How to manage absence

Fundamentals / 23 May 2011

Managing absence isn’t just a job for HR. Scott Beagrie discovers why all managers should know about the effects of absenteeism

Sickness absence costs the UK economy dearly. According to the latest CBI absence and workplace health survey, employees took 180 million sick days in 2009, costing employers £16.8bn. Yet despite the impact absence has on productivity and performance as well as employee morale and motivation, too many managers have a casual approach to the problem and regard it as something HR or occupational health should be tackling.

Clearly these functions are central to managing attendance but managers have a vital part to play in minimising the effect absenteeism can have on their organisation. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) annual absence management report last year underlined that when line managers held the information, skills and responsibility for managing absence, it was deemed a highly effective means of managing short-term absence. Moreover, good management practices, such as two-way communication with the workforce and ensuring they feel engaged and motivated, are key strands in reducing absence.

Create a company policy

Make sure there is a clear and unambiguous policy in place. This should spell out when and under what circumstances absence is permissible from the workplace, who needs to be informed when an employee calls in sick, how many days they can be absent before requiring a note from their GP, sick pay rules and when, ultimately, it becomes a disciplinary issue. It should also define what help and support is available for employees from within the organisation. The policy must be straightforward and should contain no grey areas that would make it open to misinterpretation by employees or managers. “For example, is a text acceptable to the boss or must it be a phone call?”asks Paul Roberts, director at Enlighten, a healthcare consultancy, who stresses one of the principal aims of establishing an absence procedure is to create a level playing field. “A programme should give the parameters of what is acceptable, and operating one means that everyone is treated equally, and the burden when absence occurs is understood and fair to all,” he says.

A programme should give the parameters of what is acceptable, and operating one means that everyone is treated equally, and the burden when absence occurs is understood and fair to all.

Paul Roberts, director, Enlighten

Get to grips with the scale of the problem

The crucial first step towards effectively managing and reducing an absence problem is to monitor and measure it. Ideally the data collected should be recorded and stored electronically to facilitate intelligent analysis and the identification of trends and patterns of absence and to apply ‘trigger points’ for intervention. There are more than 40 methods of measuring absence, but one of the most commonly deployed in the UK, and which can be monitored using software and business tools, is the Bradford Factor. It applies a mathematical equation to highlight persistent episodes of short-term absence which can ultimately prove more disruptive than long-term absence.

Enforce and manage the process

To limit unauthorised or unscheduled absence effectively the procedures must be rigidly applied and adhered to at all times. Failure to take the policy seriously and deal with slack attendance in a fair and consistent manner sends out the wrong message which can lead to a rise in both indiscriminate short-term absences as well as more costly long-term absences. “Not sticking to what was decided in the programme is the biggest failure,” says Roberts. “Setting out guidelines and ignoring them is worse than not having them as it breeds disquiet and it is soon known who is an easy touch.”

Find out the root cause

Never assume absence is always related to illness. People don’t turn up for work for a wide variety of reasons, from disliking the boss or being bullied to long journey times or to escape from unpleasant working conditions. Irrespective of the length of absence it is essential that on the day of the employee’s reappearance a return-to-work interview is held immediately to establish the reasons for it. A non-confrontational approach and a sympathetic ear will help you discover whether there are underlying causes – remember it might be a matter that the individual finds difficult to talk about. If the absence is down to illness, find out whether it will recur. Be alert to repetitive absence patterns such as staff always taking Mondays and Fridays off or habitual lateness which could be a result of social or domestic issues. Also, importantly, if the period of sickness absence isn’t genuine, holding the conversation demonstrates to employees that records are being kept and that their attendance is under scrutiny.

Make changes to working conditions

If certain aspects of the employee’s job have a detrimental effect, making them feel stressed or unsettled, then adjustments or improvements to working conditions, environment or tasks could significantly help to promote better attendance. Flexible working arrangements could also provide further incentive and help employees maintain a greater sense of control when attempting to balance the demands of home and work life. Also consider offering unpaid leave in certain circumstances or the chance for them to buy additional holiday entitlement.