It is estimated that employee absences cost employers 40 billion dollars each year. The importance of regular employee attendance cannot be overstated. Not only does it affect productivity, it can cost the company profits or even additional contracts. One of the most difficult areas of employee management is often determining how to ensure that employees are at work when they are supposed to be.
Attendance Tracking Software
If your company does not require employees to “time in,” you may be surprised at how many work hours are claimed each week by an employee that isn’t actually at work. Attendance tracking software is a vital part of any human resources department. Not only can you see when employees are most likely to miss work, you can track employees that are habitually absent.
Implementing an attendance policy that utilizes attendance software is a great start to getting the upper hand on excessive absences. Attendance policies are rather tricky because there are laws and regulations in place to protect employees’ rights regarding attendance. However, the proper policy can help reduce the number of absences for less than acceptable reasons.
Reward Systems Boost Attendance
Many companies are now rewarding excellent employee attendance. It might be something as little as a certificate or it could be a gift card to a local restaurant. Quarterly and yearly awards could be monetary in value or you could award someone’s great attendance with a day off. These types of reward programs are really helping employees quit calling in to work.
There are times when you want employees to use their sick time. If they have a type of contagious disease, such as the flu, it is certainly best if they stay at home or else you could end up with an outbreak throughout the company. Its far better to have one person staying at home because they are sick rather than having half your company call in sick from the flu at the same time.
A Few Final Considerations
Tracking employee attendance is very important. You can spot potential problems ahead of time. Implementing an attendance policy in accordance with existing laws and regulations is too. Not only does this inform the employee in writing what is expected, but it also lists the consequences if the attendance requirements are not met. The use of employee attendance reward programs has been very effective for many companies. The loss of production or profits from employee absences must be curtailed in order to keep your company growing.