How to Build an Effective Leave of Absence Management Program: A Comprehensive Guide
Employee productivity is crucial to a company’s success. A simple tactic to improve employee productivity is to ensure the wellness of each employee through effective benefits and resources.
In other words, well employees are able to reach their potential. In addition, employees are less likely to make unexpected absences. Unexpected absences can create costly bottlenecks in company processes that affect employees at every level.
In fact, The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the absence rate of employees averages at 2.9%. While some of these absences recorded by the BLS are unavoidable, utilizing the proper absence management program can prevent any unforeseen absences and maintain company productivity.
To elaborate, the types of work absences can vary. Some may be paid time off while others are longer leaves of absence. Thus, knowing how to handle any absence situation is important for your company to be sustainable.
To help, we’ve listed some goals for you to focus on when planning an effective leave of absence management program.
HOW TO BUILD AN ABSENCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
EMPHASIZE EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
As said before, employee health and wellness have a major impact on workplace productivity. For this reason, understanding and implementing a comprehensive wellness program can work in your favor.
To determine the effectiveness of your company’s wellness program, ask yourself the following:
- How well do your employees understand your HR policies regarding sick time?
- Do you have any wellness program in place your employees can use?
It is important that your HR department clearly explain sick leave and paid time off to your employees. After all, not all employees are aware of how helpful this benefit is.
For instance, when surveyed in 2019, 64% of employees who get PTO say they didn’t use all of it. Additionally, employees shared that one of the top reasons PTO wasn’t used was due to how much work they had.
Very often, this mindset of falling behind at work that prevents an employee from taking time off also increases employee burnout and inevitably employee absences. In other words, employees feel they have to be working as much as possible. This mindset leads to an underreported issue in the workplace: presenteeism.
DECREASE PRESENTEEISM
Absenteeism is more complex than you may have thought before. To explain, absenteeism happens when an employee has a habit of missing work. It’s important to note that absenteeism isn’t the same as excused absences due to illness or otherwise.
The counterpart to absenteeism is presenteeism. Presenteeism is when someone goes to work even though they’re sick, injured, or otherwise. As a result, they aren’t as productive at work and are more likely to make preventable mistakes.
There are several ways to address this problem like a comprehensive wellness program. Nonetheless, it often comes down to an engaged HR department to address the needs of the employee to decrease presenteeism.
The HR department is the workplace advocate for employees. When trouble arises—like presenteeism or absenteeism—it is the responsibility of the HR department to ratify the issue.
For example, if a sick employee continues to come to work, the HR department can offer solutions like sick leave and a plan to complete their work while the employee is out sick. By showing your employees you’re committed to supporting their health, you are also increasing employee morale.
By providing your employees with the tools and support they need, you’re also keeping them engaged. According to Forbes, the top 20% of engaged teams also see a 41% decrease in absenteeism and 59% less turnover.
All in all, a healthy and engaged team is more productive and passionate about the work that they do!
STREAMLINE COMMUNICATION
As with anything in your company, clear communication is important. A team that succeeds needs to communicate well with one another. This naturally extends to communication about absences.
Does your company have a method for employees to call in sick? Or, if a life event happens and they must miss work, can this be easily communicated?
Set communication expectations for sick employees. Request that an employee taking leave share important client files with their team. This helps keeps the workflow steady while an employee is absent.
Through this practice, the team knows what to expect when these absences occur. There is no last-minute scrambling for information when an employee is absent without notice.
RETAIN HEALTHY AND HAPPY EMPLOYEES
Your company’s absence management program should focus on the wellness and health of your employees. It should also be integrated throughout your company and its actions.
One of the first steps to take when making an effective program is by hiring the right HR staff. This involves knowing when to hire for certain positions. For example, if you need senior HR staff right away, hiring an interim senior HR candidate can help.
In addition to hiring the right HR staff, you need to know how to find the best candidates. If you use a recruiter, choosing one that specializes in HR, with an example being Interim HR Consulting, can guarantee you find the best HR staff for your needs.
From there, you can build your company for success and commit to supporting your employees.
For more information about how Interim HR Consulting can assist your human resource needs, contact their team of experts today and one of them will reach out to you shortly.