30 Practical Exercises: Reducing Absenteeism

Absenteeism can cost a company more than just money. There is not only the lost productivity, but the lost morale of other employees, the time and hassle to cover their work.
Some absenteeism is genuine and unavoidable; the person is ill, or there has been a domestic crisis. Some absenteeism is unacceptable but may be due to work related circumstances that need to be resolved - harassment, bullying or stress. Some absenteeism is unacceptable in any circumstance. However, this is an area that managers often ignore, it is all brushed under the carpet as 'sickness'.
provides you with 30 exercises to help your managers learn and practise the skills they need to get to the root cause of absenteeism and to help people to come to work at all times when they should and could.

Covers record keeping, absence policies
• Interviewing absentees - counselling, return-to-work or discipline interviews
• Handling long term absence
• Templates and checklist for use in the workplace

The activities in this pack will help your managers to get to grips with this potentially thorny subject, by giving them the confidence and skills they need.
Contains a CD-ROM
Author: Tony Weightman
Pages: 296
'OK to copy' pages: 77

Contents1. Attendance indicators
Participants identify signs of good and bad attendance in the workplace. They learn how to rate attendance in their own organisations and address poor attendance issues.

2. Controlling absence
The group identify what would happen if we did not control absence at work. They take part in a discussion to ensure workplace commitment to controlling absence.

3. Identifying your goals
Participants identify the goals an organisation should strive to achieve with regards attendance management. They also focus on how to maintain and monitor progress.

4. Briefing your team
How to write and deliver a brief that effectively motivates good attendance in a workplace team. The exercise offers the individual an opportunity to highlight the important areas for the team at work.

5. Rating attendance
Using workplace attendance records, participants identify and rank good and poor attendance in their teams and throughout the organisation.

6. The attendance management procedure
Participants become familiar and gain confidence with their organisation's attendance management procedure. A discussion reinforces the need for knowledge and consistency of approach.

7. Overcoming difficulties
How to identify the difficulties in managing absence at work. The group develop practical solutions to these difficulties, which they can implement in the workplace.

8. Maintaining consistency
The group practise and discuss the importance of consistency in the workplace in terms of absence management.

9. Finding the figures
Participants check their ability to accurately recallstatistics relating to absence. They consider the need and advantages for having accurate information atalltimes in the workplace.

10. Legal aspects questionnaire
An opportunity to become familiar with the legal position of absence management in the workplace, looking at the dos and don'ts, trues and falses of employee absence.

11. Reviewing absence records
A consistent approach to the type and timing of action participants should take in the workplace with persistently absent employees.

12. Checking absence records
Participants identify the actions required when examining workplace attendance records and discuss the importance of keeping an open mind when reviewing such records.

13. Responding to circumstances
A chance to think about actions to fairly typical situations that occur with employees. They also consider best practice for typical situations that arise in the workplace.

14. The counselling interview - checklist
Participants consider appropriate inclusions for a counselling interview checklist and the best manner in which such an interview can be conducted.

15. The counselling interview - recent absence
The group become familiar with the best methods of performing a counselling interview for an employee who has had genuine absences.

16. The counselling interview - recurring absence
An opportunity to become familiar with the best methods of performing a counselling interview for an employee who takes regular time off work 'ill'.

17. The counselling interview - early stages of absence
How to familiarise yourself with the best methods of performing a counselling interview to tackle absence with an employee in its early stages.

18. The return to work interview - checklist
Participants prepare for a return to work interview using a checklist of points appropriate to them and their organisation.

19. The return to work interview - different approaches
Different approaches to a return to work interview to represent different circumstances.

20. The return to work interview - the dispute
Participants practise a return to work interview with employees whose absence has increased in recent months, and who then dispute the facts presented to them.

21. The return to work interview - fitness
A chance to practise a return to work interview with an employee who was fit to return to work before the stated period of absence had expired, but didn't.

22. The return to work interview - out of character
The group practise a return to work interview with an employee who behaves uncharacteristically, yet has genuine reasons for absence from the workplace.

23. The return to work interview - recurring absence
Practice in a return to work interview with an employee who is new to this department, but who has had a bad and unchallenged attendance record with a previous department.

24. The return to work interview - regular absence
Participants practise a return to work interview with an employee who is regularly absent from work claiming sickness when this is not strictly the case, but who has other genuine reasons for needing time away from work.

25. The disciplinary interview - regular absence
An opportunity to practise a disciplinary interview with an employee who continues with patterns of regular absence, despite previous warnings.

26. The disciplinary interview - recurring absence
Participants practise a disciplinary interview with an employee whose attendance record has previously been good but who has now genuinely and inexplicably had an unfortunate period of absence.

27. The disciplinary interview - the uncooperative employee
Practice in a disciplinary interview with an employee who has an unacceptable attendance record, but who does not cooperate or communicate throughout the interview.

28. The disciplinary interview - frequent suspect absence
A practice disciplinary interview with an employee who takes regular periods away from the workplace 'ill', but who has, in fact, been using the time to secure employment elsewhere.

29. Long-term absence visit - checklist
Participants consider the implications of an employee who is long-term sick. They plan a first visit to an employee who will be away for a long, but set, period of time.

30. Indefinite absence visit - checklist
Participants prepare a first visit to an employee who will be long-term sick for an indefinite period of time with an unknown illness.