At one point or another, all managers encounter issues with employee absence. Though absences are often due to legitimate reasons (i.e. illness, health appointments, funerals), they can get out of control if they are not managed carefully. Persistent unexcused absence not only lowers productivity but it increases workload for other employees. It can also contribute to a poor atmosphere in the workplace. According to a Forbes article citing Absenteeism: The Bottom-Line Killer, unscheduled absenteeism costs approximately "3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,650 each year for salaried employees" (Source).

In this post, we will discuss tips to help you decrease and manage employee callouts.

Consider The Effects Of Your Management Style

It may be difficult to consider this, but one of the common reasons for employee dissatisfaction is management style. Is it possible that your style is encouraging an environment where employees harbor grudges or lose morale? Take a few moments to step back and assess what you can do differently. Do employees really feel valued? Plan on setting management time for your team, discuss their professional goals, and share your vision for the continued growth of your business and their role in it!

Enforce Your Attendance Policy Consistently

While this sounds straightforward, it is quite difficult. When employees are facing difficult situations, like the death of a loved one, it can be tempting to allow more absences. Of course, you are free to do so; however, it is important to have a policy with flexibility built into it so that you can implement the rules consistently without inciting claims of favoritism or discrimination when it’s applied differently for different individuals.

Consistently enforcing your attendance policy is especially difficult when you have several different managers or divisions. For instance, one manager may tend to be more lenient on recording tardiness and absences, while another manager may subscribe to the “by-the-book” management style. Discrepancies in management style can lead to resentment if employees acknowledge this inconsistent behavior. All supervisors and managers should be trained on how to implement the attendance policy consistently.

Provide Incentives For Increased Motivation

When employees believe they are being compensated fairly for their time, it’s more likely that they will return the favor by working hard and showing up to work. Employee incentive programs can be helpful for augmenting salary and benefit packages.

Influencing behavior with rewards and punishment may seem basic, but it can be effective for motivating your employees. It makes sense too. When employees work hard and don’t abuse the attendance policy, they should be rewarded with additional financial and career benefits. By the same merit, those employees who continually abuse attendance policies or become low performers must go.

Look Into Scheduling Software

Many retail managers are scheduling fewer hours, asking that employees remain “on call” for last minute scheduling changes. This practice can bolster staffing flexibility, however, it negatively affects worker stability, while also preventing some employees from claiming full-time benefits.

Shift scheduling is difficult, regardless of specific industry challenges. Scheduling software can simplify the process, cutting the amount of time required for shift scheduling. Keep these factors in mind as you work to manage your employee schedule requests, shift preferences, and call-outs and consider how beneficial a program that does all the heavy lifting of creating that schedule for you.

VCS Software | Scheduling Software Systems

Traditional time & attendance systems - which are still widely used today – clock the hours employees are on the job after they have worked because the hours are counted after the shift has taken place. This reactive approach breeds overspending and inefficiencies for companies. VCS’ software systems compute data prior to shift work, so that the planned hours and positions are properly staffed. Proactive scheduling promotes a productive, compliant, and fiscally responsible workforce. If you have any concerns with finding the appropriate scheduling system, feel free to contact us.

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