How to handle employee absenteeism

Involve your workers
Beyond having a policy regarding absences, an owner needs to instill in his workers the business importance of minimizing absences. Doing so can help employees understand why they should only take time off for legitimate reasons and how doing otherwise can hurt the company.

"It's important for businesses to emphasize to employees how valuable they are and the negative impact that an unexpected absence can have on the business operations," Grensing-Pophal says.

It's also necessary to demonstrate to workers the cost of absenteeism.

"Employees need to understand what the impact of absenteeism is," says John Hayes, HR manager for Systems Integration Group Inc., a document management firm based in Lanham, Md. "How much it costs and how it impacts the bottom line. Also how it affects the employee's department and other departments when people have to take over for you when you're out sick."

Grensing-Pophal recommends switching from a sick-leave policy to a paid-time-off system. According to the CCH Survey, reasons other than illness account for two-thirds of unscheduled absences, so paid time off gives employees what they need. Plus, the advance notice required of paid time off is a boon to employers.

"Converting to paid time off helps companies better plan for absences," Grensing-Pophal says.

Converting to occurrences rather than days for sick leave can also help make employees more manageable. For one thing, it's a fairer way to calculate sick days, says HR Consultant Kindler.

If an employee comes down with strep throat and has to be out five days, that worker won't be treated the same as someone who has called in sick on five separate occasions. "Maybe they are both violating your company's absenteeism policy, but they are not doing it to the same degree if one person is sick once and the other is just calling in sick on five separate occasions in a month," Kindler says.

Putting management in charge of curbing absenteeism can also help. When Systems Integration Group gave out bonuses to managers for curbing absenteeism, employee absences dropped by 50 percent, according to John Hayes, the company's HR manager. The bonus made curbing absenteeism part of the management style, Hayes says.

Do you have a problem?
If your company is small, you probably have no trouble spotting absentee problems. You'll see the person continually calling in sick or routinely turning up late. At larger companies, managers may report the situation to you or employees that work alongside the offender may feel the need to brief you on the situation.

Regardless of how you find out about an absenteeism problem, speed is of the essence when dealing with it. Companies often put off talking to a chronically absent employee. By the time they do discuss it, the behavior is so ingrained that it's often too late for the worker to reform.

Most companies start by meeting with the worker, who is presented with the evidence: the absentee policy and a documentation of absences. Then the manager asks if anything can be done to improve the situation.

According to the 2002 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, work-life programs can go a long way to alleviating absenteeism problems. The top five in the survey were:

• Employee Assistance Plans, offered by 68 percent of companies surveyed.
  
  
• Wellness Programs, offered at 54 percent of respondent companies.
  
  
• Alternative Work Arrangements, available at 53 percent of the firms.
  
  
• Leave for School Functions, offered by 52 percent of employers.
  
  
• Compressed work week, offered by 49 percent of companies surveyed.

In these slow economic times, flex time and other alternative work arrangements can be a boon to both employer and employee, says Oak Consulting's Kindler.

"During the downtimes it can be beneficial to let an employee leave early to go see their kindergartner in a play," the consultant says. "It doesn't hurt the company and it builds good will."

Following these steps won't eliminate employee absences. People will always get sick or need a day off for the delivery of a new washing machine. But establishing absenteeism rules, making sure your staff understands them and then enforcing them can go a long way toward alleviating your company's pain when an employee can't make it to work.

Jenny C. McCune is a contributing editor based in Montana.