Evaluate the Employee Based on Productivity, Not Poor Attendance
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Employee evaluation is a common practice in the workplace. However, our assessment of their performance may not always be fair. Overemphasis on attendance is a common blunder. Being present at work is important, but it is not the only indicator of a good employee. What matters more is how much work they complete and how well they complete it. This blog will investigate the idea that productivity, rather than simply showing up on time, should be the primary factor in evaluating employees. Let’s look at why this shift in mindset can result in a more motivated and efficient workforce.
Tips on how to evaluate an employee with poor attendance
Conducting an employee attendance evaluation can be difficult for businesses of all sizes. Small businesses may lack the necessary resources, whereas large corporations may struggle with management.
Let’s take a look at five pointers to help you simplify the evaluation process:
Take into account all aspects of employee attendance
When gathering data for attendance evaluation, make sure to include all employee hours information. This will allow you to conduct an accurate assessment using real data.
Here are a few things to think about:
Source- https://financesonline.com/productivity-statistics/
Time cards
Time cards will display an employee’s time usage over the course of a workday, week, or month.
You can ensure that an employee works a minimum number of hours per day by tracking their time. The time entries can also reveal tardiness.
Paid sick days and other time off
Employees may abuse paid leave and create false records, jeopardizing the accuracy of the employee attendance evaluation process.
To avoid this, make sure the reason for an employee’s absence falls under the category of paid leave under the company’s attendance policy.
Snack and lunch break
Employees may begin early and end their lunch break late, giving them a longer break. Such time theft can be revealed by recording breaks, which you can account for during the attendance evaluation process.
Maintain an attendance record
Attendance records are a detailed record of employee time entries, leaves, PTO, and other attendance-related data. These records assist managers with payroll calculations, attendance evaluations, and absence management, among other things.
Managers have traditionally kept attendance records on spreadsheets. However, these can be time-consuming to maintain and use.
Calculate the cost of absenteeism
Absence costs are classified into two types: direct and indirect. Direct costs are directly related to payroll calculation and include paid time off, overtime wages, and worker replacement costs.
Indirect costs, on the other hand, do not directly contribute to monetary loss. It includes things like work delays, lost productivity, unplanned absences, and so on.
Absenteeism contributes significantly to both costs. In fact, absenteeism costs employers billions of dollars each year in lost productivity.
Three metrics can be used to assess absenteeism:
Incidence rate: The incidence rate is the number of absences per 100 employees during a given work period.
Inactivity rate: The percentage of scheduled work time that was lost due to absence.
Severity period: The average amount of time lost per absent employee over a given time period.
Source- https://www.aihr.com/blog/attendance-policy/
Provide specific feedback
You must be careful to phrase the review correctly. It must be encouraging, concise, and polite.
Also, suggest some ways to improve their disadvantages. This will not only benefit the employee, but it will also strengthen the manager-employee relationship.
Most importantly, employee attendance evaluation reviews are most effective when you record each employee’s flaws as well as your expectations of them. This can provide a clear picture of their performance as well as suggestions for how to improve it.
Confirm the authenticity of the absence reason
Understand why the employee was unavailable before issuing an ultimatum for absence. If it’s true, you can encourage them to rejoin as soon as possible.
Assume an employee has taken a leave of absence due to burnout. When the stressed employee returns to work, you can reassign a few tasks to other employees or assign additional assistance to them.
Also Read: 10 Tips for Choosing the Best Employee Productivity Tracking Software
Now that you know how to conduct an attendance performance evaluation, let’s look at some phrases you can use to effectively communicate the review result.
Performance review strengths and weaknesses examples
15 examples of employee strengths in the workplace:
- Creativity
- Versatility
- Flexibility
- Focused
- Taking the lead
- Honesty
- Dedication
- Integrity Constant learning
- Self-control
- Determined Discipline
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Patience
15 examples of employee weaknesses in the workplace:
- Self-criticism
- Insecure
- Extremely introverted
- Extremely extroverted
- Creative writing
- Detail-oriented
- Financial knowledge
- Overly sensitive
- Lazy
- Procrastinate
- Stubborn
- Passive
- Unorganized
- Greedy
- Fearful
Tips for Attendance Improvement Plan for employee
Developing an effective attendance improvement plan entails clear communication, setting attainable goals, and offering support. It is critical to address the underlying causes of absenteeism, provide flexibility when possible, and recognize progress. Here are some tips for increasing employee attendance.
Explain what will happen if employees take unplanned leaves
Employees are less likely to take unplanned leaves if they are aware of the company’s policy on such absences. It would be helpful if you could go into more detail about the consequences and actions that can be taken against employees who frequently take unplanned leaves. There must be complete transparency regarding how and what disciplinary measures will be implemented.
This ensures that employees are aware of the actions that can be taken in response to their frequent absences.
Managers should be trained on how to deal with absenteeism
Managers and supervisors must be properly trained to deal with absenteeism. There is nothing wrong with enforcing the employee attendance improvement plan, but it must be accompanied by compassion and empathy. A better way to take the initiative is to communicate clearly with absent employees, asking for their well-being and informing them about the impact of their absence on other coworkers and the overall work.
Managers should be trained on how to personally contact unscheduled absentees to inquire about their circumstances. This demonstrates to employees that their supervisors and managers are concerned about their well-being and allows them to discuss the impact of their unscheduled absence.
This approach will encourage employees to take ownership of their work presence. Supervisors are the first point of contact for employees, and they contact them when they need to leave. If the reasons for the absence are understood, supervisors should initially accept their requests without asking too many questions.
However, if they notice a pattern developing and employees begin abusing the policy, they should feel free to initiate employee attendance improvement plan sharing.
Also Read: How to Track Team Productivity and Ways to Improve It
Allow for a flexible working schedule
Work and life balance must not be compromised as a result of the work schedule. Your employees will appreciate a flexible work schedule that allows them to attend doctor appointments, sick children, or jury duty. Work from home, telecommuting, share jobs, or swap shifts with a coworker are all examples of flexible work schedules.
While a flexible work schedule may not be feasible for all businesses, if it is an option for yours, you should implement it because it can improve employee attendance and engagement. You can eliminate call-offs due to unexpected personal issues by allowing employees to choose when and where they work.
All policies regarding flexible schedules, like standard work schedules, should be properly documented and mentioned in the attendance policy so that management can track and monitor such programmes.
Conclusion
Rather than focusing solely on attendance, it is critical to judge employees based on their productivity. While arriving on time is important, it does not always reflect an employee’s true contribution. Productivity evaluation promotes a more motivated and efficient workforce. It enables individuals to demonstrate their abilities and commitment to their jobs, ultimately benefiting both employees and the organization. We create a fairer, more inclusive work environment that values results and fosters growth by shifting our evaluation focus to productivity. It’s a win-win strategy that empowers employees while also fostering a positive, productive workplace culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: When evaluating employees, why should we prioritise productivity over attendance?
A productivity-focused approach evaluates an employee’s actual contribution to the organization’s goals, encouraging quality work and efficiency.
Q2: What if an employee has legitimate reasons for being absent, such as health or personal issues?
It is important to consider valid reasons and offer support, but it is also important to emphasise that productivity is an important factor in employee evaluations.
Q3: How can we effectively measure productivity?
Productivity can be measured using specific performance metrics, project completion rates, work quality, and contributions to team and company goals.
