Absenteeism is a real bugbear in business today.UK workers have an average 10 days unscheduled absence from their jobs each year, around twice that of their counterparts in the US (5.5 days) and Asia-Pacific (4.5 days), but on a par with Western Europe (9.7 days).  Sickness accounts for around 80% of absence, which also covers jury service and compassionate leave.

With the average UK salary around £25,000, absenteeism is costing British business approximately £32 billion each year, far more than previous studies have suggested.  This figure is also likely to be conservative, as it reflects direct cost of absence and does not take into account potential replacement costs and lost productivity.

Richard Phelps, HR consulting partner at PwC, said:

“While sometimes absence from work is unavoidable, once people see colleagues frequently taking unscheduled leave, absence becomes less of a dilemma and more of a right.  Breaking the cycle can be hard.  Retailers take a robust approach, with pay docked almost immediately.  With retail resignation rates substantially higher than other sectors, some could argue this is hindering morale.  But with a largely unskilled, often temporary staff base, boosting engagement is extremely difficult.”

And as I see it, that’s the key…engagement. I always ask managers to look at the root causes of any unauthorised absenteeism, and very often it is caused by people not being challenged enough or having the chance to make a real difference in their jobs.

Reducing employee absenteeism requires sustained effort and the first and the foremost step in this direction is to provide coaching to the team leaders/managers to see how the job can be manufactured to make it enjoyable, challenging and using the specific skills that will stretch the employee to show how they can contribute.

Managers should also be provided with training to improve their interpersonal skills. They should also be reminded that the power they have has to be used to make the organisation a better place to work, not to boss around and put people off. This will not only help you in addressing employee absenteeism, but also in tackling issues like high employee turnover ratios, and low morale in the workplace.

Having a clear leave policy is essential if you don’t want your employees to abuse their privileges. It is important that you explain all the policies to your employees when you recruit them so that there is no scope for miscommunication. This helps especially in case of large organizations where it is virtually impossible to keep an eye on every employee.

Having an effective communication system helps in maintaining transparency and keeps rumor mongers at bay. It dispels negativity and makes employees feel that they are being recognised as a part of the organisation. Trusting your employees by giving them more responsibilities instills a sense of confidence in them and creates a good atmosphere in the workplace.

So think how the job itself is motivating the employee. Ensure you give opportunities for growth and expansion, make sure the work is invigorating and interesting, and you will have more reasons for people to contribute by being part of the solution rather than adding to the problem.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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Employees who take more days off than their peers can cause real problems for you. Morale, productivity and profits can be affected, and can irritate you more than than anything else, as you have to make swift arrangements to cover for the absent person, or simply lose the value of their contribution for the time they are off.

What can you do to deal with this ever-increasing problem?

Ensure team members rely on each other
They are less likely to take time off if they know their team mates will be affected by their actions. So, use work teams to get employees involved with each other. Let them work on projects or activities where they rely on each other’s input. Build trust within the team by opening the lines of communication in team meetings.

Look for warning signs
Keeping regular contact with each employee you are responsible for may nip potential problems in the bud. If people take time off because they are bored or don’t find the job challenging, you will pick this up in your regular 1-2-1 chats with them.

Watch for patterns
If the employee regularly takes time off that coincides with major events or happens to be a certain day of the week, keeping tabs on this may highlight a particular problem.

Maintain an evidence record
If you’re suspicious about a person’s absentee record, you need to keep evidence in writing, so you can manage the situation properly, if it comes down to it.

On their return, review the situation
The employee needs to know that you take it seriously, so a quick meeting on their return can un-earth specific problems they may be encountering.

Support legitimate personal problems
All sorts of problems may cause a person to take time off, and if family problems, low self-esteem, genuine illness or lack of motivation at work are seen as root causes, you need to approach these situation empathetically. Could the company offer help by way of training, extra holidays to deal with crises, counselling or something similar?

Make firm decisions if necessary
With a written record of the situation,you have strong grounds to approach the person with evidence and the need for explanations. Whatever the cause is, take firm action to deal with the problem. The longer it goes on, the more frustrated you will become with them, and that is not good for your employee relationships.

If counselling is required, arrange it. If discipline is needed, take it swiftly. If a warning or stronger is warranted, notify them in writing, and have the m sign the documents. The employee needs to know where they stand, and you need to set the standard for the team you lead.

Here are some tips in setting standards with a team of people:

Reward good performance that can only be attained by excellent attendance
Consider flexible working hours, child-care facilities and fitness programmes
Have policies to deal with legitimate employee absence. Keep in touch with absent colleagues by phone to check their illness
Look closely at the specific reasons why staff choose to be absent. If it’s regular, it may have more to do with the type of work that they are doing than any outside influence.

Dealing with absenteeism is a frustrating and sometimes annoying aspect of your job, but by analysing and recording the reasons, you give yourself a good chance of dealing with it it effectively.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”