Customer experience Aafje: From medical approach to behavioral management

At Aafje, an elderly care facility in Rotterdam and surrounding areas, hundreds of care workers work daily for the health and well-being of residents, rehabilitants and patients. A rewarding and indispensable role. It is therefore important that the employees who play such an important role every day for the health of others, remain vital themselves and take pleasure in their work, agrees Sandra Kleijbeuker, Manager People & Development at Aafje.

In her role, Sandra's goal is to raise the vitality of employees within the organization, thereby reducing absenteeism . She does this in cooperation with several labels of paraDIGMA groep, in which on a daily basis De Arbodienst is a regular partner. "In the vision and approach, Aafje and De Arbodienst knew how to find each other immediately," says Sandra.

"It is a pleasant cooperation, communication is good. De Arbodienst is to-the-point, realistic and clear in its approach. This took some getting used to, we were used to a very medical approach; previously, someone from the medical field was involved from day one. De Arbodienst does not do that, but first looks at the behavior of the absent employee to determine the real cause, instead of just relying on a medical reason. In fact, often there is an entirely different reason behind the absenteeism."

Binnen de organisatie bleek al snel dat iedereen met een zorgachtergrond ook eerder geneigd is om naar de medische redenen achter het verzuim te kijken. Sandra: “De Arbodienst leert ons daaruit terug te trekken en vooral richting gedrag te bewegen. Feit dat we daarin een partner hebben gevonden zoals De Arbodienst, maar ook andere labels van paraDIGMA groep zoals OffCourse, is erg mooi. We mogen alles tegen elkaar zeggen, het voelt echt als een gelijkwaardige partner.

The Labor & Health Advisor is close to the supervisor and employee. It is agreed in the process that the advisor will contact the employee within three to five days in case of absenteeism. The three-way meetings that take place between employee, supervisor and the Labor & Health Advisor provide direct training on the job, as the advisor is on the spot to take the supervisor through the process and direct behavior."

Als aanvulling op de dienstverlening van De Arbodienst, timmert Aafje ook aan de weg naar gezonde en vitale medewerkers met de trainingen van OffCourse. Sandra: “Deze trainingen zijn in eerste instantie intensief, maar worden erg positief ontvangen. Het is veel meer dan alleen een verzuimtraining, maar ook gesprekstechnieken komen aan bod. Inhoudelijk vind ik de trainingen erg sterk en de acteurs heel goed! Ik ben van mening dat iedere leidinggevende, van elk niveau, ervaring en leeftijd deze training een keer gevolgd moet hebben. Het is ook heel waardevol voor de samenwerking met De Arbodienst dat alle Adviseurs Arbeid & Gezondheid de training ook hebben gehad, waardoor iedereen dezelfde taal spreekt. Dat werkt zoveel makkelijker en sneller.”

"We see that the cause of absenteeism , for example, is also often psychological problems or financial problems. A broken leg is very obvious. Everyone can imagine this and a time limit is set for it, and then you are basically recovered. With mental health issues, it is different. No psychological absenteeism is the same, it is so personal. We always take a complaint to be true, and it's important to look at it judgment-free. But it remains an exciting issue for managers. How do you handle this, how far can you go? In these cases, we seek contact with the Labor & Health Advisor. What interventions can help? Where does our responsibility stop? And what can we expect from the employee?

Our goal is to reduce absenteeism , of course, but I like to look especially at the goal of raising the health and vitality of employees. And thanks to the collaboration, we are moving in a new direction where there is a shift from medical to behavioral. A positive development!"

Do you also want to get started on vitality in your organization? De Arbodienst and sister labels are ready to work together to bring about a turnaround in your organization. Want to know more? Then contact us.