Absence management should always be viewed as an ongoing
process. Your absence policy must be reflective of your
businesses current circumstances. These circumstances
are always subject to change, and changes must be reflected
in the policy wherever practical.
This diagram shows a generic absence management process.
It
is essential that the initial implementation and any
changes be conveyed to managers through training. Line
managers implement the greater part of any absence policy
because it is these managers who are closest to the workforce.
Before the effectiveness of any policy can be judged,
it must be followed for a significant period of time.
An essential element will be in recording and measuring
absence correctly. This has two main benefits; Firstly
only through recording and measuring can an organisation
be sure that their policy is being followed correctly.
Secondly, the statistics gathered will prove invaluable
when reviewing
the policy.
Within many large organisations, details of absence
policies are often restricted to centralised Human Resource
departments. It is then the responsibility of this department
or Payroll to inform Line Managers of a potential absence
problem. By this time, it is often far too late for the
manager to solve the problem successfully.
The aim of Absence Line
is to deliver accurate management information to the
relevant person, as and when required. Using the Absence
Line call
centre, an organisation can effectively outsource
many of the functions required to manage absence. We
believe this will not only reduce absence rates and
their associated costs,
but also free a significant amount of time both for
line managers and the Human
Resources department.
Some of the many benefits of implementing an effective
absence policy can be found here
