How To Cut Down on Contact Center Employee Absences

Written by KOVA Corp

No matter how sophisticated your workforce management software is, the scheduling assistance it provides can’t help if the contact center employees slated to be at work disrupt plans by unexpectedly calling in sick. If employee absences are causing a problem in your contact center, don’t give up hope there are solutions! We’ve put together a list of a few ideas you can implement to keep the number of unexpected employee absences to a minimum and keep your contact center running smoothly.

Create a detailed absence policy

Every contact center should have a formal policy in place regarding the number of sick days and personal days allowed, but that alone isn’t enough. Your policy should also specify when and how supervisors are to be contacted when an employee needs to take a day off, whether they need to bring a doctor’s note, and what happens when an employee does not comply with the absence policy. Having an official policy in place that all employees are aware of will give you the leverage you need to enforce it. Have the employees each sign a copy and keep it on record in case there are any disputes, showing them that they agreed to what the policy stated.

Institute return-to-work interviews.

If unexpected absences become a recurring problem for an employee, make a point of setting up a meeting between employee and supervisor immediately after an absence to discuss the issue. Supervisors should welcome the employee back, ascertain whether they are well enough to be at work again, update them on anything that happened while they were gone, and find out what the cause of the absence was. Then they can delve deeper, discussing whether the recurrent absences are all really due to unexpected illnesses or if caused by preventable, foreseeable issues. This discussion may help those employees understand the importance of advance notice whenever possible so that schedules are not disrupted.

Provide incentives for good attendance.

Contact center employees who make that extra effort to be at work every single day deserve to be rewarded for it, and the fact that there is an incentive might just make others more likely to aim high as well. When an employee knows that a small bonus or perk is hanging in the balance, he or she might decide to come in to work after all, rather than taking that day off on the spur of the moment. Such bonuses could be recognition like Employee of the Month or gift cards to restaurants. Bigger bonuses can be awarded at the end of each year at the company’s discretion.

Harness the power of peer pressure.

When someone unexpectedly doesn’t show up for a shift, everyone else has to work harder to make up for it. Let your contact center workforce discuss that fact at a meeting so that everyone is aware of the effect absences have on their coworkers. Simply hearing about the experiences others have had while covering for someone who was out can make an employee think twice about taking too many days off. It also helps reinforce that idea that showing up for work is half the job and a crucial aspect of teamwork!

Encourage a healthy lifestyle

In an effort to cut down on the number of days employees take off shift, encourage the employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. It could be as simple as company-funded gym memberships, healthier choices in the cafeteria or vending machines, or fun classes that teach how to cook simple, healthy dishes. Encourage good hygienic practices such as always washing hands and covering one’s mouth when coughing or sneezing. Keep hand sanitizer and sanitizing sprays/wipes on hand to reduce the spread of germs, especially during cold and flu season. Simple actions like these can make a difference in the number of employees getting ill!

Some unexpected absences are simply unavoidable people will still get sick and it’s vastly preferable that they stay home to recover rather than coming in and spreading their germs to the rest of the workforce. Family emergencies and accidents are unavoidable, too. But the number of unexpected absences can be greatly reduced through the above practices, which will benefit both your employees and your contact center’s performance.

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