Making sure that your workplace is running efficiently often requires consistent attention and care. It’s important to always remember that things can go wrong, and even more crucial to be prepared. Emergencies occur, and sometimes our employees will have to leave their workplace early to take care of personal issues. However, if this keeps happening, their absence will affect workflow, company morale, and your finances as well. How you handle employee absenteeism can determine the future of your entire company. Here are a few methods you can try out to deter workers who keep leaving early from doing so.
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Implement an Attendance Policy
Every company should have a clear attendance policy outlining the expectations about clocking in, absences, and corresponding notifications. Your policy should inform workers to see what they need to do if they need to leave as well as what behavior warrants disciplinary action.
Keep in mind that there is a difference between scheduled and unscheduled absences, so make sure your rules are clear beforehand. The attendance policy should be based on the current employment laws in your area. When it comes to an employee being entitled to take time off, these laws have the final say.
Track, Punish and Reward
We’d like to think that our employees always come into work with the right attitude and intentions in mind, with perfect professionalism. Unfortunately, if you’re being realistic, this isn’t always the case. It is imperative to have a system in place that keeps track of their every move that can have an effect on the businesses processes.
Set up an automated system to track your workers’ attendance and time of absence. Biometric authentication is the best tool for tracking attendance or otherwise and prevents your employees from abusing the clock-in system. Warn those who continue to leave early. If their behavior remains the same despite the warning, the workers should face punishment.
Depending on your company policy, this can entail anything from writing a letter of apology to making up the missed time with additional tasks in the future. By the same token, those who maintain good attendance should be awarded a bonus, cash, or any other gift.
Create Better Plans
It wouldn’t be wise to run your business without having damage control plans in place. You always have to anticipate what could go wrong and be ready with consequences and solutions so they’re easily implemented if an employee creates any issues. If a worker continues to leave early despite warnings and sanctions, it would be prudent to ask them why. Apart from being stressed, there could be many other valid reasons for their absenteeism. Better than anything, talking with employees and discussing their concerns can help you get to the root of their problems. When handling this interview, listen closely to your workers, and be prepared to address their issues. Be objective and flexible, so together, you can devise a better plan to improve their attendance and productivity.
Improve Work Environment
A workplace’s work environment has more value than you know. You have to remember that your staff spends a considerable amount of time at the office, and this affects their well-being and productivity. One of the main reasons workers tend to leave their stations early is because they are stressed after spending long hours in poor working conditions. Creating and maintaining a healthier environment will boost their mood, so they won’t be tempted to leave before their work hours are over.
Fresh air and water supply and natural lighting are a must for keeping people’s mental and physical health in check. You can even go a step further and implement a wellness program – allowing your staff to leave for the treatment of their choice and come back refreshed.
Running a business requires attention to every aspect of what makes it successful, and employee satisfaction and supervision should always be at the top of your list. You are responsible for a collective staff that helps you run a successful business. This is why it’s so important that you keep a close eye and understand what makes them more productive and what you can do to prevent any setbacks.
By understanding the causes of employee absenteeism, you can easily determine the best ways to address the issue and get the lost time and productivity back. Make it clear what you expect from your workers and what you will provide in return. Remember, your employees may have a legitimate reason for leaving multiple times in a row. Learning how to create a supportive environment will encourage them to express their needs. When those are met, they will be less likely to disrespect the attendance policy.
