4 Ways You Can Solve Employee Attendance Issues

Poor levels of attendance can be a major productivity killer for businesses, and it's not just the issue of absenteeism you have to worry about. If people are turning up to work late on a regular basis, this can quickly add up - someone that's half an hour late two or three times a week can end up costing over a day in lost working hours over a month.

It's not just the work lost when they aren't in the office. There's also the loss of productivity caused as they try to catch up with whatever they missed, not to mention the damage done to their colleagues' efficiency as they have to cover for their tardy co-worker.

Therefore, tackling any time and attendance issues you have needs to be a priority for HR. But how should you go about this?

1. Have a clear lateness policy

While many firms may have a clear policy for absenteeism, setting out what people should do if they can't make it to the office at all, they may not have similar guidelines for tardiness. This can lead some employees to regard this as almost acceptable, or see what they can get away with before attracting attention.

Tackle this by setting out clear guidelines that spell out what constitutes unacceptable lateness, how much leeway you give - as well as how often you give it - and what the procedure is if someone knows they’ll be late, such as contacting their line manager in good time. This ensures everyone knows what their responsibilities are and what the consequences will be for this behavior.

If you do notice someone having issues with their timekeeping, it's important you have complete, accurate records to fall back on when you raise the issue. Having indisputable facts in front of you can prevent confrontation and ensure employees acknowledge the issue.

2. Be proactive in talking to employees

The earlier you tackle this behavior, the better. You need to act as soon as you spot a pattern emerging - don't wait to see if it's just a short-term issue that’ll resolve itself. If you do this, people will begin to believe their lateness is being tolerated, which makes it harder to argue your case. What's more, this attitude can quickly spread throughout your team.

When you do raise the issue, have a personal talk, bring your records to prove your case, and find out what's behind their attendance issues. Don't place blame at this stage, as there may be a valid reason for lateness, such as a change in personal circumstances that you can work with them to address. Consider offering training or counseling to address any personal disorganization issues and keep disciplinary action as a last resort - but make clear it's not off the table.

3. Consider flexible working options

If there are legitimate reasons why someone is late, you could consider whether your firm could benefit from a wider flexible working policy. It may not work for every business, but in many firms, the traditional nine-to-five is no longer the only answer. As long as you have enough notice, and a person's full hours are worked, being a little less rigid can be a great solution for everyone.

However, be wary that this isn't seen as a reward for poor behavior. This should only be considered if there are genuine, hard-to-solve reasons for frequent lateness, and it shouldn’t be reserved only for these personnel. If you consider this as an option, it needs to be available to everyone.

4. Use dedicated time and attendance software

To make the task of managing time and attendance easier, you can turn to dedicated software tools. Today's solutions can make it much simpler to record exact times of arrival and departure compared with traditional punch cards - for example, by requiring an employee to tap a button on their PC or smartphone when they begin work, or automate the process by using geofencing to record when they enter your premises.

This can also be used to monitor and schedule break periods and be compiled into detailed reports that show when people are available and what their overall performance is. This allows you to spot patterns and quickly flag up any individual with particular issues, and act accordingly.