One of the most prevalent issues that employers face is employee absenteeism. Recent DOL statistics estimate that three percent of an employer’s workforce can be absent on any given day. Furthermore, surveys have shown that employee paid absences cost employers over 20 percent of their total payroll. While most of the absences are legitimate, up to one-third of them are not related to illness.
Inaccurate absence tracking leads to significant losses in not only margin but also productivity and even workplace morale. To help reduce instances of employees taking fraudulent sick days, employers can implement electronic absence reporting. The benefits are multi-fold, including:
- Employees who know their employers are tracking how often they call out tend to rethink taking a gratuitous day off.
- By collecting absentee data, employers can gather averages for how many days employees take leave. Employees who know this information can compare their time off to the status quo. Some employees may not realize they are taking more leave than is normal without this data.
- The data can help employers target problem areas. If one department has a much higher absentee rate than the others there could be a leadership issue. The data can help employers address the issues and prevent similar problems from happening in the future. Ensuring employees are happy goes a long way to reducing absenteeism.
- Clear and accessible rules and methods for reporting sick time should help employees to understand and make use of the system as its intended.
Employers who implement electronic absence reporting systems should be mindful when using the data. The end goal should be to support and improve employees’ workplace experiences. If employees view the data collection as a means to mete out punishment, it could have the opposite intended effect.
Employers should make it clear that any electronic reporting system is meant to enrich employees’ health and wellness while at work. To learn more about optimizing your absence reporting procedures, contact us.