Tips To Manage Staff Absence

If a business wants to grow, it should start by employing loyal and dependable people. Regardless of the character of the employee, they will fall ill or have an unmissable emergency that pulls them out of work.

The management should have contingencies in place to cope with the temporary absence of key employees or their regular staff, but losing an employee for a day in a small business is still an inconvenience. What you should be looking at is how to reduce the needs and reasons that staff have for not turning up to work. Sometimes, staff absence is because of a lack of interest and motivation or work-related stress. Boost the loyalty of your staff with these 8 simple tips:

1. Create a warm and pleasant atmosphere

Whether you enjoy your job or not, the environment of your workplace is going to affect your behaviour and health, both mental and physical. The lighting plays a strong role in alertness and comfort – consider changing the lighting for warmer bulbs. Everyone also has an idea about what is the perfect room temperature. You may be able to rearrange the workplace so that those feeling the cold can work nearer the heater. People complaining about the heat can work closer to the windows or air-conditioners.

Key Point: Mood lighting, move people around

2. Reward the present

Why should those that are not taking sick leaves not receive some recognition for their willingness to make it in every day? At first, it may seem odd to reward staff for turning up, considering that they are getting a salary. However, incentivising staff to find a solution so that they can come to work is a proven concept. A business should treat all staff the same. You also do not want to encourage people to come into the office if they are sick. So, what you offer should be a token of appreciation for their loyalty and devotion to your business.

Key Point: Incentives for devotion

3. Bonus leave days

A full-time worker will spend most of their waking week away from their home and at the workplace. It is fair to say that the job becomes a second home, which means that they can feel isolated from friends and family. Booked days off are easier to plan for, and a business should encourage staff to take their holidays. It is important to encourage workers to book days off. It is worth considering giving a couple of bonus days to those that never take sick leave. This can be at the pleasure of the management and something that a worker’s subconscious will appreciate.

Key Point: Offer extra days

4. Duvet days

This is a modern approach to dealing with workers pretending to be ill, when in fact, all they want is a day off. Workers do not need to give a reason, and employers are implementing the term into their work contracts. Duvet days can be an incentive for workers since they are on top of the regular holidays and sick leaves. Companies that offer this will give two to four days a year, and the opinion is that it helps with worker morale. It may depend on your business, its size, and if there is anyone to cover the position.

Key Point: Remove the need to lie

5. Be clear about absenteeism

Review the staff absence policies set out in the workers’ contracts and make sure that they are fair and legal. Workers may not have read the contracts, so it is worth going over those points before they sign. The details and the notice period for the different forms of leave need to be in an obvious place on the contract. You can also give workers bi-annual reminders of the company leave policies and how they should go about taking time off.

Key Point: Ensure that workers understand the absence policies

6. Interview staff after time off

When it is a regular thing, you need to stay on top of faking to prevent it from becoming a trend with the rest of the staff. If a worker does take an unexpected day, it is worth reminding them of the policy when they come back to work. It is not worth chasing an employee for a couple of sick days over an entire year, but you may see a trend each month. You can interview the worker to see if there are any issues at work that could be behind their frequent absences. 

Key Point: Approach staff after time off

7. Keep track

If you are going to stay informed of employee absenteeism trends, you need to keep accurate information on the days taken. Good record keeping will show if an individual or a group takes specific days off.

You may see that the sick days coincide with a public sporting event or that certain staff take the same sick days. A spreadsheet is easy to set up and even easier to see trends on – it is also a backup to show management and the employees. You can also buy dedicated absence management software to track everyone’s planned and unplanned leave. The leading software in the absence tracking space is Timetastic, which gives managers an overview calendar of every staff member’s absence. This makes planning work and holiday allocation much easier to deal with.

Key Point: Know your employees

8. Flexible hours

Coming into work late used to be a sin, but flexitime is now seen as a welcome departure from the days of the boss telling people that they are a few minutes late. Some great workers cannot cope with the minute hand of a watch and the stress of getting to work on time. If the employee is at work for their due hours and they do their work well, flexitime may have a place at your business. You may also want to show some flexibility to an employee that has taken all their days off. A worker may want to attend an event during the week, so having the choice to work a weekend to make up for it is an acceptable compromise. It is better to organise the working hours with the employees than them taking a sick day and leaving you in the lurch.

Key Point: Be flexible

Work with your workers

You are going to have employees faking sick days, and you cannot stop it from happening, but you can meet them halfway. Bonus days off, swapping work days and hours, and showing a worker that they are part of a team can boost morale and loyalty.

Get organised and track employee activity, follow the trends. Ask them if they would like to change their hours or conditions. Keep an eye out for the fakers but offer support to those that are struggling. A company with a strong working relationship is a productive one.