What are realistic objectives for absenteeism reduction per manager or department?
Many organizations focus on absenteeism figures for the entire organization. However, each team is composed differently. For example, it’s unrealistic to expect the same absenteeism rate from a team with many employees over 55 as from a team of recent graduates. Using overall organizational absenteeism figures can result in unachievable goals. Setting such unachievable targets is demotivating. Therefore, it's important to determine which teams or departments need improvement and what a realistic absenteeism target is that managers should aim for.
We develop appropriate goals for managers in the following way:
Method?
We conduct an analysis of risk factors to identify which factors have the most significant impact on absenteeism. This includes considering team composition (e.g., age distribution) or other team characteristics (such as geographical location or the level of risky work involved).
Outcome?
A tailored, dynamic norm per team or department. This norm is based on the identified risk factors and adjusts as these factors change. If the rolling average of a particular selection is below the dynamic norm, you can safely assume that this team or cluster is performing better than expected in terms of absenteeism. If a team is above the dynamic norm, it indicates that improvement is needed.
What is needed?
- Historical data from the HR system
- Historical absenteeism data for at least 12 months. The more historical data available, the more accurate the prediction.
Added Value?
This approach allows for realistic objectives to be set per team/department instead of applying a single standard across the entire organization. This way, a team with, for example, many older employees or engaging in more hazardous work can also achieve its own goals. Conversely, based on their characteristics, other teams might be expected to have lower absenteeism than the organization’s overall standard.
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