What would you do if a Key Employee had a sudden serious health issue and was unable to contribute in full?
This can happen at any time. Losing the ability to capture key knowledge and expertise from the affected employee. This can be a critical moment for any organisation to remain in business.
What can happen as in the following example, is an illustration of the chain of events that are challenging to manage without any certainty of a good outcome: Steven (not his real name) has been employed with the organisation for over 15 years. He knows every job within his team and steps into any role when they are short staffed. He is well-liked and respected by his peers and valued by his employer.
Being fit and able, in his late thirties, who would have thought that he would suffer a stroke? But he did, and instead of being an active productive member of his team, he was now faced with months of rehabilitation. The organisation was now left with a big gap to fill. What were their options? Wait and see what happens next or look at ultimately replacing Steven.
Fifteen years’ experience and a valuable team player is very hard to replace. Fortunately, through the rehabilitation team at the local DHB, and BiznessWins as a specialist rehabilitation employment team, there was an opportunity to transition Steven back into the organisation.
BiznessWins put together a programme that assisted the employer to retain Stevens knowledge and his skill base and support him to return to the workforce.
What are the key factors necessary to reach a successful outcome?
• A fully supportive employer
• A personalised programme that measures a structured return back into employment in the same or similar role
• Friends and family support for the employee
• Regular meetings to discuss progress and monitor workload where appropriate
• Collaboration with professional teams supporting the employee The benefit to the employer of adopting a rehabilitation programme is that it will retain the employee’s knowledge and skills and will eliminate the costs associated with recruiting and training a new staff member.
BiznessWins write for this magazine because it is informative and reaches a wide cross-section of our community.
