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How to Improve Attendance at Your Workplace

Good attendance is key to the success of any organization. Poor attendance drains the morale of staff members, increases expenses and reduces worker engagement. It is also an unnecessary drain on the time and energy of management.

If a company is suffering from sub-par attendance, it must prioritize addressing the issue and take actions to manage the situation. Think about the following suggestions on ways to manage and support good attendance in your organization.

Set Clear and Fair Expectations

Make your employees aware of attendance expectations, rules for taking time off and the impacts of high absenteeism on the company, including the impacts on staff members, productivity and customer service. This kind of information ought to be made clear during on-boarding and reinforced regularly.

It’s also critical to equally apply the attendance policy and rules for taking time off to ensure a sense of fairness. Employees notice when some people are treated in a different way, and this can create issues with morale and engagement.

Train Supervisors on Handling Attendance Situations

Direct supervisors need to manage absenteeism and encourage employee attendance. If employees must call in directly to their supervisor, a properly-trained supervisor should not act accusatory or question the employee’s absence. If two or more days are missed in a row, the supervisor can request a doctor’s note from the employee.

The the supervisor’s gut instinct says that the employee is lying, he or she must make a note of the absence and keep track for the employee’s records. Do not tell the employee about your concerns at this point, but do plan to have a discussion if the absences turn into a pattern.

Look for Hidden Causes

Often, poor attendance is a manifestation of a bigger problem. Apart from common injury or illness, there can be many factors behind why employees take excessive sick leave, including issues with a colleague or supervisor; an unmanageable workload and poor work-life stability.

Talk with your workers about attendance issues and attempt to see if there is a root cause. You may then be capable of figuring out strategies to confront the situation, like resolving conflicts, or offering training to take care of a difficult workload, or even offering flexible work arrangements.

Acknowledge and Reward Good Attendance

Attendance policies typically concentrate on the disciplinary side of the equation. Balancing that out with an emphasis on rewards for good attendance shows your organization is focused on supporting employees, not punishing them. Rewarding good attendance is also an effective way to support your initiative.

Recognition could start small, like certificates for perfect attendance for a month, and increase incrementally with cash awards or gift cards to local restaurants.

Staff Up With Help from Career Concepts!

At Career Concepts, we regularly assist companies with staffing issues by providing them with custom talent acquisition solutions and services. If your company is currently looking for such assistance, please contact us today.

Blog published date

Feb 27, 2019
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