6 Best Practices for Managing Employee Attendance Issues + Sample Policy

It’s important that employees know what the company expects of them and why, so they are less likely to take advantage. This article will help you establish clear guidelines for attendance policies in your business.

The “employee attendance policy template” is a sample policy that can be used to manage employee attendance. It includes 6 best practices for managing employee attendance issues, which are:

It is critical that your staff show up for work in order for your small company to succeed. Excessive absences from your employees might have a severe effect on the efficiency of your company. Having an attendance policy in place and holding your staff responsible is one method to fight this issue. We’ve put up a list of six excellent strategies for monitoring your employees’ attendance.

While there are a variety of methods to monitor your workers’ time and attendance, employing software like Homebase allows you to manage employee schedules and track their time, improving communication and increasing responsibility among your employees. Homebase is free for small enterprises with just one location. Try it out right now.

Pay a visit to Homebase

1. Create a thorough attendance policy.

A written attendance policy helps you to establish clear expectations for everyone in your company. These rules inform your team members of the exact expectations, as well as your intention to enforce them fairly and consistently. Once you’ve established workplace attendance standards, be sure to communicate them with the rest of the firm and enforce them.

Download a Word or GDoc document with a sample attendance policy.

2. Make use of time management software.

Your staff will be held responsible and absenteeism will be reduced if you use time and attendance software. Small firms may utilize an online platform for not just time tracking but also vacation and sick time, scheduling, and other aspects of personnel administration using this sort of service.

3. Evaluate Results

Employee performance should be directly related to attendance in your evaluations. Employees should comprehend the consequences of not complying if attendance is made a performance problem against which they are evaluated. You may rank workers based on their attendance and performance if you have precise time and attendance monitoring.

Consider recognizing staff who do really well. Find strategies to incentivise workers if you want to build a culture and system that encourages people to show up for work. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on these; you may come up with creative methods to lure your team members (for example, complimentary movie tickets or $50 Visa gift cards).

The majority of the time, simple public recognition aimed at high-performing staff goes a long way. Recognize workers at team meetings or on the business bulletin board.

4. Talk about Attendance Issues

Do not put off discussing performance and attendance concerns with workers until a planned one-on-one meeting or the yearly assessment. Supervisors should take the initiative to address these concerns with employees right away, since each supervisor is responsible for the attendance and general productivity of their teams. It’s critical to establish clear expectations with workers before problems develop, and if you have a strategy in place to address complaints quickly, you’ll see a shift in behavior.

Employees will be informed on what is anticipated if you schedule team training or a development session that involves controlling employee attendance and performance-related segments. This is a good moment to talk about topics like attendance and performance. Furthermore, subjects such as workplace communication and equality may help the organization create trust and loyalty.

5. Provide Enough Vacation Time

Companies that provide comprehensive paid time off (PTO) benefits experience an increase in employee attendance and productivity. Employees will more than likely acquire the habit of arranging their days off if you provide adequate time away from the job (as opposed to the unscheduled call-outs). You’ll be able to source substitute coverage, adjust project deadlines, and balance workloads across teams as a result of this.

PTO is one of the most sought-after perks by workers today, so creating industry-leading PTO rules and benefits can help you keep and recruit top talent.

6. Establish a program for employee assistance (EAP)

EAPs are fantastic tools for allowing workers access to third-party, anonymous (for the employee) help. They are often ignored as a cost-effective, readily supplied employee perk. When it comes to attendance concerns, workers may just be going through a difficult period in their lives and need someone to speak to.

EAPs may assist by offering a wide variety of services, including counseling referrals, financial advice, first legal counseling, exercise, and healthy food seminars. The notion is that an EAP may give assistance via one of its programs in many circumstances, allowing the employee to cope with personal difficulties that may be influencing their attendance.

The Most Common Issues with Employee Attendance

Employees arrive late for work or phone in to alert you of their absence for a variety of reasons. This might include anything from sickness to a lack of enthusiasm. According to a CareerBuilder research, around one-third of workers who call in ill for the day are really unwell. Furthermore, according to When I Work, one out of every four employees confesses to being late at least once a month. Having an attendance policy in place may assist employees avoid being absent due to the following reasons:

Illness or Sickness

Sickness or physical injury are the most prevalent reasons for workers not reporting to work. This might be as a result of:

• COVID-19
• The flu and/or a common cold are two common illnesses.
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Migraine
• Back ache
• Accidentally induced injury

While some workers take advantage of sick days by calling in sick when they are well, several states mandate employers to offer paid sick leave to their employees.

COVID-19-related absenteeism is predicted to cost US businesses more than $20 billion, according to a research by the Integrated Benefits Institute.

Illness or Sickness of a Family Member

Children (and other family members) will inevitably fall unwell over the year, and your workers will need to take time off to care for them. The FMLA’s family leave requirements must be followed as a company owner.

Workplace Dissatisfaction

As a consequence of their occupations, many people experience stress, anxiety, or despair. This might result in a Motivational Deficit to go to work and a decline in productivity. Employees are more inclined to call out on a frequent basis when this occurs.

Workplace stress may be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Long working hours
• Workload is heavy.
• Disputes with coworkers or the boss
• Insecurity in the workplace

Other Job Opportunities

You may believe that your workplace is inviting and that every employee is happy and productive, but the truth is that some of your workers are seeking for job elsewhere. Employees who are searching for a new job are more likely to take time off to attend interviews.

According to a recent survey, almost 52% of workers would hunt for a new job in 2021, with 25% claiming a lack of work–life balance as the cause.

Motivational Deficit

Some workers are just unmotivated to come to work. This might be due to dissatisfaction with their occupations or a lack of motivation to work. According to the aforementioned CareerBuilder research, 28% of those who phone in “do not feel like coming to work” and make up an excuse. Furthermore, “simply needing to relax” accounts for 24% of the total.

Absenteeism in a Specific Industry

The kind and amount of call-outs might also be influenced by the industry you work in. If you operate in the restaurant business, for example, you may have regulations prohibiting sick personnel from reporting to work. Similarly, physically hard and outdoor construction activities can result in exhaustion and, at times, dissatisfied employees who simply opt to take a day off.

There are several reasons why absenteeism is such a persistent problem in the retail business. There are a lot of first-time workers in entry-level professions with a lot of client contact, which may rapidly tire people out.

Conclusion

Employees often call in sick when they are otherwise well. While absence makes working conditions tough, it may be prevented. Your organization may save money and minimize absenteeism by creating a fair attendance policy that effectively handles these issues.

Furthermore, providing a comprehensive paid time off policy that includes vacation and sick leave helps reduce the amount of times employees fail to show up for work. To keep track of your workers’ time and attendance, consider utilizing Homebase. It is completely free to use.

Pay a visit to Homebase

The “small business attendance policy” is a document that outlines the company’s expectations for employees. The policy can be used as a template to create your own.

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