How To Reduce Absenteesim From 3% To 0% - Please Advice

Our HR department has to come up with an improvement plan to reduce absenteeism rate from 3% to 2%. Appreciate your input on this.

Greetings,

Please consider my suggestions:

- Absenteeism is an effect. Take a root cause analysis and identify the causes. Brainstorm the best resolutions for them.
- Most of them would be operations-oriented, such as high work volume, a lower number of employees, work allocation, and more.
- Segregate the reasons:

1. Structural - operations-based reasons with a heavy workload, bad managers, etc.
2. Cyclical - Employees taking leaves during celebrations and festivals.
3. Organizational - Employees don't feel motivated enough to show up at work due to low promises or opportunities for progress. The overall environment is gloomy and discourages performance, presiding with fear. There are distance and locational issues for employees. The cab or even the bus facility doesn't respond to their needs.

- Proactively calculate a base absenteeism data to allocate work. Make sure there is a risk analysis done by your managers every month.
- Design rewards and punishments accordingly. The program should not award employees to come to work but rather focus on maintaining dependability. At the same time, please build responsibility and not fear. Deducting pay will only make them barter a day at the office for something more important outside. Design the punishment for unscheduled leaves accordingly. They need to own the tasks that have been allocated to them. In the event of their absence, they should support the manager to manage it evenly with the team. Build cohesion and not friction.

Finally, at the end of the day, the program would be as good as the ones who own it. Please make sure it is an equal concern for HR & Operations. One should not push it onto the other. Blog your queries. Allow all of us to contribute to resolve this.

Regards,
(Cite Contribution)

Our HR department has to come up with an improvement plan to reduce the absenteeism rate from 3% to @%. Appreciate your input on this.

Hi Cite Contribution,

I agree with your views/suggestion. In addition to motivation, I think incentives for 0% absenteeism would help. An employee who is absent despite the above should be asked to provide a written explanation.

Regards,
BLN

We can announce an additional percentage (1-10%) on the annual increment for individuals who follow the proper attendance and leave policy.

Regards,
Sudha

Dear Mr. Harrison,

I personally don't agree with some of the responses like "providing incentive" for 0% absenteeism. That might work out in a school or college, but not in an organizational setup. Hence, try to concentrate on some non-monetary incentives, like:

1) Arranging for retreats/get-together programs
2) Enrollment for Training programs/Seminars, etc.

These are some programs that would enhance a special quality in them by the name "OCB," called Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Putting it in very simple words, this refers to some voluntary behaviors exhibited by them that are beneficial to the organization. 0% absenteeism is also one such kind of OCB because no organization can force this on their employees.

You may find more material on OCB through Google. Try to find out ways of achieving it, and then you would start moving towards your goal of achieving 0% absenteeism.

Regards,

K. Rajesh Kumar

One of the reasons why an organization has a high absenteeism rate is that the employees don't feel engaged or challenged. There are several ways of reducing absenteeism. You may make the job profile interesting. In an earlier company where I had worked, we gave the opportunity to senior operators (workmen) to fill in for the supervisor whenever the shift supervisor went on leave. Our experience was that these operators did a very decent job of managing a particular department. Another way of tackling absenteeism is that you can offer a scholarship to the employee or their children, where they do not miss a single day in the year (not counting their earned leave/public holidays).

B/R K.S.Venkatachalam

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Greetings,

Please consider my suggestions:

• Absenteeism is an effect. Take a root cause analysis and identify the causes. Brainstorm the best resolutions for them.
• Most of them would be operations-oriented, such as high work volume, a lower number of employees, work allocation, etc.
• Segregate the reasons:

1. Structural - operations-based reasons with heavy workloads, bad managers, etc.
2. Cyclical - Employees taking leaves during celebrations and festivals.
3. Organizational - Employees don't feel motivated enough to show up at work due to low promises or opportunities for progress. The overall environment is gloomy and discourages performance, presiding with fear. There are distance and locational issues for employees. The cab or even the bus facility doesn't respond to their needs.

• Proactively calculate a base absenteeism data to allocate work. Make sure there is a risk analysis done by your managers every month.
• Design rewards and punishments accordingly. The program should not reward employees to come to work but rather maintain dependability. At the same time, please build responsibility and not fear. Deducting pay will only make them barter a day at the office for something more important outside. Design the punishment for unscheduled leaves accordingly. They need to own the tasks that have been allocated to them. In the event of their absence, they should support the manager to manage it evenly with the team. Build cohesion and not friction.

Finally, at the end of the day, the program would be as good as the ones who own it. Please make sure it's an equal concern for HR & Operations. One should not push it onto the other. Blog your queries. Allow all of us to contribute to resolve this.

