Absenteeism is a given for any employee on your team. It’s rare for anyone to have a perfect run, and occasional absences will happen. Sickness, emergencies and sometimes bad luck can cause an otherwise consistent employee to be absent from their scheduled shift. Workers need that time off to recover and recharge, and it promotes overall productivity.
Managing absenteeism is a normal part of running any business with employees, but what happens when it isn’t a one-off but becomes a pattern? What defines a pattern and when does it become an issue for your business? Your field service business should have an attendance policy to define and outline attendance and absenteeism procedures.
This is where excessive absenteeism comes in.
What is Excessive Absenteeism?
Excessive absenteeism is defined as a pattern of unexcused absences, that is, absences without a valid reason. Employees that keep not showing up or being late, again and again.
These absences aren’t limited to no-call, no-shows, but can include:
- Being late to a scheduled shift
- Taking excessive breaks
- Leaving before a shift is scheduled to end
- Calling in sick without a doctor’s note
- Taking PTO without approval/notice
A good rule of thumb is to set a reasonable time period, such as 30 or 60 days, and the number of unexcused absences. Two or more can be defined as excessive absenteeism.
How To Recognize Patterns Of Excessive Absenteeism In Your Team
Time-tracking is challenging for field service businesses, as job locations and schedules change often; noticing excessive absenteeism for teams on the go can seem impossible unless workers just don't show up. Construction sites with kiosk clocks and time cards are one thing, but what about HVAC techs or plumbers going from job to job all day?
While excessive absenteeism can be a problem in any industry, field service businesses must be proactive to ensure their workers are on time and working effectively.
Balancing effective management and keeping team morale high is tough, but there are more tools than ever to assist your field service business to get the best out of your crews and tackle excessive absenteeism.
Tracking attendance records
Attendance records are an excellent tool for managing employee schedules, reported attendance and times. Breaks, clock in and clock out times and time spent on a job all need to be included in employee attendance records.
With accurate information, your business can easily review and analyze employee hours, schedules and efficiency. This valuable data is essential to notice absences and excessive absenteeism.
Absenteeism frequency analysis
As outlined above, excessive absenteeism is a pattern. Yes, there could be a pattern of excused absences, such as a parent needing to leave early on a specific evening each week to pick up their children or several days absent for the death of a loved one.
Understanding details and the circumstances of absence is necessary to analyze and determine excessive absenteeism.
Employees who are always late on Mondays or take longer breaks than other workers could indicate excessive absenteeism. Robust time-tracking and job management tools will make it easier to notice and record these patterns and, over time, allow your business to analyze the frequency of absences or discrepancies.
Conducting employee surveys and interviews
Excessive absenteeism could be more than an individual problem to rectify; patterns of unexcused absences could indicate a more significant problem with team morale and burnout. By checking in with employees and conducting interviews, you can unpack the underlying causes of absenteeism and better understand your team.
Retaining an employee is more cost-effective than finding a new one, both in finding and training. Allowing your workers to communicate issues builds trust and accountability, contributing to a positive work culture.
Measuring the length of each absence period
Excessive absenteeism represents an issue for your field service business, but the magnitude of the problem can differ from case to case. You might notice an absence period of 10-15 minutes a few days in a row or a no-call no-show for an entire shift. These are both unexcused absences, but the severity differs.
Between job travel is another opportunity for easy, regular absences that can become excessive absenteeism.
How to Prevent and Address Absenteeism
Recognizing excessive absenteeism is one part of the challenge; getting to the root of the problem is another. The reasons for absences are wide-ranging, so there’s no blanket solution.
However, there are many tools and work practises that can make analyzing, addressing and preventing excessive absenteeism easier and more efficient.
Implementing Mobile Time Tracking
Mobile time tracking is an excellent solution for field service businesses, taking advantage of ubiquitous phone usage to ensure employee transparency and efficiency. Utilizing time-tracking software as part of your daily work operations means you’ll know where your workers are on the clock and how much time they spend at each job.
Mobile time-tracking is portable and goes with your field service team, making it the perfect option for varied job locations.
Utilizing Geofencing Technology
Geofencing is the next step in getting the most out of time-tracking field service software. Thanks to GPS functionality, it can reveal patterns of excessive absenteeism.
What is geofencing? It’s the process of setting zones or ‘fences’ around work sites to track teams' locations as they move from job to job. You set the locations, and the software tells you when your workers have entered the geofence.
If every crew member has a phone or is provided a work phone, the best time-tracking software that utilizes the power of GPS and location technology will keep jobs flowing without the need for micromanagement. Using geofencing will give your business timely updates about crew movements and job kickoff.
Streamlining Job Management
Time-tracking, geofencing and location management are all part of wider job management and your work processes. By streamlining your management, such as using dedicated field service software, you can stay updated and flexible for any situation. Effective processes and employee management can mitigate the worst of delays, absences and issues.
Clock Out Questions
Clock-out questions are an outstanding feature of ClockShark’s time-tracking software, requiring workers to answer questions about their progress that day. With clock-out questions, workers provide your business with details and updates about jobs with purposeful clock-outs.
