We’re in the people business, enabling HR

How grape brought absence and Claims Management fully online and what that means for companies, employees, and insurers.

1. The challenge

In most companies, absence management still feels like a fragmented patchwork: manual spreadsheets, disconnected emails, slow-moving insurers, and systems that don’t talk to each other. HR professionals are forced to waste time on repetitive admin instead of supporting the people who need them.

Case registration at one customer, for instance, could be undone by a single mistake. If someone filled out the form and clicked the wrong field at the end, the entire entry would disappear.

HR professionals at CWS Workwear found themselves wasting time pushing paper than supporting people. Absences took weeks to process and updates were slow. Everything felt harder than it should be. The irony wasn’t lost on any of the other teams either: the systems designed to help them were standing in the way.

2. A new kind of insurance

But what if there was a better way?

That question is what drew these companies to grape. As the first and only provider in Switzerland to bring the entire absence and claims process fully online, we are rethinking how absence management should work from the first sick day to a smooth return. With us, companies, employees, and insurers operate in sync through one transparent, digital ecosystem.

This doesn’t just improve HR processes but has a positive effect on people's health and in turn, improving business success.

The switch to grape means:

• Automated workflows
• Structured case data
• Transparent dashboards and clear responsibilities

3. Results that matter

For these companies the switch to grape was the turning point when insurance stopped being a blocker and started becoming a tool for real impact. The benefits aren’t theoretical and the numbers speak for themselves.

A. Automation increases efficiency

One customer told us, the shift to grape meant finally leaving behind a system that had become more of an obstacle than a tool. Case registration used to be a burden. One small mistake at the end of the form meant losing all progress. The process was not only time-consuming but demotivating for the team.

After the switch, everything changed: workflows became intuitive, and what previously dragged on could now be done in half the time. This means a huge increase in efficiency and time gained that can be reinvested in other areas of responsibilities.

At CWS Workwear, a company with over 450 employees, the results were just as striking. Administrative time was slashed, and a case handling process that once stretched over six weeks was shortened to just four weeks. Leaving more room for care and addressing the root cause of the absence.

Fisba saw a similar impact. By automating all routine communications, reminders, and data handovers, the team no longer had to constantly monitor and remember what needed to be done. Thanks to automation in HR, one team member was even able to reduce their working hours by 20% while still staying on top of their tasks.

For HR, this meant less fire-fighting and more time to focus on their people. Suddenly, HR wasn’t just catching up. It was getting ahead.

B. Ease for employees

For employees, being sick is already stressful. But slow updates, unclear instructions, and inconsistent communication only add to the pressure. With grape, that changes by making sick note submission simple, timelines predictable, and communication human again.

At CWS Workwear, this change opened up space to re-focus on what really matters: human connection. HR could spend more time checking in with employees, planning returns, and offering tailored support. Rather than simply processing absences, they can now actively support recovery and reintegration.

C. A smarter approach for insurers

Digitizing the process doesn’t just help companies and employees, it fundamentally changes how grape works as an insurer. With access to structured case data, decisions can be made faster and with better insight. No more chasing documents or deciphering disconnected notes.

Customers described this as a major contrast to traditional insurers. Instead of feeling in the dark, they now have full transparency: dashboards, documented claims, and open communication loops with clear contact persons. This visibility builds trust and creates space for actual collaboration, not just transactional services.

While Customer Success supports on a technical and strategic level in regular business reviews in the background, Claims steps in when it matters most making the model both efficient and deeply human. This structure means fewer handovers, faster resolutions, and more personal conversations, because we believe that even in insurance, the relationship matters just as much as the result.

grape uses automation to unlock efficiency so that humans can show up where it counts. And customers noticed the difference. Instead of cold silence, they now get clear communication, access to real-time updates, and relationships with people who know their setup and can jump in quickly when needed.

4. A different kind of relationship

At the heart of this transformation was something deeper than tools. It was about how customers felt.

Instead of an impersonal experience and a purely transactional relationship they see a partner in grape. Our Customer Success Team stays in close contact with key stakeholders from HR to payroll to operational leads offering guidance as needed. Support is tailored and often ad hoc, arriving exactly when it’s needed. Larger customers also benefit from quarterly strategic reviews, where we align on absence trends and prevention strategies.

The result?

• Stronger trust.
• Warmer tone.
• More collaboration.