You have no control over your employees’ life outside of work. They will most likely be absent for various reasons, ranging from family obligations to health concerns. If their absence is only for a day or two, it will have little impact on your business. However, if they are gone for more days, it can significantly affect your organization.
This is because your company’s productivity and earnings suffer greatly. You’ll also have to pay extra costs to recruit a temporary replacement, reallocate the project, increase team morale, ensure proper coordination, and manage other hassles. If your organization is experiencing a high level of employee absenteeism, it is critical to take action and address the problem.
You Need to Take Action
The simplest solution is to fire them, but how many people will you keep firing? It will also result in lower staff retention and higher employee turnover. Both are bad for any organization since it takes much money, time, and effort in the hiring and training process.
Moreover, if an employee who has been away for an extended period is a valuable resource for the firm, dismissing them is not the greatest option. In that situation, you can use the methods described in this post. These methods are highly successful in ensuring that your staff does not stay absent for a more extended time.
Find Legal Recourse
You can employ corporate legal counsel who deals with employee disputes, workplace violence, and other workplace issues. This will guarantee that employees are treated fairly and justly and foster a healthy workplace environment. When you handle employees’ problems in an organized manner, they will be happy and satisfied with their job. They will be more committed to their jobs and will refrain from taking unnecessary holidays.
Expanding on this point, hypothetically, suppose one of your top performers gets arrested for drinking and driving. In that case, a lawyer specializing in DUIs will insulate you, your resource, and your company from any legal repercussions. They will work quickly to release your employee. Such legal support is essential to ensure that the employee returns to work as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’ll lose much output if you can’t find a replacement for such an important individual.
Allow Flexibility
Employee absenteeism can be attributed to a variety of factors, including fixed working hours. For example, if one of your employees have a doctor’s appointment on a weekday, the time might conflict with office hours. In that situation, they will miss work that day. On the other hand, if your employee has a flexible work schedule, they will handle both appointments and office work. This way, employee absenteeism will naturally decrease, and the firm will not suffer.
Enforce a Policy
Every company needs to have an absence policy for the employees and other staff. You cannot expect them to obey the rules if there are none, in the first place. Employee policy is essential to understand when the team can take leave and when they can not. It informs them of the number of leaves they are granted, including six sick leaves annually, one paid monthly, public holidays, etc. Such information alerts them of the total leaves left, and hence they’ll use them wisely. Since policy mentions cutting their pay or other actions when they exceed their leaves, the employees won’t stay absent anymore without any genuine reason.
Provide Incentives for Higher Attendance
Providing incentives to the employees based on attendance is the classic tactic that still works well. Some employees do not take medical leaves or do unnecessary absenteeism. They provide a productive environment within the office. You can reward such employees for their efficiency and hard work fairly. This gesture will motivate others to reduce leaves and be more productive in the future.
Keep Employees Engaged
Employees who can’t remain engaged find excuses to avoid work. Lack of engagement affects attendance and the growth and productivity of the individual and the company. Hence, it is crucial to improve the engagement of employees at the workplace.
For this, you can offer autonomy and freedom to the employees. It will not make them feel stuck in one place. Moreover, you can build engagement by making genuine relationships with the employees, understanding their problems and helping them with a solution. You can also resort to team building activities to create a friendly and welcoming environment in the workplace.
Employees must get leaves in terms of a medical emergency or any other urgent situation. However, making a habit of avoiding work or taking unnecessary leaves can affect a company’s success. A good policy can help you reduce employee absences.
Also, giving the employee a productive and happy environment where they do not feel biased can reduce this absenteeism. Moreover, you can take the initiatives to appreciate their works and help them out in trouble to make the employee satisfied and enjoy working.
