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10 Best Ways to Improve Employee Attendance in the Workplace

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Written By Divyang Metaliya

What is the best way to improve employee attendance in the workplace?

Are your employees calling for sick leaves on a weekly/bi-weekly-monthly basis? Are they using too much of their leaves? Is it difficult for you to control their false excuses for taking leaves? If so, then you have reached the right place.

We all know the nature of humanity when they have ample leaves pending. Only one thing pops up in your mind right now; to spend those leaves to have some relaxation from work life.

But one thing that causes problems here is excessive absenteeism. And it leads to mismanagement of ongoing projects, which eventually causes disappointment. It is directly linked to other employees’ motivation, which will reduce if they are expected to complete the tasks alone.

One such similar situation is the ‘New Normal’ workplace condition, which we all know. The employees cannot continue to work from the offices, and supervisors feel it is hard to monitor them, so no time theft occurs. And to turn this problem down, modern solutions are being used to observe and keep track of employees’ progress. 

Moreover, if the employees are offered extra unnecessary leaves, it is likely to be misused. To tackle it, you must develop control over them.

10 Best Ways to Improve Employee Attendance at Work

Poor employee attendance causes gaps in communication between customers. The teamwork suffers due to a loss of engagement, and it eventually reduces the company values.

But there are measures you can trust to control the excessive use of leaves your employees take. Here are some excellent solutions to improve attendance in the workplace and encourage employees to become more active in their job.

Increase Employee Attendance at Work With These 10 Tips

1. Communicate your policy

The top way to control absenteeism is to design a flexible policy inclusive of all the rules required to follow to stay active in the company.

The policy should highlight the leave balance one receives every month and the frequency to use the leave. If employees want to take a holiday, they must know whom to ask for permission, so they don’t get messy. 

Better to talk about the same with the employees and make them clear their queries. It will become a more accessible option for you to get through the consequences of aftereffects and develop healthy engagement.

Whether you are communicating policy or other essential discussions, it always streamlines employee and employer interaction. It is the key to achieving more significant targets together and will also improve the values of “not we but us.”

2. Talk about the consequences of low employee attendance

We always hear that if one talks about the consequences, the individual somehow feels to do it. But that is not true for employees because they know what they will face if they do not follow the regulation.

It is fruitful if you communicate the consequences of low work attendance. It helps employees identify the situations that can arise for not keeping up with the policy. Sometimes even extended leaves for over a month may leave you nothing but termination. 

It is essential to talk about the direct and indirect costs of absence at work. It is an employee’s right to gain every possible knowledge required for them to remain productive at work.

3. Find out covert causes of reduced employee attendance at work

We talked that employees may take leaves for certain time off from work. But it is also not always true. Employees may be suffering from a family problem, serious illness, work-life balance, workload, or co-workers’ pranks and discouragement. 

Increase Employee Attendance at Work With These 10 Tips

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The image shows the irregularity of the employees in cases of sickness or severe health issues. It is your primary duty as an employer to provide a comfortable environment or help employees in times of need. 

For family issues or professional discrimination, they may feel shame in sharing the same. You have to develop trust in your employees that you are there to talk about. However, you can also talk with their teammates who are close to them.

Further, if they suffer from workloads and deadline pressures, you can offer them practical and technological learning developments to carry out work more professionally.

Don’t give false assumptions; try to resolve conflicts between employees to foster a healthy and growing culture.

4. Offer competitive advantages to improve work attendance

This is one of the best options that you can use to improve work attendance and encourage your employees. Organize regular competitions and reward the winners. It will keep employees motivated toward their targets.

Appreciation is a way of telling that someone notices your work. And you definitely don’t want your leaves to be caught. The employee will also appreciate your investment in them and look more actively towards the organization’s growth.

Too many of the rules and specifications reflect strictness, while the appraisal program can generate a highly positive vibe. Also, it triggers the employees to work enthusiastically.

Studies have found that 69 percent of employees will work attentively if their efforts are appreciated enough. Don’t go with the traditional certificate sessions because you can induce many unique and lovable techniques into your appreciation ways. 

5. Use technologies to monitor employee attendance

Manually applying all the techniques may help you to improve work attendance but at a longer wait duration. What you should really look for are automation techniques that help you in tracking your employees’ locations.

With AI-triggered technologies, you can be aware of your employees’ location. To be more precise, you can reduce time theft and induce more potency. When employees are aware that they are being monitored, punctuality will indirectly be observed in their attitude.

Many companies have started using advanced HR solutions to control their employees while working remotely.

6. Enable workplace flexibility

Assume that an employee is feeling low to work in the morning, but is fit to continue the work by the afternoon.

Sometimes, due to one or two hours, the employees are restricted from taking half-day leave. Also, if an employee needs to visit a doctor, he/she has to apply for leave.

One option you can offer to improve work attendance rather than providing a bunch of leaves is to turn the fixed hours into Flexi shifts. If an employee is provided with flexible shifts, then they can continue with the work accordingly.

7. Listen to your employees to improve staff attendance

Every human wants their ideas to be heard, and it really lifts the morale if those ideas are put into use. The same is the condition with employees. 

Your employee might have something interesting to boost productivity. And it eventually encourages the employees to work harder if their ideas are applied. If not, apply, listen to them, and reply positively if the ideas don’t fit the context. They will at least know that someone listens to them.

Increase Employee Attendance at Work With These 10 Tips

8. Promote an open culture

With investment in technology, the company should also promote the culture of “not me but us.”

Knowing that they are heard, employees will trust their employers in every decision they make. Even if the employees are valued in a company, none of them will think they are stuck in the wrong place.

A positive culture of working everything together highlights the nature of the company. And a company that takes care of its employees is one that will flourish with more employee attendance.

9. Organize Feedback

You cannot assume that the policy you made is hundred percent working and remains fruitful to the employees. Your employees might have some issues that are actual and need to be resolved. 

Ask them about the policies and restrictions for leaves and time management. You may not know the issues or suggestions they come up with. It will help you re-formulate the policies and assure your employees that they are always free to provide any feedback.

10. Analyze Records

Analyzing records is the key to reaching the depth of the ongoing issues and finding ways to improve attendance in the workplace.

Track the time off taken by employees, and you may realize how to improve employee attendance based on the pattern it generates. It will also help you know if your employee attendance system is producing the required output. 

Moreover, advanced solutions also provide AI-based analytics for you to work out the issues faster.

Conclusion

Improving attendance in the workplace is something that should be regular, and the practices used to augment them must be actively held throughout the company.

A positive attitude towards improving attendance in the workplace will generate high confidence in employees. It will eventually lower the lows of absenteeism and increase the hunch of gaining more productivity.

Discipline is critical as the unpunctual employees with a higher leave ratio affect the employees’ morale who remain productive while using leaves accurately.

Punctuality in the office also comes from the leaders. To make your employees regular, it must be you (the employer and the manager) who also need to follow the rules made by you. In the end, only one thing is necessary: improving attendance in the workplace.

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