Clearly communicate policies and procedures upfront

Don’t wait for chronic attendance issues to emerge to address requirements and make your expectations clear. Proactively improving your employee handbook policies can help you avoid and mitigate absenteeism.

The main policies that impact absenteeism include time and attendance, disability accommodation, leaves of absence, ethical conduct, and disciplinary actions.

Your employee handbook policies should:

• Be easy to understand and communicate (in your workforce’s primary language).

• Always be approved by a labor attorney licensed to practice in your state.

• Be clear on the procedure and expectations for calling out.

• Be emphasized upfront as part of new hire orientation.

Attendance and punctuality should also be listed as essential parts of each employee's job duties. (This is especially important for dealing with unreasonable disability accommodation requests).

Employees should also receive occasional reminders about the policies and procedures and where to find them. A practice of forcing employees to sign acknowledgments of policies they’ve never seen or can’t access is ineffective and actually creates additional liability for your organization.

Once the handbook policies are explained, all employees should acknowledge the policies in a way that clearly shows they are the person acknowledging them (e.g. wet or electronic signature, digital signature, SMS acknowledgment, etc.).

Show employees you care - Find out why they are absent

It’s all too easy to assume that every employee with attendance issues is lazy or apathetic towards their job. It’s also tempting to avoid conversations altogether by focusing solely on attendance versus the underlying cause. But let’s get something clear: the underlying cause matters.

According to the CDC, “Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year or $225.8 billion annually.”

Whether your employees are absent or tardy due to transportation issues, health issues, personal circumstances, or burnout, it’s critically important to understand their specific barriers to success. Focusing on the symptoms of chronic absenteeism versus addressing the root cause results in unnecessary turnover and wasted time on your part.

Listen and be empathetic, but take the opportunity to reinforce the expectations and requirements of the job. Reiterate how essential excellent attendance is to your operations, and ask what you can do to support them and help them show up on time, as scheduled. Before speaking with the employee, check with your HR representative. There are questions you should and should not ask employees in different circumstances, and it’s important to have HR looped in to avoid potential discrimination claims.