4 Measurable Benefits of Absence Management Technology

Posted on

December 14th, 2020

HR needs modern solutions to improve the accuracy of attendance tracking. Upgrading outmoded systems such as manual record-keeping or physical timecards saves money and improves productivity. Antiquated legacy systems for attendance will always fail to meet expectations. Businesses that invest in modern attendance software can reap the following benefits:

Improve accuracy and compliance. The risk of clerical errors is high for manual or low-tech attendance systems. Even a small margin of error can result in significant fiscal mistakes. Overpaying or underpaying employees hurts the organization’s bottom line and can lead to compliance issues. Investing in absence management software can eliminate clerical errors for accurate timekeeping, payroll, and complying with Department of Labor regulations.
Curtail time theft. Time theft is one of the biggest knocks against manual timekeeping systems. Employees can alter their hours worked to conceal if they arrive to work late or leave early. These outdated systems also allow for buddy punching, which occurs when one employee clocks another in or out to hide attendance infractions. While 10 minutes here or there may not seem like much, the American Payroll Association reported that buddy punching costs organizations $373 million every year. Efficient time tracking software can help curtail these issues.
Improve productivity. Robust attendance tracking systems do more than simple attendance keeping. Many include features like submitting PTO requests so employees can request time off without a convoluted chain of emails. This reduces the amount of time managers spend on HR tasks, which allows them to focus on more relevant projects.
Actionable insights. Absence management software provides businesses with attendance data and trends. This information can pinpoint departments with chronic tardiness or isolate individual employees trending toward absenteeism. Knowing where to focus improvement efforts yields better results than issuing a company-wide generic message about attendance.

Antiquated absence tracking methods can hurt profits, cause compliance headaches, and lack data to identify attendance problems. Actec’s absence tracking mobile app is a self-service tool that captures all your employees’ absence data, ensures compliance with labor laws, and more. Contact us to learn more about modernizing your absence management system

Absence Reporting During and Beyond the Pandemic

Posted on

June 22nd, 2020

Andrew

COVID-19 has created new challenges for businesses in several areas, one of which is absence management. As many businesses begin a phased return to the office while others are maintaining their remote staff, keeping track of absences and leave requests can quickly become confusing. Prior to COVID-19, it was common practice to urge sick employees to stay home. Now, it’s less a matter of should symptomatic employees stay home and more an issue of when it’s safe for them to return to the workplace and how that affects leave and absence policies.

Federally Protected Leave and Emerging Programs

Federally protected leave programs like FMLA, disability leave, and so on still apply during COVID-19. However, the U.S. Department of Labor issued two new forms of leave to address the challenges created by the pandemic: the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.

Both fall under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which grants up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to employees who have to quarantine due to a government order or at the recommendation of their physician. Employees experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking treatment also qualify for this kind of leave.

FFCRA also offers up to 80 hours of paid sick leave at two-thirds of employees’ regular income if they are unable to work because they have to care for a quarantined individual or child due to school and childcare closures. Employees can seek an additional 10 weeks of paid leave at two-thirds of their regular income if their child’s school/care facilities remain closed due to COVID-19 so long as they have been employed for at least 30 days. FFCRA is available through the end of the 2020 calendar year and employers can acquire a payroll tax credit for 100% of the amount.

Tracking Employee Leave Requests

Tracking leave requests, remaining compliant with shifting Federal and state employee leave laws, all while keeping the workforce healthy will quickly overwhelm HR departments. Actec developed the app Absence 365 to meet businesses’ absence management needs during these stressful times. This customizable app allows employees to submit leave requests and centralizes all absence notifications in one location. In addition to remaining compliant, the app can also help employers recognize trends to enact effective change within their company. Contact us to learn how we can help meet your business’ absence management needs.

How to Talk to Employees About Their Attendance

Posted on

April 18th, 2017

Andrew

shutterstock_174875483 It can be difficult for employers to address employee absenteeism for a variety of reasons. Some absences employers can identify as fraudulent. For example, an employee who always calls out sick the day before or after a holiday is likely abusing their sick leave. Another possible misuse of leave could be an employee who always has a family emergency crop up right before a major deadline. While some of these absences may be legitimate, employers who notice attendance patterns need to address it.

How to Discuss the Problem

Employers need to address absenteeism when they first notice it. However, there are good and bad methods of leading an attendance conversation with an employee. Below are several tips for employers to ensure the conversation is productive.

Remain aware that the meeting is investigative in nature and not disciplinary. Adjust your tone to one of concern rather than threatening. The employee is a member of your team and the emphasis should be on resolving a problem rather than issuing a reprimand.
Ensure the meeting is private. Public areas such as the employee’s cubical are inappropriate and are not conducive to a productive outcome.
Have your facts ready before the meeting. Know the dates of all absences, reasons given for the absences, etc. Not being prepared can have the opposite intended result of the meeting. The employee may not take your concern seriously if you have not done the appropriate legwork.
Ask the employee for more details about the absences. There may be a genuine problem contributing to the ongoing attendance problem such as a sick family member or lack of adequate childcare. If the problem is ongoing, try to offer solutions such as a flexible schedule or shifting workdays to allow the employee to take care of their personal life as well as their professional life.
Explain to the employee that their absences are affecting operations. Many employees do not believe their role is significant enough to hinder productivity if they miss a day every now and then. Providing concrete data that shows how their unplanned time off affects sales can highlight the cost of their absences.

Next Steps
After meeting with the employee, continue to monitor their attendance. Employers need to address any continued absences or improvements. If you observe a noticeable improvement in the employee’s attendance, be sure to let them know you appreciate their efforts.
Some absences are unavoidable. However, employers need to address attendance issues before they become habitual. Taking the right approach to managing absences can yield much better results than going on the offensive. To learn more about absence management, contact the experts at Actec.