What is absence management?

There are an absolutely huge number of reasons that an employee might need time off, even within the remit of sickness absence. Absence management is how an employer uses policies and procedures to reduce the disruption caused by absences, and to reduce absenteeism in the first place. It can take the form of wellbeing initiatives, flexible working options, and return-to-work policies. There will usually be a combination of statutory requirements (that’s policies you’re legally required to offer) and voluntary policies (which you can offer to improve and refine your strategy). 

This is important, because without proper absence management you can find yourself in trouble. 

For example, say you have run a factory which requires people with certain compliance trainings to be on the floor at all times, and all those people end up unexpectedly absent, then you could have to close up for the day. 

Even disregarding the need for the right people in the right place at the right time, absenteeism costs UK employers billions of pounds, with businesses losing an average of 49.7 days per employee due to poor health. By putting a strong absence management policy in place, you can overcome this by spotting the signs of trouble early. You’ll see boosts to productivity and ensure legal compliance. 

There are all kinds of triggers for workplace absence, including but not limited to: 

• Short term sickness, and the urge to avoid getting colleagues sick 

• Long term illnesses 

• Poor mental health 

• Workplace bullying 

• Familial matters 

• Commuting issues 

According to the CIPD, stress and mental ill health are the biggest causes of absenteeism. Work related stress symptoms are very problematic and can lead to physical symptoms that are just as serious as more obvious illnesses.  

To develop an effective absence management strategy, there are several key components you need to consider. 

Firstly, and this may seem simple, but it’s often overlooked. You need to find a way to record absences and maintain those records accurately. Who’s responsible for logging absences?  

You also need to have a clear and effective policy, one that every new starter should be pointed to as soon as possible. How do they report and absence? If it relies on speaking to their line manager, what if their line manager is absent? What documentation is needed and at what stage? If there are to be consequences for unauthorised absences, what are they? 

Now that you have these in place, you can think more strategically. Consider offering absence-related support (such as employee assistance programmes and flexible working arrangements). This is especially valuable for employees with long term sickness, helping them ease back into work is key.  

Communicating these policies to employees is just as important. Hiding policy documents away and making them hard to find, and just hoping that employees will just leads to problems. Make them a factor in your onboarding process, and ensure current employees have all this conveyed through an internal communication campaign, and you’ll see great results. 

There are some broader strategies that can be implemented to help reduce absenteeism 

Flexible working doesn’t work for every employee or workplace, but it can be very helpful as part of a broader absent m. For example, sick employees who feel well enough to work but not well enough to commute or be around colleagues can get work done at home. Likewise, reducing the need to commute and ensuring people can manage their care provisions for dependents more easily can help reduce stress. Work-life balance is key in this regard. 

Occupational health and safety can also be helpful. Ergonomic keyboards and adapted chairs can help reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries and back problems, reducing the risk of absence. Technology can also help enhance this, especially with integrated HR software that utilises absence management features. This helps centralise your processes into one place, ensuring accurate results. For example, your system might enable you to trigger alerts when a certain number of absences are recorded. Different absences can be categorised by type, again making tracking easier. 

If you record and monitor absences, you’ll have a lot of data and trends to analyse. Return to work interviews can support with qualitative data in addition to the quantitative data. This is where you can foster open communication, help spot any stress-related issues, and put plans in place to support the employee. These should be conversational, and not punitive. 

It’s also important to regularly gather employee feedback. Like anything that involves the employee experience, your strategy will only be effective if your decisions revolve around the employees and what they actually think. Look into techniques for more effective surveys, and you’ll see more effective results. 

With proper absence management you can avoid the biggest issues that come with sudden unexpected talent shortages, and account for them. This makes for a happier, healthier workplace that can withstand sudden shocks to the system. 

To find out more about absence management, take a look at our complete People First guide.