We all love this time of the year! The weather is “just right”. The nights are getting longer and warmer. Friends are getting together more for happy hours. Golf tournaments are happening all around the valley. The downside for business owners is that attendance issues increase as the weather gets warmer.
This time of year, more employees are taking sick days when they are not sick, such as wanting to stretch the weekend into 3 days to extend a vacation or recoup from a “rough” night out. Matters get worse when they are sick and they do come to work because they have run out of sick days or know that they have been “out sick” too much. It is usually just a couple of employees who are consistently the culprits.
These attendance issues can create multiple problems:
- It affects the morale of the employees who make a point to come to work every day and are on time.
- Work may not be getting completed on time.
- Other employees are getting stuck with an additional work load.
- Employees who come to work sick are not getting the rest they need to get better AND they are exposing co-workers to their illness.
Here are some ideas that you as a business owner can do to help control and possibly reduce attendance issues:
Make sure that your employees understand your view towards attendance.
- Share your passion towards having low absentee and tardiness department.
- Have an attendance policy that clearly lays out the guidelines and expectations.
- Lead by example.
Have your employee’s call you directly instead of their immediate supervisor.
- They might think twice about calling out knowing that you, the owner, will answer the call or hear the voicemail.
Ensure that you are accurately tracking time off – use a software system if you have access to one.
- This helps track trends before it becomes a bigger issue.
- Ensures you are not singling any particular employee out.
Watch for These Attendance Trends.
- Out sick on Mondays and Fridays = taking advantage of sick days for pleasure.
- Consistently 5 – 10 minutes late = lack of effort to get to work on time.
Create an award program to recognize those who don’t call out or are tardy over a specified amount of time.
- This shows that although you are a stickler when it comes to attendance, you also want to show your appreciation to the employees who make it a point to respect your attendance views.
When you determine an attendance problem, schedule a meeting.
- Do not let the problem persist.
- If it is isolated to one or two employees who are repeat offenders, meet with them one on one.
- If it is a multiple people, hold a “team” meeting and show the statistics. Set goals to correct the problem and hold all team members accountable. Peer pressure can work in your favor.
Allow your employees the time off, when needed, to deal with personal business.
- Understand that employees will need time to take care of personal things on occasion.
- If they feel that you respect that, they are less apt to take advantage on other occasions.
Deal with the issue before it becomes a real problem.
Remember, one bad apple can spoil the bunch!!