Currently absence rates are at 8.4 days per year, or 3.7% lost time or £659 per employee per year (CIPD Annual Survey Report 2007 - Absence Management). Further figures show that this cost, at the very least, doubles when indirect costs are added such as the cost of re-staffing, scheduling, re-training, lost productivity, diminished moral, turnover and opportunity cost. To calculate your cost of absence download our absence cost calculator.[Click here to Download] Office Control has been specifically developed to employ the most successful activities to reduce the absence rate. According to CIPD Annual Survey Report 2006 for Absence Management, the five top reasons for a fall in absence rate are: 1. Tightened policies for reviewing attendance
For each certified sickness period, Office Control compares the number of days and incidents to the company's preferred bench mark levels over a rolling period, say 12 months. If the employee has taken more days or more incidents over the rolling 12 months than the company deems appropriate then this records against the employee and they start to float to the top of an alert list. The manager and employee are informed and action can be taken to help curb any further absences. 2. Improved absence monitoring
Once sickness has been recorded the next step is to see if there are any issues with the over all absence in the company. Historically this is difficult as the information is often dispersed across the company and has to be collated first – obviously this is magnified when trying to compare one absence history with the company average, or even just their department. By being able to do high level reporting gives managers a clear picture of potential problems that might exist. 3. Returned to work interviews
Office Control requires the manager to hold a Return to Work interview when the absence duration has met a predefined limit. This promotes good communication between the employee and the company and lets any problems get aired that might be effecting productivity in order to find a shared solution. Return to work interviews are rated as the most effective approach to tackling short and long-term absence across all sectors. 4. Increase management buy-in
Office Control is providing the manager with more information both about the specific absence, the employee and department as a whole. Being better informed gives the manager the opportunity to react quicker to situations. The policies also provide an easy way of removing the possibility of an unsatisfactory situation from manifesting itself in the first place. Effectively Office Control is able to deny an absence request or alert the employee to taking too much sick leave before the Manager has to get involved. By reducing the management overhead where possible and improving the information presented to management when they are required, they're able to be more focused and effective in this area of their work. 5. Change in method in recording absence
However carefully current absences are being recorded, the simple act of implementing Office Control will create a clearer picture of employee absenteeism and this will be apparent right across your organisation, thus promoting better sickness habits. Office Control employs powerful process management in a simple to use, familiar approach to collect appropriate information in order to improve business productivity.
Headline Features: - Collection of initial notification from absentee, manager, assistant or appointed person (e.g. reception or HR)
- Subsequent notifications for duration of sick period
- Expected return and reason absent collected for managerial purposes
- Self certification form to confirm absence details
- Collection of statistics and trends
- Comparison of employee’s absence rates to company’s preferred limits
- Tasks required are triggered by number of days absence
- Return to work interview form and Doctors note (completed by manager)
- Work related injury form including Risk assessment and health and safety plan
- Detailed configurable absence calendar
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