Regards,
(Cite Contribution)

Good one, appropriate strategy.

It is difficult to reach 0% absenteeism because of unforeseen problems that may force individuals to remain absent. It would be more practical to have alternative arrangements.

A. Rajendra

Zero absenteeism is an unrealistic target. Are you counting authorized leaves as absenteeism? It's better not to. You have to allow some leaves. Canceling or not allowing leaves is both inhuman and illegal.

Hi,

I feel 3% is good enough for a healthy organization. You can never expect 0% absenteeism. Practically, it is difficult. An employee may have to attend to personal functions, such as a marriage, or may fall sick, etc. In such cases, they have to take leave. How can you expect them to be present for duty under such circumstances? Suggestions given by the team members might reduce the rate to some extent but not to 0%.

Regards,
Raghav

Dear Raghav,

The percentage is considered to be nil when your business risk is mitigated. In an operation or production team, if the predictive analysis shows 3 out of 45 team members would be absent in a week. The work allocation gets balanced to cover the log-in period or the minimum volume delivered by the minimum number of billable employees. Under such circumstances, if the real absenteeism is 3 or less, it is almost close to 0 as the work has already been managed, and the dashboard doesn't run in red.

This may sound like technical advice, but this is how we used to leverage the manpower for managing attendance. Please do share how you are managing it in your environment and the best practices that you would suggest.

Regards, (Cite Contribution)

Raghav and (Cite Contribution) are both correct in their respective views. First, let us know from the OP Harison which industry they are in, what they do, the nature of work, employee strength, and what exactly he meant by 3% - whether it was according to his calculation or Raghav's.

In my opinion, 3% is a really good percentage and very, very good. Let me give an example...

When I was working in a manufacturing company, we used to pay the canteen contractor for food daily at a rate of 200 people, whereas the actual strength was 210. When I asked my HR manager why this was the case, he explained that out of the 210, 10 were assumed to be absent daily due to various reasons. So, this was how it worked.

Dear Nambomita,

Thank you for sharing your views.

In our company, we have taken some actions that are helping us control absenteeism to some extent:

1. Our total strength is approximately 280.
2. We have linked incentives to attendance for the month.
3. The accumulated PL can be encashed once a year if it exceeds 90 days.
4. If an employee remains absent for more than 7 days without prior notice, they will be given a show cause notice. In some cases, we have terminated employment as well.

Regards,
Raghav

Dear Raghav,

Thank you for that excellent input. It reminds me of an extreme measure that we had taken for a duration we predicted to have the highest rate of absenteeism.

We redefined the eligibility for the 'pay for performance' and made it directly dependent on the minimum number of leaves taken. This dependability ensured that if an employee takes more than 3 days of unscheduled leave in a month, he/she would not be eligible for the PI irrespective of their productivity score. This did have a backlash. The moment an employee crossed that limit, it used to have a direct impact on their productivity. They worked only to score the minimum Productivity percentage to sustain their jobs. The impetus to excel remained clearly absent from their deliveries.

This was later removed, and the scheme for the yearly bonus was introduced with a percentage to be calculated from the attendance of the employee. This had a far more positive impact. They were not eligible for leaves until they were confirmed. Even if after that, the employees took a few unscheduled leaves, they would work and remain dependable towards the later part of the year.

Regards,

(Cite Contribution)

Thanks for sharing your views.

In our company, we have taken some action that is helping us to control absenteeism to some extent:

1. Our total strength is approximately 280.

2. We have linked incentives to his attendance for the month.

3. The accumulated PL can be encashed once a year if it exceeds 90 days.

4. If an employee remains absent for more than 7 days without prior notice, he will be given a show-cause notice.

In some cases, we have terminated him also.

Regards,

Raghav

Dear All,

In our organization, there are around 1500 employees, of which 90% fall under the categories of TECHNICIANS, ASST. TECH, LABORERS, HANDYMAN, CARPENTERS, PAINTERS, and HELPERS.

As per Qatar Law, we get 7 NATIONAL HOLIDAYS in a year, besides ONE AND A HALF DAYS WEEKLY OFF for STAFF at H.O and ONE DAY WEEKLY OFF at all SITES. We are maintaining an ABSENTEEISM ratio not exceeding 3%. Despite employees working overtime, they still manage to present themselves the next day. To appreciate their PUNCTUALITY and ATTENDANCE, we have announced QR100 incentives for all those achieving 100% ATTENDANCE in 3 months without COMPROMISING THEIR HEALTH. Sometimes, based on requirements, with prior approval and under certain circumstances, employees are allowed to work flexibly to meet deadlines.

Depending on work timings, we sometimes provide FOOD on site so that they can carry out their responsibilities with full energy.

