How do I reduce employee absence?

How do I reduce employee absence?

Although most employee absence is genuine, the financial impact of absenteeism to SMEs is costly, due to paid sick leave, replacement workers, not to mention the reduction in productivity.  

Occasional absenteeism may not be too problematic, but once an employee’s absence from work becomes a regular pattern of behaviour, this will present a significant issue.

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In order to help reduce and manage absenteeism, here are our top 5 tips:

  1. Use absence management tools – using a HR software system such as Breathe HR will enable you to run sickness reports and identify trends to keep you on top of absenteeism levels. 
  2. Introduce flexible working and remote working – some employees may not be absent due to sickness; it’s possible they could have specific personal reasons which remote working could alleviate.
  3. Carry out a return-to-work interview – this demonstrates that you care and want to understand the reason for their absence.  
  4. Explore employee wellbeing initiatives – you might want to audit the current levels of wellbeing in your company, decide where you want to be, and develop the plan for how you’ll get there.   
  5. Set formal warning procedures – if absenteeism becomes habitual, then you’ll need to set absence management procedures. In some cases, dismissal may be necessary but we’d recommend that you first seek professional advice due to the complexity of the process.

Are you struggling with absenteeism? Are you lacking the tools to effectively manage employee absence? Speak to West HR today and we’ll work together with you to create initiatives to reduce absenteeism in your business.

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HR for SMEs

Training

One of our most popular training sessions entitled Managing absence, can be delivered either as a live online session or face-to-face. The interactive training gives you practical advice on dealing with short-term absence, as well as instruction on managing employees on long-term sick leave. We’ll also touch on the current legislation relating to employee absence.

Our courses are delivered by CIPD qualified HR professionals and can be adapted to suit your needs. Get in touch to find out more.

We offer a range of HR-related training courses – check them out.

Check out our training page
 
 
 
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Any questions?

Get in touch and we’ll get right back to you. We value human interaction, so rest assured, there will be no chatbot or automated impersonal response from us.