At one point or another, businesses will encounter issues with employee absence. Though absences are often due to legitimate reasons, they can get out of control if they are not properly managed. As dedicated hard work increases business growth, persistent unexcused absence lowers productivity. To keep company morale strong and productivity at its highest, it’s important to minimize and oversee employee callouts. This article explains some ways how.
Consistently Enforce Attendance Policies
While enforcing the attendance policies may sound straightforward, it can be difficult at times. When employees are facing difficult or personal situations, you may feel obliged to allow more absences. Of course, you are free to do so; however, it is important to have a policy with flexibility built into it so that you can apply the rules consistently without spurring claims of favoritism or discrimination when applied differently for different individuals.
Additionally, consistently enforcing your attendance policy can be especially difficult when you have multiple different managers or divisions. For instance, one manager may have a more lenient strategy on recording tardiness and absences, while another manager may have a stricter management style. Inconsistencies in management can lead to resentment if employees view this as an unreliable procedure. Therefor, all supervisors and managers should be trained on how to implement and consistently enforce the attendance policy.
Create An Open Atmosphere
It’s difficult to build connections if people are hesitant to open up and express themselves honestly. Communication is key to success and employees should feel comfortable talking with one another and seeking help if needed. When employees feel their voice isn’t heard or is possibly ignored, they will be more inclined to call out on an increasingly frequent basis. Open and direct communication about company culture, financials, and strategy not only fosters trust, but also empowers employees to help the company achieve its goals.
Analyze The Effects Of Management
A common reason for employee dissatisfaction can be simply boiled down to your company’s management strategy. You may have a great management team but it’s also important that management creates an environment that strives to engage all employees. If employees consistently call out this could potentially be attributed to a management strategy that leads employees to harbor grudges or lose morale. Take a few moments to step back and assess what you can do differently to reduce employee callouts. Do employees really feel valued? Plan on setting management time for your team, discuss their professional goals, and share your vision for the continued growth of your business and their role in it.
If you’re not sure the management strategy may be the reason for an increase in callouts, try professionally surveying your employees to find out. These surveys offer honest and detailed information that helps you assess any areas needing change. This also includes a better understanding of how your employees may feel about the current management staff and the strategies in place.
Provide Incentive For Employee Engagement
Talented employees who work hard and strive to acheive excellent attendance, should be offered incentives that prompt others to do the same. Something as simple as a bonus in their paycheck or recognition for their efforts goes a long way. When employees believe they are being compensated fairly for their time, it’s more likely that they will return the favor by working hard and showing up to work. Employee incentive programs can be helpful for augmenting salary and benefit packages.
Analyze Absentee Trends
If callouts have increased, it’s helpful to watch those employees’ trends to see if there are any that may be taking advantage of the system. For instance, if you notice an employee consistently calls out on a Friday or Monday, chances are they are taken advantage of sick days for a long weekend. If you notice an employee calls out at the end of the month when your department is at its busiest, you most likely have someone who is not a team player. It’s important to address these trends to ensure your talented employees know their attendance is appreciated and that consistent absence doesn’t go unnoticed.
Best Employee Surveys: Improving Employee Retention
It’s powerful to know what your employees think. You can identify problems like poor supervision, communication breakdown, and mounting plans to leave your company before expensive turnover affects your business. Getting your hands on your Employee Feedback Reports has never been so easy and affordable.
Best Employee Surveys provides survey tools and comprehensive reporting. We offer customizable options to ensure that your organization is capturing data in the most effective way. Because we survey half a million employees, representing their 5,000 employers, each year, we have extensive data that supports trending analyses and ongoing research by a number of authors, researchers and presenters. Put it to work for your company.