It is very challenging to satisfy employee needs completely and achieve 100% ATTENDANCE because we believe that HEALTH is WEALTH. Compelling an employee to deliver beyond their capacity is NOT ADVISABLE as it can have adverse effects on their health. If this occurs, the company needs to take care of complete medical expenses.

With profound regards,

Hello Seniors,

I am looking for some help in the area of absenteeism. I want to know how I can control unapproved leaves and if I can deduct 2 days' salary for 1 unapproved leave. Is there any law concerning this, or is it as per company norms?

Please suggest...

Regards, Anjali Sarin

Hi,

I would suggest that you consider implementing mild and moderate actions before resorting to a salary cut. A salary cut should be viewed as a last resort in employment situations. This measure could be appropriate for dealing with a habitual employee.

You may start by issuing warning letters that specify the date and the duration by which an employee has been late. Warning letters serve to convey the message that the management is taking this issue seriously.

Following this, you could proceed to issue a charge sheet outlining how the absenteeism of the employee has impacted the company's benefits and resulted in losses.

Even after issuing a charge sheet, you have the option to implement a salary cut or, as a last resort, terminate the employee. Charge sheets provide a means for you to defend yourself against any accusations of exploitation by the employee.

Implementing a straightforward salary cut without prior warnings may lead to disruptions and potentially create additional problems for yourself.

It's important to note that the decision to implement a salary cut rests solely with the company, but it should be supported by valid reasons; otherwise, labor laws may hold you accountable for exploitation.

I trust this information proves helpful.

Dear Anjali Sarin,

Thank you for the information. I agree with you, and I am also in favor of taking mild actions. However, in this case, the employee has taken advantage of the company, and in the event that I want to implement a 2-day salary deduction for one unapproved leave, can I do this? Does the policy vary from company to company, or is there a legal obligation?

Regards,
Anjali Sarin

Hi, I would suggest you opt for some mild and moderate actions before considering a salary deduction. A salary cut should be the last resort in managing employees, and it is usually reserved for habitual offenders. You can start by issuing warning letters specifying the dates and the extent of lateness by the employee. These warnings will convey the seriousness of the management regarding this issue.

Following that, a charge sheet can be issued outlining how the employee's absenteeism has impacted the company's benefits and resulted in losses. Even after issuing the charge sheet, you may consider a salary deduction or, ultimately, termination. The charge sheet will provide you with a defense against any claims of exploitation by the employee.

Implementing a direct salary deduction may lead to disruptions and potentially create more issues for you. Salary deductions are at the discretion of the company, but they must be supported by valid reasons; otherwise, you may face legal consequences under labor laws. I hope this guidance is helpful.

Dear Ms. Anjali Sarin,

In response to your query, I agree with Ms. Ashwani. Go ahead and deduct one day's salary and issue a WARNING LETTER stating a valid reason. If you find an employee violating company regulations, then you need to build a file against him so that you can terminate him without any hurdles on genuine grounds. Please follow procedures while initiating action against an employee; else, it will definitely cost the company. Please do study the labor laws applicable.

You can prepare a circular regarding the increase in absenteeism ratio and get it signed by all your employees. You should define everything, including actions to be initiated if an employee is found guilty of violating norms.

With profound regards

In the HR policy of most companies, it is clearly stated that the company can take action against an employee who works against the company's interests. Therefore, action can be taken against habitual absentees, but this must be done following the proper steps. The company has the full right to take such action if an employee's behavior is negatively impacting the company's well-being.

Hi,

Could you please provide details on the leave policy for a private limited firm with 60 employees, including 15 field engineers, 20 field sales executives, and the remaining staff working in the back office?

Thank you.

First of all, I feel HR should focus on the well-being of the employees rather than focus on operational areas. An employee is entitled to leave, and it is also necessary that they take those leaves; else, they will burn out.

In a typical call centre, the operations team always hires a buffer, which may be between 5-8% of the total strength. Hence, scheduled absenteeism is managed by these buffer staff without disrupting the workflow.

As HR professionals, you should focus on retrenchment rather than on achieving 0% absenteeism.

Regards,
Sasha

Hi Nabomitha,

Thanks for your message. It's so helpful for me. Here, I would like to get one more clarification. I've joined with a buddy concern so initially we can't go for extra payment for 100% attendance, so please suggest to me if there are any non-monetary benefits that could be offered.

Belciya J.

From my point of view, if you want to reduce the absenteeism rate in your organization, there should be a procedure to avoid absenteeism. Steps should be taken in the following manner:

1. Link with Performance Appraisal.
2. Declare full attendance incentive.
3. Never link production incentive with absenteeism.
4. Declare additional incentive for absenteeism.
5. Long-term benefits for less absenteeism.