‘Have all your staff arrived for work today?’ asks the email which pops into my in-box most Monday mornings. But an absence from work shouldn’t be an opportunity for companies touting temporary personnel. It should be your cue to swing into action with your absence management procedure.
When one of your team doesn’t turn up for work, it’s a real pain. (And if it isn’t, you have to ask yourself why that individual’s absence isn’t such a problem for you!) Obviously, it’s a problem for the person who is away sick, but it’s also a hassle for you. Arranging to cover for their work, making sure that someone is picking up their messages and losing out on their valuable contribution to the team, amounts to ‘bad news’ all round.
It’s easy to be so busy with your day that you fail to follow your proper absence procedures. You probably know about conducting a Return-to-Work Interview, thanks to the efforts of your HR department, but do you know the most important thing to do right now, even before the absentee returns to work?
You need to communicate with them. Speak to them. Make sure you call the person whilst they are away, in addition to speaking with them when they get back. If you call the absentee as soon as they are off sick, you show that you care. Communicating with them regularly during the absence, not just on the first day, demonstrates that you notice that they are away and that you are missing them at work.
This can feel awkward if you approach it with the wrong mindset. But if you ignore the person’s absence, how does that look? That you can’t be bothered? That their work isn’t important? Call them with genuine concern for the absentee’s well-being and to keep informed of what’s happening.
Do you find that people tend to leave a message on your voicemail, or get a family member to leave a message on their behalf, to say that they won’t be in today? What does your company policy say about notifying an absence? Don’t allow your policy on calling in to be ignored and, if at all possible, make sure that you speak with the individual to find out why they are away from work. Obviously, if they’ve suddenly been taken into hospital and are in the operating theatre, you can’t speak to them but most of the time this isn’t the case. For most bugs, tummy upsets and self-certified illness, you’ll be able to talk to the individual directly. You need to keep absence to an absolute minimum. That doesn’t mean making genuinely sick people feel bad about being away from work. Or forcing sick people to come in. It does mean showing that you notice when someone is away and making people feel valued for the work they do. And anyone who is ‘pulling a sickie’ will soon start to feel uncomfortable about doing so.
Just the simple golden rule of always communicating with someone when they are away will make a big difference. Every absence. Every time. Whoever they are.
And that’s before you even think about the benefits of the Return-to-Work Interview which you must conduct as soon as your absentee is back. There’s a practical guide to conducting Return-to-Work Interviews and reducing absence on the Scott Bradbury WATCH & GO® resources page and you can download it here: https://www.watchandgovideos.co.uk/media/filer_public/90/77/9077025c-6db7-4e1b-b231-37b738d0d78c/learning-guide-agg.pdf
The ‘One to Watch’ featured video for September is Absenteeism: Getting a Grip Part 1, which illustrates how to communicate with people when someone has called in sick and how to conduct an effective Return-to-Work interview. It takes just six minutes to watch and illustrates all the key points.
Watch the video here now.
About WATCH & GO® videos
WATCH & GO® videos show people how to perform better at work by illustrating practical phrases and key behaviours in just a few minutes. There are around 60 titles, each dealing with a different management topic or ‘tricky’ situation. Learners simply ‘watch’ and ‘go’ to manage everyday situations at work. www.watchandgovideos.co.uk @WatchGoVideos video@scottbradbury.co.uk +44 (0)1638 723590