Of all risk factors that could disrupt the smooth and efficient flow of regular operations within your organization, an employee not showing up for work wrecks major havoc on the regular working patterns. Be it due to an emergency, sickness or some indispensable personal commitments, the absence of employees can be a nightmarish reality for the organization, especially if they are allocated in a pivotal and specialized capacity.
Absenteeism has emerged as a menacing challenge for organizations worldwide, casting a tangible effect on the nature, efficiency and productivity of operations. Statistics show that there is an alarming 9% rate of unplanned absenteeism in US organizations, particularly among the hourly paid employees. The rate of absenteeism is markedly increasing every year and has it made it crucial for workforce managers to incorporate effective measures to overcome this challenge. This is an essential and indispensable task as without minimizing absenteeism, an organization cannot prosper and generate optimum outcomes and results.
Here are some smart ways in which workforce managers can improve their system of absence management.
Allow Job Flexibility
In most cases, an employee has to take a full day off only for the purpose of a small personal task or some minor or urgent work at home. In such cases, it is a good practice on an organization’s part to incorporate a feasible extent of flexibility in job designs. Allowing your employees to work from home or remote locations in case they cannot show up at the premises not only helps reduce absenteeism but also ensures that the flow of operations is efficiently maintained.
Offer Incentives for Punctuality
As per basic labor rights and employees’ welfare regulations, an organization is bound to allocate a definite number of paid leaves to employees. Most of the employees avail all or the remaining paid leaves at the end of the year, often without a significant reason or need. This causes a shortage of active workforce at the end of the year in most organizations. In some cases, the organization is left with no other choice but to bear an additional expense as a result of temporary hiring. Offering incentives for punctuality and full attendance will motivate the employees and prevent them from opting for unnecessary leaves.
Periodic Trainings
Stress, demotivation, and fatigue are the prime causes of absenteeism in the organization. Train your employees regarding smart techniques to cope with stress and workload. Such training programs have been proven for their efficacy in boosting employee morale and keeping them happy and motivated to perform their work. Therefore, training sessions and activities can be used as an effective means to eliminate certain prime causes of absenteeism, such as stress and workload. This will eventually reduce absenteeism.
Delegate Control
Unplanned absenteeism can be reduced by delegating a certain extent of planning control pertaining to leaves management to the employees. Certain automated workforce management systems like a Time and Attendance System automates the system of leave management and allows the employees to keep track of their assigned leaves and make a better decision about how and when to consume them. This eventually brings about a significant reduction in the rate of unplanned and unscheduled leaves and absences.
