Four steps to healthy attendance

Over the years we’ve learned how far reaching the issue of absence is. It doesn’t start on the day an employee phones in sick and the story doesn’t necessarily end when the employee comes back to work. Rather, the reasons for absence are often long-standing like a stress-related absence caused by ongoing poor support from management or ill health caused by unhealthy living habits and diet. The acute illness that forces an employee to take time off work may subside enough to allow them to return to the office or depot but if the reasons that caused the absence aren’t addressed, the absence is likely to reoccur. That’s why Honeydew takes a wider approach to absence and takes it that one step further. Well, in fact, we take it four steps further:

1. Inspire

We start with what should be the foundation of any attendance management strategy: employee engagement. Honeydew helps employers inspire their employees to maximised engagement and productivity. Showing that a company cares for its employees truly can inspire the staff to give more to their job. Engagement can be achieved in a number of ways and healthy eating promotions in the staff canteen, a cycle-to-work competition among staff, support for anyone trying to quit smoking or simply a campaign to remind line managers of the importance of saying thank you are just a few ways to get started.

2. Engage

At the time when employees unavoidably do go absent, Honeydew provides a platform to engage in positive attendance management. Our web-based attendance management software makes it easy to keep on track of employee absence and helps line managers follow best practice and comply with the company policy. We record complete information on every absence and capture up-to-date contact information, which means that the manager can review the details and engage with the absent employee when they can give their full attention. The automated task workflow guides the manager through the steps in supporting the employee back to work or intervening in problem cases where necessary.

3. Empower

We offer the managers tools and training to make absence management less daunting and time consuming. Our resource materials include tutorials not only for using our technology but also for key management tasks, such as return to work interviews, absence review meetings and how to make sense of the fit note.

4. Resolve

Where a case requires outside help, our case management service gives clients access to the full range of support services. Honeydew can arrange Occupational Health interventions, physiotherapy, counseling, vocational rehabilitation, employment law advice etc. The supporting services are available via a flexible, ad hoc set-up suitable for smaller organisations as well as larger ones.

For more information on how to encourage healthy attendance in your workplace, get in touch.