Questionnaire: Are You Managing Absence Effectively?

Employee absence can be a major problem for companies and be a big financial burden. By managing absence effectively you can lessen the amount of sick days your staff take and therefore increase your productivity.

There is not just one solution to absence management and it needs to be tackled on a number of levels. As well as being clear and strict about what you will tolerate you also need to look after your employees so they are less likely to take time off sick.

By teaching them how to manage stress, stay healthy and have a good work/life balance you will be handling the cause of the problem too. Take out quiz to find out whether you could be doing more to handle your employee absence:

Do you know, on average, how many sick days your employees take each year?

a) No, no idea
b) Yes, and it has dropped since we’ve been managing it
c) Yes, and it’s not pretty

Is there any monitoring of reasons for absence?

a) No, we just accept it
b) Yes, we are keep track of reasons and lengths of absence
c) We are trying to keep better track of this

Do you offer health benefits to your employees?

a) No, staying healthy is their own responsibility
b) Yes, they have a range of choices
c) We are beginning to

Have you offered any occupational health classes?

a) That sounds like something you would do at school
b) We offer seminars in stress management, fitness and healthy eating
c) There were a few last year but no-one really knew about them

Do you have an absence policy in place?

a) What is an absence policy?
b) Yes, it has been fairly effective
c) We talked about it but decided against it

Are you aware of your legal responsibilities with relation to absence?

a) What kind of legal responsibilities?
b) Yes, we have all been briefed about this
c) I guess we are kind of aware

Mostly As

Your company is losing a lot of money each year through employee absence. Unless you concentrate on managing it and reducing it, then you company will never be as productive as it can be.

Mostly Bs

You have a strong knowledge of employee absence and are taking control of the situation in your company. By offering prevention methods, monitoring absence and creating policies to manage it you will continue to stay on top of it.

Mostly Cs

You seem vaguely aware of what you should be doing about absence management but are having trouble implementing it. It is a serious issue for any company and if you put in a bit more time and effort you will see a great improvement.

Managing employee absence should be a priority for any company as having healthy, happy staff is the key to your success. Firstly, monitor your absence to find out how many sick days your staff take and why. Then draw up a policy and try to stop them form becoming ill by supporting their occupational health.