Anyone who has managed or overseen multiple employees at a business knows how difficult
encouraging good employee attendance can be. You may have implemented a time and attendance software that helps you monitor the beginning and end of shifts more efficiently, an important step
that has likely given you a much better sense of which of your employees is showing up on time. But while software can make your life easier from a managerial standpoint and may alert someone to the importance of getting to work on time, you will still want to take additional steps to encourage a culture at your company that is focused on respecting the schedule.
Why? Well, good employee attendance is something you want to encourage not just because it means your employees are working more, but because it means that your employees are working better. Someone who is focused on being on time is more likely than not going to be an individual who is also focused on productivity and accountability.
So, how can you encourage punctual and consistent attendance? Well, what usually gets a positive reaction out of people? Offering up some rewards. Here are four easy ways you can reward your most on-time and dedicated employees.
Public acknowledgement.
Whether in a departmental meeting or in a company memo, show that you appreciate the efforts of the individiual in a public forum. Receiving this distinction will not only buoy the on-time employee
and encourage more such behavior, but it may also inspire others to up their game and show up to
work punctually. You don’t want to foment rampant competitiveness, necessarily, but a bit of healthy
competition can help ramp up productivity and strong employee attendance.
Buy them lunch.
In this context, the old adage should be, “The way to an employee’s heart is through his stomach.”
As any manager at a company with an in-house kitchen or catering knows, well-fed employees are
happy employees. Buying someone a meal will definitely come across as a demonstration of
your appreciation, plus it’ll give you some time to get to know the individual outside of a work setting. Reward your punctual employees once in a while with this kind of gesture— it doesn’t cost much.
Give them time off.
Employees who have been consistently on time and are dedicated to starting off their day productively
can also be rewarded with a bonus personal day or 3-day weekend. Invite the employee into your office and tell them how much you value what they’ve done and that you would like to reward them with time off. Of course, employees that are really conscientious about attendance and punctuality might resist taking a personal day to themselves, so you may have to press the point! Make sure the time off is paid.
Just say thanks.
Your employees aren’t psychic. No matter how open and friendly your managerial style may be, they still
need to hear from you point blank that you appreciate their efforts. If an employee is consistently on time
and really exhibiting dedication on this level, make sure that he or she knows that you appreciate the
effort. Tell them thanks and let them know some specifics on how their actions are helping everyone else and making a difference to the company.
So, leveraging a few of these tips should get a few more of your employees committed to timely attendance and get your office or company running more productively. Do you have any tips for encouraging punctuality that we haven’t listed? Let us know in the comments below.
4 Easy Ways to Reward Good Employee Attendance,
