As a manager, or Human Resources representative, there are few tasks more difficult than managing staff holidays and absenteeism. As employees look to spend busy periods with their family, and attempt to book holidays, it can make scheduling hourly workers a nightmare—as well as managing the demands of salaried employees looking to use or exceed their allotted holiday time.
Fortunately, there are a few simple ways for you to best manage these problems, including absenteeism—in the interest of minimising any collateral damage and progressing through busy periods with a fully staffed team. Below, we outline a few tips that will assist you in this challenging task.
Set a Hard Deadline
The easiest way to manage staff holidays is to create a hard deadline, whereby employees must submit any requests before this time or they will be automatically denied. Many workplaces impose a one month requirement, stating that employees must submit holiday requests no less than one month before the date due to begin.
During busy periods, such as Christmas, it may be worth creating a first-come-first-serve policy. This means that employees are granted leave based on how many other employees have requested time off before them. Apart from that, you can manage staff leave requests with the Deputy app effectively during these busy periods.
Implement a Point System
If absenteeism is proving too much of a burden to your company, then you may consider implementing a point system, whereby workers are given a certain number of points for every absence beyond their allotted amount—that can’t be justified by a medical professional or other verifiable source.
After accruing a number of points, you can then implement a disciplinary system. For example, employees with unexplained absences could be prohibited from bonusing that quarter—or could be subject to a review from upper management. While this is an effective way to reduce absenteeism, it is important to remain fair and human, in the interest of ensuring employee satisfaction. This means approving a reasonable anoint of sick days per year, and accepting valid excuses.
Outline Your Policy Clearly
The easiest way to limit the amount of issues that arise is to outline your holiday and absence policy clearly and concisely. This means giving each employee a handbook, for example, or sending out a clear memo when any changes are implemented to policy. In many instances, this is not only common practice, but a legal requirement. It also protects you, the employer, from any liabilities.