Few variables can send your workflow into a tailspin like unplanned absences. And, if you are like most businesses, the recent surge in Omicron cases, has you scrambling to fill shifts and meet market demands.
Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, employee absences continue to impact every workforce. The latest study claims that pandemic-related absences now cost employers $1 billion a week.
Industries that take the biggest hits include healthcare, education, manufacturing, service, sales, and clerical workers.
Tools to Curb the Hurt
While you can’t predict employee absences, if you use UKG Workforce Central, UKG Dimensions, and UKG Ready tools, you can curb some of the chaos that comes with them.
According to UKG data, by leveraging common platform capabilities, it is estimated that a typical manager/supervisor can reduce the amount of time spent dealing with absenteeism by 50 percent or more. This results in over 105 person-hours ($3,747) in annual savings per manager, with over $37K in annual savings for every 100 FTEs.
Close Scheduling Gaps
• Optimize automation. When a chunk of your nursing staff calls in sick, you don’t have to panic if your system is configured correctly to respond. UKG will automatically generate a prioritized call list of qualified replacements based on availability, seniority, and skillset so that you can fill shifts with the right person at the right cost. The system will also automatically notify managers when employees exceed established PTO thresholds. Automation becomes critical for HR and payroll managers tasked with tracking policy violations, potential FMLA cases, and time-off requests.
• Leverage your analytics. Information is power. UKG platforms such as WFR, WFC, and Dimensions, when tailored to address your unique workflow, give managers real-time insights into workforce availability and scheduling data to ensure that the right replacement is found as quickly as possible.
• Track attendance. Productivity won’t suffer if your system is correctly configured to manage time-off requests, approvals, and automatic updates to an employee's attendance balance. Managers can easily confirm each employee’s eligibility for paid and unpaid leave based on vacation, sick time, and other user-defined criteria. Besides, it’s easy to automatically calculate and report on accrued time off based on employee performance/attendance.
• Identify patterns. In addition, attendance reporting features highlight absence trends and patterns, allowing managers to discover and address issues before they impact productivity or compliance.
Proactive Processes
While your UKG system can help you manage absenteeism-related issues from a technology perspective, there are also internal business processes to consider that will help safeguard your workforce's productivity. A few ideas to consider:
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Policy Clarity. Be sure you have a clear policy attendance policy. More importantly, make sure you've distributed that policy on a consistent basis.
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Wellness Programs. Establish a wellness program that encourages employee mental and physical well-being.
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Employee Engagement. Design internal programs to boost employee engagement. Did you know? Studies show attendance and employee engagement are connected.
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Tech Training. To avoid bottlenecks, provide additional training for employees who haven’t fully adapted to self-service capabilities for time-off requests, shift swaps, accrual balance visibility, or requests to cover shifts.
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Honor Preferences. Consider employees’ preferred working time and hours when building work schedules.
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Schedule for Balance. Publish schedules as far in advance as possible, enabling staff to sustain a healthy work-life balance.
If you are overwhelmed with your internal scheduling tasks and constantly juggling erratic absenteeism, chances are your UKG platform needs some attention to fit the needs of your workforce.
Faster, Better
UKG Solutions
Improv is a UKG-certified service provider known in the industry for its custom configuration abilities. We will take the time to get to the root of your absence, scheduling, attestation, or PTO issues. We will listen. And, we will analyze your Kronos application as well as the business processes and human factors that greatly influence your workflow.
Getting your system running at full capacity is easier than you think. Connect with us today!
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