Feb 9th 10
Posted by admin in Management
That absence management is a key component of workforce management does not really need an explicit mention. However, planned and unplanned absence is a universal fact of work and many organizations might take it as something that cannot be avoided.
There are ways to minimize both absence and its impact. First, we need to look the factors that cause absence, particularly unplanned absence that is more disruptive to work.
Reasons for Absence
- SHORT-TERM SICKNESS: Short-term sickness is a major contributor to unplanned absence. An employee might call in sick, or produce some kind of certificate to prove the sickness
- LONG-TERM SICKNESS: This kind of absence is usually covered by a certificate
- UNAUTHORIZED ABSENCE OR PERSISTENT LATECOMING: The employee might just absent himself or herself without any excuse, or might be a habitual latecomer
- AUTHORIZED ABSENCE: Employees are entitled to different kinds of leave under the provisions of employment laws. These include annual vacations, maternity (and paternity) leave, educational leave, and so on. These kinds of absence can be scheduled and alternative work arrangements can be made through advance planning
Measuring Absence and its Cost
Many organizations do not take the trouble to find out the cost of employee absence, the reasons for the absence and ways of reducing its impact. With proper focus, absence is controllable to some extent, and the resultant benefits can be significant.
By accumulating absent hours (including late hours) and comparing it to total available hours during the period, we can calculate the percentage of time lost owing to absence. By comparing the percentage for different periods, the trend of absence can be monitored.
By department and section wise monitoring of the trend, it might even be possible to identify some of the reasons underlying high absenteeism. For example, poor working conditions or a bad manager or supervisor might be aggravating the problem in a department or section.
Absence can also be measured by individual workers. The number and length of absences of each employee during a 52-week period is noted. Problem employees can be identified and the reasons underlying their absence can be investigated.
Policies and Actions for Absence Management
Surveys have revealed that sickness is a major factor for absence. The studies also indicate that stress-related absence is increasing compared to earlier periods.
Absence management starts with clear policies for allowing employees to take time off due to sickness. The policies should meet the minimum requirements under the law, and can be more liberal to attract better employees.
The policies must be communicated clearly to employees. In particular, employees must be fully aware of the procedures for availing sick leave, such as whom to notify, when a doctor’s certificate or examination by company doctor is required and also any return-to-work interview requirements.
Implement systems to measure absence by departments/sections and by employee. Seeking the help of occupational health professionals to reduce the incidence sickness and stress can help reduce incidence of occupational health and injury problems.
Unacceptably high and persistent levels of absence need to be handled through disciplinary procedures.
Conclusion
Absence management is an important component of workforce management. Absences can occur owing to different factors. Managing absences start with the organization measuring the levels of absence and identifying the reasons for it. Once a clear picture is available, organizations would find it easier to tackle unacceptably high levels of absence.
Studies indicate that sickness and stress are major contributory factors to absence. These are unplanned absences and cause more disruption. We look at sickness absence in more detail in a separate article.
Originally posted 2009-03-20 15:46:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Jul 7th 09
Posted by Aldohas in Management
If you are like me, you’ve often wished there were 48 hours in a day instead of just 24. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done that you want. Since we just have about 16 hours a day not counting sleep time, it’s important how we use the time we have.
On the average, people waste about 2 hours a day. This is mainly from poor planning. If a person is unorganized, they waste time trying to find things, they miss appointments, they only do one thing at a time when they could be doing two.
Good time management is a major building block to success. Oftentimes, it’s not how much time we spend working but how efficiently we do the work. The key to successful time management is careful planning and setting priorities.Plan your day, your week, and your month in advance. Know when things need to be done. A great way to “buy time” is to multi-task. Do more than one thing at a time. There are many things that do not require concentrated mental effort. These are more easily combined.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail,”
-unknown
Even though I am a big pro football fan, I can’t justify sitting down and spending three hours watching a game. I have to be doing other things while I do it. Thank goodness for instant replay! I’ve found this is a good time to spend icing injuries or some other busy work. I can also record the games and watch them while exercising. I exercise about 30 minutes a day so during the football season I can watch a game during the week without wasting any time doing it.
