Shawnee Love   •  
June 17, 2010

I attended a fantastic conference last week on Disability Management hosted by Diversified Rehabilitation Group in Kelowna.

I say “fantastic” because in my world, a conference is good if the content is:

• transferable to the workplace,
• salted with excellent examples I can relate to, and
• inspires me to change or do better.

This conference did all three. I found it inspiring because the themes were aligned with what Love HR is all about, that is helping businesses succeed through people. In this conference the message I got loud and clear is that if you can help employees succeed (by keeping them at or helping them return to work) it supports business success through loyal long-term employees and some serious, significant cost savings. (I have stats if anyone is interested!)

For me, the 3 main takeaways that transfer back to work are:

• The 3 C’s of Disability Management ~ Collaboration, Commitment, and Creativity.
• An employee’s environment and psychological state affects not only performance but ability to cope with stress and challenges which affects the likelihood of illness or injury and duration of time away.
• Employers have the power to positively affect performance, attendance, and productivity with programs and services to enhance employee wellness.

I get a thrill from giving employers the power to succeed through their people and people practices, and to my way of thinking, a good disability management program is a major tool in that toolkit. Good luck with it. It takes time to develop and a lot of work up front, but the benefits will be so worth it in the long run.