Address Employee Absenteeism Head On with the Attendance Calendar Smart App

Let’s get right to the point: There’s a smart way to approach employee attendance monitoring and a lazy way. While one (the turn-the-other-cheek method) may seem easier and less confrontational, the other (easy-to-use apps) helps you save money, hold employees accountable and improve morale. Which do you prefer? The turn-the-other-check method is simple: Do nothing at all and hope for the best. And if you’ve taken this approach in the past, you certainly wouldn’t be alone. According to a 2017 ComplyRight survey, The Impact of Absenteeism on Small Businesses in the U.S., more than 14 percent of respondents said they use no method at all to track employee attendance. But I think you know where I’m going with this. Ignoring employee attendance is never a good idea – AND there are tools available to you to make tracking easier than ever. Let’s look at why your business would benefit from using an online app like Attendance Calendar.

Let Your Employees Know You Take Attendance Seriously

If you’re not keeping accurate attendance records, you’re permitting employees to work less and take unaccounted time off for one simple reason: They can get away with it. If you don’t think tardiness or the occasional day off is a big deal, your employees won’t either. And, unfortunately, they’ll likely take advantage of your indifference. Instead, you want quite the opposite: a process of accountability so your business hums along smoothly, without the aggravation of frequent call-ins, tardiness and other productivity-draining attendance issues. A top reason for using attendance software is it sends a clear message to your employees that attendance matters. You can take this a step further by creating an attendance policy with clear expectations and ramifications if the policy is abused.

The Impact on Morale Can Be Significant

If you’re not keeping accurate attendance records, it’s possible to overlook an error that favors the employee. For example, you could inadvertently pay a non-exempt employee for 30 hours when their chronic tardiness has them working only 26 hours a week. Great news for the employee since they’re getting paid for time they didn’t work. Bad news for you since you’re doling out payroll dollars for unproductive time. Furthermore, employees who don’t bring these oversights to your attention may share your negligence with co-workers, which could have a detrimental effect on morale. If your superstar employees — the ones you rely on for superior service and effort – catch wind of employees taking advantage of a slack attendance policy, they may begin to question their commitment to the cause. Why make a concerted effort to have a strong attendance record if others don’t and they get away with it? Instead, document all instances of call-outs, no-shows and late starts as well as noting who shows up on time. By tracking which employees are reliable and which have a habit of missing work or coming in late, you can easily see where changes to employee time-management can be made. In addition to addressing issues of attendance abuse directly and swiftly, it’s also a good idea to acknowledge those who make a habit of attending work as scheduled and on time.

Make Attendance Tracking a Snap with an App

You’ve probably noticed the testimonials above. They’re from customers who use the Attendance Calendar Smart App. You’ve also probably noticed they’re pleased with the app. One of the main reasons is ease of use. When an employee is absent you simply open the app and follow these steps:

• Select an employee calendar. Each employee has a 12-month attendance calendar that makes it easy to capture and monitor patterns.
• Pick the day of the event. Click on the calendar day you want to mark a full or partial absence.
• Choose an absence reason. Select an absence code to describe the reason for the absence or tardy, or create your own. Additionally, you can record your own notes.
• Enter the hours absent. Optionally, you can track vacation and sick time (or as a single PTO bank) with each absence to keep management of time off banks as easy as possible.

With absence records at your fingertips, you’ll be prepared to discuss attendance problems with the proper documentation to justify a disciplinary action or share honest concerns with an employee. No matter what the reason for employee absences, it’s in your best interest to document, monitor and utilize tools that can help your business address the issue. To learn more or get the app today, visit the Attendance Calendar Smart App page.