When you run errands try to do as many as you can on one trip. If you are self-employed, you can combine personal errands that are on the way to a business errand and have the mileage written off as a business expense.
I’ve been fortunate to have been able to work at home for the past ten years. It’s been great because I hate to waste time commuting. If you must commute, you can use the time to listen to audio self-improvement tapes, audio books or anything educational.
If you are a regular exerciser and belong to a gym, think about working out at home. If you lack the space and money for exercise equipment, try traditional body weight exercises. A little research on the Internet can show you websites devoted to this subject. Even though I lifted weights for 20 years, I’ve converted to body weight exercises. I’ve found they feel better and get the same if not better results. Of course, if you go to the gym to socialize or network, that’s okay. You’re doing more than one thing at a time. You can go walking with your wife. That way you’re getting exercise and husband / wife interaction at the same time.
Setting priorities enables you to get the most important things done. Keep you eye on the big picture. Don’t let low priority things bump off the higher priority tasks from your schedule. If you’ve only got so much time, it’s imperative you spend your time doing the things that bring you the most benefit.
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
– Goethe
Time is so precious. If you want to be successful in life you need to be spending more time being productive and doing things that are moving you forward. Spending hours a day watching TV, playing computer games, or surfing the Internet is not productive time usage. We all need downtime but you need to determine how much is really necessary. If you use your productive time efficiently then you will have more time to relax and do the fun things.
Jul 3rd 09
Posted by Aldohas in Management
Are you the type of person who feels that there are not enough hours in the day for you to complete all of your daily tasks and duties? This article gives free tips on how to manage your time in a more constructive and successful way.
Set a to do list
I am one of the people who would have answered the above question with a definite yes. I often used to feel under pressure and uptight, I worried that I did not have enough time to do what I wanted and needed to do.
I now set myself a to do list which helps me to plan my time better. I have a priority list, which is the tasks which are the most important for me to complete. I will concentrate on working through these jobs first and always try to ensure that they are completed before the day ends.
If I manage to work through all of these tasks, I then start on my second list. This is a list of other important tasks which need to be completed as soon as possible but which do not particularly have to be finished today.
I then have my final list which is work that needs to be completed, however there is no immediate rush to finish them.
If at the end of the day I have certain tasks left on any of the lists, they then are added to the lists of the following day. This is a simple formula which has worked for me and which helps me to sleep better at night.
Take a break
In the past when I used to struggle to work through my tasks, I would start to panic and would not allow myself a break. This I have come to realise is a big mistake. My brain and that of most people has a certain concentration span. If I just continue to work, the quality of this work will soon drop as my brain becomes tired and weary. It is as if it is punishing me for not rewarding it with a rest.
I now make sure that I have regular breaks and I will usually take an hour for lunch. This helps me to return to my tasks fresh and alert. My brain is also happier which helps me to think clearer and quicker.
Do not rush
I would always rush each task, eager to start on the next one. What I found was that this would lead me to making lots of silly errors. I would then have to go back and amend these mistakes which ultimately would cost me valuable time. I now work at a speed I am comfortable with. I still make errors which of course is part of life, however there are now far fewer of these.
Do not beat yourself up
I am my own worst critic. I would often go to bed and would be unable to sleep as I was thinking about all of my unfinished business. I would feel guilty and even ashamed of myself. The next morning after this lack of sleep, I would be tired, which would affect my ability to work well.
This of course was like a vicious circle, which was making things a whole lot worse. I now am attempting to be a lot easier on myself and realise that all I can do each day, is to try my best. If I am unable to complete a task or tasks that is fine, I will do it in the morning.
I hope the above advice helps you to plan your day more effectively and leads you to more positive and successful results.
