes.