LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., August 1, 2011 — Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation (NYSE:AON), today announced the findings of its absence management report, which showed most companies emphasize compliance over productivity when measuring program success.

Aon Hewitt surveyed 200 U.S. employers, representing more than 3 million employees, and found that 85 percent ranked robust subject matter expertise around compliance issues as the most important element in determining success of an absence management program, followed by improved employee productivity at 66 percent.

“We know during the recession, human resource departments were forced to do more with less, showing they could improve productivity while lowering costs,” said Matt Morris, senior counsel and Leaves of Absence Practice leader with Aon Hewitt.  “Yet, our survey shows these same departments value compliance support above all else in measuring a successful program, which is understandable, given a decrease in resources and an increase in state and federal legal complexity.  This includes outcomes such as productivity and cost.”

Additionally, this survey revealed that 79 percent of organizations have fully or partially integrated their Leave of Absence (LOA) administration with non-occupational disability programs (e.g., salary continuation, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability), while 69 percent have fully or partially integrated with occupational disability/workers’ compensation programs.  When asked the reasons integration is important to a successful absence management program, 52 percent of respondents ranked improved compliance as the biggest factor, followed by enhanced data and reporting (45 percent), better outcomes (43 percent) and improved employer experience (42 percent).  Further, compensation and health care are cited as the two most important services to be integrated with absence management programs.

“These survey responses illustrate how employers value the integration of absence management with related HR processes,” said Morris.  “Clearly, the link between payroll, the health care administrator and absence management is critical.  Two of the most frequently asked questions when an employee is on leave are ‘what will happen to my pay?’ and ‘what will happen with my benefits?’  An integrated program helps in dealing with these issues successfully.”

This survey also found that 41 percent of employers currently outsource their LOA programs, compared to 30 percent in 2008 and only 17 percent in 2004.  Of these employers that outsource, 80 percent agree outsourcing has afforded them better compliance with laws and regulations, 80 percent also say there is more timely distribution of required notifications and 79 percent believe there is more consistent administration with fully outsourced LOA programs.  What’s more, 29 percent of these organizations plan to increase the degree of LOA outsourcing programs in the next 12 to 18 months. 

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About this Survey
Since our last survey on absence management in 2008, we have witnessed significant and challenging developments for employers. The legislative landscape has changed dramatically and continues to evolve at the state and federal level creating increasing complexity and challenge. Concerns about compliance, while true in 2008, are now at an all-time high.  Compounding matters, the last few years have seen human resources departments forced to do their work with fewer people and resources.  The objective of this survey, The Mechanics of Absence Management, is to measure the experience of employers with regard to absence management and to examine current trends within this difficult environment. 

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions.  The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance.  Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies.  With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon Corporation (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital solutions and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to deliver distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and technical expertise are delivered locally in over 120 countries. Named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's 2008, 2009 and 2010 Insurance Survey, Aon also ranked highest on Business Insurance's listing of the world's insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues in 2008 and 2009. A.M. Best deemed Aon the number one insurance broker based on revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Aon was voted best insurance intermediary 2007-2010, best reinsurance intermediary 2006-2010, best captives manager 2009-2010, and best employee benefits consulting firm 2007-2009 by the readers of Business Insurance. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/unitedin2010 to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

Media Contact:
Joe Micucci
847.771.0788
joe.micucci@aonhewitt.com