Commentary: Preventing Employee No-Shows

Anyone who has managed a business has probably experienced that familiar jolt of panic that hits when an employee still hasn’t arrived 30 minutes after their shift was set to begin. The moment you realize the employee likely won’t show up, you’re forced to scramble to find a replacement to help your short-staffed team.

In some instances when employees don’t show up, there’s a true emergency that validates a lack of communication. But most no-shows need attention from leadership — especially when they become a pattern. To implement policies and procedures that minimize worker absences, leaders must understand why these patterns occur and recognize potential flaws within management processes that contribute to them.

Understanding why employees don’t show up

Employees fail to show up to work for many reasons, and some justifications warrant more sympathy than others. Sick children, medical emergencies, problems with management or employee relations, or even a simple lack of understanding around scheduling and rules can be enough to keep workers home.

Asking your team what drives them and their coworkers to stay home will help you prevent these instances in the future. While missing a shift may feel like grounds for immediate termination in the moment, discovering a pattern of common causes behind the no-shows can illuminate the need to reevaluate some management practices.

Continuous reevaluation is particularly important as the labor market surges and the unemployment rate plummets in the U.S. In fact, employers are noticing a trend: some new hires aren’t showing up on their first day of work. This means business leaders today must convince new hires that your company cares about employee experience. Offering employees access to digital workplace tools on their phones is a powerful place to start.

Eliminating no-shows with digital workplaces

Whether you’ve already encountered problems with no-shows or are hoping to proactively prevent them, adopting a digital workplace platform empowers employees to take ownership of their schedules and managers to refocus on higher-value work.

Digital workplaces allow businesses to eliminate labor-intensive scheduling practices that leave workers burnt out and thirsty for flexibility.

Here are three ways that employers should respond to their workers’ needs:

• Clarify policies during onboarding and continuous training

  In industries notorious for high turnover rates, it’s difficult to keep track of which employees have received what information. Onboarding and training disparities can account for confusion surrounding no-call, no-show policies and other important HR functions. By adopting a digital workplace platform, managers ensure all employees receive the same information when they join your team and have access to continuous training and feedback.

• Open up accessible two-way communication

  When employees feel they don’t have a solid line of contact with their higher-ups, communication can stall at critical times. As a result, employees may decide skipping work is easier than going through the hassle of getting in touch with out-of-reach bosses. Leverage smartphones and digital channels of communication to eliminate potential barriers.

• Enable more scheduling flexibility

  Rotating schedules posted on Sunday nights in the break room cause stress for frontline employees and require lots of manager attention. Traditional paper scheduling hinders shift changes and time-off requests, creating a workflow bottleneck. Digital workplace platforms offer straightforward ways for employees to communicate availability and request time off while enabling them to autonomously view, swap, and pick up new shifts. Flexible scheduling minimizes the amount of no-shows by simplifying the process to find a replacement.

Research shows that predictable hours have a positive impact at all levels of an organization. They entice new talent, reduce turnover and improve workplace culture. Denying your workforce flexibility may just push them away to other opportunities thanks to the healthy job market.

Rather than using traditional scare tactics to ensure employees never miss a shift, create a culture of empowerment by equipping workers with digital resources and tools that help them succeed.

Additional Resources

Source: Chain Store Age