Excessive Absences
For a company to succeed, the employees that work to push the company along needs to be in attendance each and every day. When people begin missing work without reasonable excuses, the work falls behind, projects stop in their tracks, and those that do show up are not able to perform to their highest ability. If they want to perform well, managers need to track the number of absences their workers have.

FMLA Policy
Recognizing Excessive Absences
Managers have a lot to deal with in their day-to-day duties. Keeping track of all the employees and ensuring they are in the right place is just one of those duties. When the number of employees is high, it can be difficult to know where each and every person is. But, if excessive absences become a problem, the manager will want to act as quickly as possible.
The first step a manager will want to consider is why the number of absences is occurring. There are a number of reasons an individual may need to miss work. Here are just a few of the different types of absence in the workplace:
- Illness
- Medical Appointments
- Paid Time Off
- Maternity Leave
- Religious Holidays
- Unpaid Approved Time Off
- Voting
- Jury Duty
While all of these reasons for missing work should be discussed with the manager before the day off comes, the manager will need to track each of these reasons in some sort of fashion. This ensures that the manager can separate the individuals who are missing work for valid reasons and those who appear to be ditching work for illegitimate reasons.
Using Software to Identify, Track, & Manage Excessive Absences
Software is usually the best option for busy managers struggling to track and account for excessive absences in their workers. There are a number of different software options that can help a manager solve their problem, regardless of the industry they work in and how the employees are to check in for work.
Here are some of the clocking options offered by Advance Systems:
Web Based Clocking
When using a web-based system, there is no necessary software that needs to be installed. Instead, workers can log in on the web to “Clock In” or “Clock Out.” Managers can also use this system to log in and see that each shift is properly covered, who has clocked in and who has clocked out.
With a web-based clocking system, the manager can also see if someone is excessively missing their shifts, coming in late, or leaving early. Because each employee will need their own set of login credentials, it eliminates buddy punching and confirms the individual logging on is the owner of the account. ‘
Biometric Employee Time Clock
With the Biometric Employee Time Clock, the employee simply scans their finger when they arrive at work. Not only does this track employee’s arrival, allowing managers to see when workers arrive and ensuring they appear for their shifts, it completely eliminates the possibility of buddy punching.
A Biometric Employee Time Clock is also easy for workers. Because it simply scans the finger of the individual, they are not required to remember any passwords or otherwise struggle to clock in on time.
Mobile Phone Clocking
Using a mobile phone clocking system is great for companies that frequently has individuals working from home or on the road. When the majority of the workforce is doing business away from an office, it can be difficult to manage that each of them are actually working. With a mobile phone clocking system, they can clock in or out from wherever they are.
Additional settings allow the manager to use GPS technology when the individual is clocked in to work. This can ensure that the worker is where they need to be and that they do not use a mobile phone clocking system incorrectly.
Desktop Biometric Readers
A Desktop Biometric Readers works similar to the Biometric Employee Time Clock by registering the individual’s fingerprint to clock them in at work. They are placed on each desktop and provide an easy and cost-effective way for small businesses to manage their employees’ absences.
The system compiles all the information into one area so that managers can see exactly who came to work each day and who may have missed. From there the manager is able to determine why that individual was not at work and if they had a legitimate reason or not.
Why Use Software to Manage Excessive Absences?
Software systems that allow for attendance tracking keeps all the information right in once place and removes the pressure from the manager to keep everything on track. While the manager will still need to ensure the system is running smoothly, they don’t need to worry about writing down absences, tracking how many days the worker has missed, or keeping up with the number of days each worker has requested off.
Keeping everything in one place helps everyone involved with the company. When there is software in place that stores all the attendance information, a manager or supervisor can simply log on, see who is at work, who has missed, and the reason that individual has missed.
Absence software works to prevent workers clocking in other workers who did not show up that day. With manual tracking systems and time cards, it is easy for one worker to pretend to be their friend and clock in and out of work. This behavior is not only bad for business but it costs the company money.
Using an attendance system will ensure your company is only paying your employees for the time that they are at work. Managers and supervisors will not need to worry about if the timesheets are actual reflections of the time the individual worked because a computer will log all the information. More precise paychecks can eliminate and reduce unnecessary spending.