Customizable Work Schedules
In field service, jobs are always changing! Organizing your team can be challenging, especially if employees attend multiple jobs daily. If a worker needs time off, is late to a job or calls in sick, it can wreak havoc on your meticulously planned schedule.
With a customizable work schedule, you can update and edit your teams’ schedules from one dashboard, streamlining workflows. In field service, when something runs overtime, it has a knock-on effect on other projects. Your business can update and respond to any delays with field service software while notifying the entire team.
Attendance/Absenteeism Policy
Any business that hires workers will require some kind of attendance/absenteeism policy. This is essential for laying down the ground rules and outlining what your business expects of employees.
Crafting a policy can take plenty of work, so we’ll expand on how you can make the most out of your attendance policies and how it can prevent excessive absenteeism.
Key considerations for your absenteeism policy
Don’t have a policy yet, or are you unsure where to start? Check out our free attendance policy template to familiarize yourself with the details of a policy.
There are several considerations for your attendance policy, both best practices and what it should include.
Reporting procedures
Outline the process of reporting absences thoroughly in your absenteeism/attendance policy and provide several avenues for workers to ensure their communication reaches the right people.
Including the contact details of the key managers/supervisors to contact in case of absence is necessary. Let your team know that they can’t just send a message in the work chat and assume it’s A-OK and handled; the last thing a worker needs is a justified absence to become a no-call no-show because they didn’t follow procedure.
Compliance with labor laws
Any policy your field service business produces must be per labor laws. This protects your business from legal issues and educates your team on their protections and expectations.
Fair and consistent application
Fair application of your business’s absenteeism policy ensures employee trust and continued adherence. Uneven consequences and definitions will only weaken morale and have employees asking why they should bother to follow the rules.
Integrity in business must be fostered: you want your team to be able to trust that all cases are treated equally, no matter the position or level of pay. This, in turn, will foster an honest workplace and positive company culture.
Educating employees
While it can seem unbelievable, some employees might not understand that their actions constitute time theft, unexcused absences or excessive absenteeism, especially if they’re unaware of definitions and proper attendance policy. For example, calling out sick without documentation.
Utilizing an absenteeism policy as part of employee training ensures the entire team is on the same page and aware of expectations.
The Importance of Addressing Excessive Absenteeism in Your Business
Absences, sick leave, breaks, and PTO are all essential to your business and your employees' productivity. Excessive absenteeism isn’t just an issue for your bottom line; it’s an important issue that needs to be addressed for the whole team. Employees abusing breaks and leave hurts everyone, not just the boss.
It’s essential to address excessive absenteeism for your financial health and employees' wellbeing and to foster a positive, honest culture among the team. PTO tracking software can help improve accuracy and efficiency by automating some processes like PTO requests and approvals.
Frequently asked questions about excessive absenteeism
What steps should I take if an employee frequently calls out without a valid reason?
First, communicate! It’s important to have a constructive conversation about the employee’s excessive absenteeism and the lack of valid reasons. After the meeting, follow up with an email detailing your discussion and expectations.
If this doesn’t rectify the situation, you may need to warn the worker that they could face serious consequences if their behavior doesn’t change. Again, email communication is essential, and all vital information should be sent in writing.
This also covers you if an employee retaliates. If the matter escalates, attempts to rectify it with proper documentation are necessary. Your business can’t control how an employee will respond, but you can control how you handle the situation.
How do you differentiate between excused and unexcused absences?
One consistent way to differentiate between the two is to consider the legal protections surrounding absences and leave. Employees are entitled to sick, family and emergency leave.
It’s important to consider if it’s reasonable for an employee to be absent. Accidents, emergencies, and reasons out of their control.
One unexcused absence doesn’t mean an employee is a write-off. They could be having a bad day or made a mistake. However, keeping a record is necessary to ensure it doesn’t become a pattern of excessive absenteeism.
How can excessive absenteeism due to chronic health issues be managed?
This question is particularly challenging, as neither the employee nor your business wants this situation. The first step is communication. Make time to speak with your employees to understand their circumstances and discuss solutions. An employee's work capacity might mean they need reduced work hours, specific accommodations or a modified schedule to ensure they can continue working at your business.
Remember to consider the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and your legal obligations as an employer.
How can I address absenteeism without negatively impacting employee morale?
Your attendance policy can cover more than the demerits and negatives of absences. Including employee benefits and rewards, such as additional PTO or bonuses for consistent attendance, can transform your policy from a ‘punishment’ to a 'benefit. '
If there are consequences for employees with unexcused absences and no-call no-shows, covering the other side of the coin provides your team with a boost. Good attendance isn’t solely about being there every day, it’s also about following the policy and obtaining excused absences.
How can I handle a situation where an employee is suspected of abusing sick leave?
This is another challenging scenario for your business. It’s essential to keep communication open with employees and speak with them about their work and if they require additional support. Be mindful of labor laws and that not all illnesses/conditions show outwardly.
Your absenteeism policy should require documentation from a medical professional for extended sick leave.
