According to a recent study, employee absences can cost companies close to 9 percent. When workers call in sick, it costs you money and even a competitive advantage. While everyone gets sick once in a while and some absences are absolutely legitimate, there are many times when employees fake call-in sick. Use these tips to help keep your workers stay at work.
 
Make a policy – Make sure you create and implement an attendance policy for your employees. They should know they are expected to be at work every day, and that they are expected to always work hard and be professional. This policy should be included in the employee handbook. When employees call in sick, plans for making up the work should be made.
 
Track employee absences – Make sure you know who is missing work and when. This way, problematic patterns can be tracked. Many companies have now moved to a paid time off plan (which includes sick, vacation and personal days that can be taken at an employee’s discretion).
 
Use discipline – If you find someone is calling in sick regularly or leaving early excessively (without reason), you might need to impose consequences. This can include feedback, written correspondence, suspension or even termination. Make sure you keep a paper trail and understand the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Family and Medical Leave Act before making any moves.
 
Create a positive team environment – When employees show up late for work or call-in regularly, it can be a sign of a larger problem, which might include an unhappy staff. When employees are happy at work, they want to show up.
 
When employees don’t come to work, it impacts everyone because it can lead to lower morale if everyone on your staff is not treated the same way. You may also want to consider flex-time and employee time off as a reward for strong employees. This is always a great incentive!
 
Modern Business Associates is an HR company that focuses on payroll and HR outsourcing. We routinely work with clients on employee policies. As a Professional Payroll and HR outsource organization, our clients rely on us to help them effectively deal with these kinds of topics.