Workability management brings results

Our services in managing work capacity and rehabilitation help client companies to take better care of their personnel and to save in pension and sick leave costs. We aim at the lowest pension costs in the sector for our customers.

The development of workability management is based on the company's own knowledge of work capacity risks and operational strengths. Improving practices related to working capacity management clarifies supervisory work and improves the flow of work, working ability and the resolving of health issues. In 2012, we worked with 650 of our client companies to develop their workability management.

During the period under review, we renewed our entire training offering on workability management. Workability management training gave our clients the skills to evaluate the state of workability management, to set workability management targets and to put methods that support work capacity into practice. In 2012, approximately 200 representatives from our client companies of different sizes participated in the training and gave excellent feedback.

We surveyed the effectiveness of our services among our client companies that were, at the time, taking part in a well-being-at-work project supported by Varma. Our clients were primarily satisfied with the well-being-at-work services they had received and with the fact that through the co-operation work capacity management became part of the companies' daily operations. The projects have had a positive effect, as they have helped to clarify supervisory practices, implement a functional early-support model and gain measurable changes through workability management: work satisfaction has improved and the contribution category has been lowered.

Rehabilitation programmes increased despite recession

In 2012, the number of rehabilitation applications received by Varma continued to grow, at a rate of 13.1 per cent. In spite of the economic recession, vocational rehabilitation programmes implemented at workplaces, i.e. work trials, job coaching and apprenticeships, increased 25 per cent over 2011. Rehabilitation continued to be successful: nearly 72 per cent of those who received Varma's rehabilitation continued in working life following their rehabilitation.

In 2012, a total of 3,662 persons transferred to the cash rehabilitation benefit or retired on a disability pension (new pensions, Varma as the main institution).

During the year under review, we looked into the situation of those who had finished their rehabilitation in 2008. In 2008, 65 per cent of them were in working life, and in 2011, 53 per cent still remained in working life. Those who participated in rehabilitation have to a great extent remained in working life for three years following the end of their rehabilitation.

Together with our client companies, we have analysed the reasons and processes that have led to retiring on disability pension in order to further improve our clients' work capacity processes and to give them tools for proactively dealing with issues that threaten the work capacity of their employees. We also launched a survey on the work capacity of the self-employed, due to be completed by 2013. The results will help us improve our services for the self-employed.

In addition, we entered into closer co-operation with regional service providers with the aim of being able to provide our rehabilitation customers with more efficient and successful rehabilitation plans.

Our rehabilitation customers are active users of our online services. Currently, some 40 per cent of rehabilitation applications are submitted electronically to Varma. In 2012, we expanded our electronic service to make the handling of rehabilitation matters even smoother.