Absenteeism - how you deal with it is up to you!

Do you remember that girl in junior high who hated to participate in gym because she had everything from bad cramps, to sore legs, to a broken heart?  Unfortunately she AND he (his excuses were somewhat different of course) still exist in the job market.  The biggest problem - they can be really good at their job WHEN they actually show up...

Small business owners and managers of small departments struggle with a chronic absent employee the most.  Clients are affected, which means repeat business is affected which means the revenues are affected which means you're asking "Is there a reason why I'm keeping this employee? Is there a return on investment?"

Well as the quote says (somewhat paraphrased here),  "When you keep doing the same thing and expect different results -- that's the definition of insanity!"  My biggest advice in this case is "Deal with the behaviour immediately."  And when I say "deal with it", it's not just a chat and hoping for things to change.  The things you need to discuss very clearly are:

• What is the behaviour you are currently seeing (you've been excessively absent - here are the dates)
• How do you want the behavior to change (you can no longer be sick more than once per month and must provide a doctor's note when you are sick)
• What are the consequences of the behavior not changing (termination)

And then the most important point - you as the manager or business owner have to follow through on the above.  It's like raising children - if they know they can push you, they will.  Why change if there is no consequence to the behaviour? Ask for the doctor's note and when they don't, write them up (a rule of thumb, is usually about 3 warning letters in a span of 6 months...this seems a bit unfair, but termination for cause is a tough thing to do!)

Finally, while a verbal discussion is good, get in the habit of documenting your conversations and providing formal warnings in writing.  This little piece of paper could definitely save you and your business down the road and will definitely support your case IF you have to go down the road of termination.

One other point - you can also try and reward those employees for good behaviour! For example, those that aren't absent in a 3 month span could be rewarded with "store bucks" and could use it to purchase something within the business.  I'm a fan of promoting good behaviour rather than always looking at the bad.  If it's motivating enough, employees may actually see a reason to change their own behaviour without having to be threatened of their job.

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