An employee consistently being late can bruise the company’s productivity, waste time, hurt morale, and essentially waste money. As a boss, you want to care for your employees and extend grace. But as an owner, you need to tend to your business and protect it from factors that hurt it. The following are ways to incentivize timeliness but also confront habitual tardiness.
Use a time clock.
You may feel like you are coming off as a boss who micromanages. But clocking in reminds the employees that their time is being monitored. You can buy a physical time clock for an employee to punch in and out, or like most remote companies now, some applications allow an employee to clock in and out digitally.
Schedule a staff meeting first thing in the day.
This is a simple thing that helps you to check in with everyone as well as ensure employees are showing up promptly.
Be clear and consistent about the rules
One of the best traits in a leader is someone who can communicate clearly and effectively with their employees. It is not enough to just clearly communicate, you must be consistent in informing as well, such as putting your policy in your company handbook. This sets an example and enforces the mindset of a team atmosphere.
Require phone calls.
Create the policy that if an employee will be late, they are required to call to let you know. People will be less apt to show up late if they are required to talk to someone about it.
Institute consequences for lateness.
This goes hand in hand with being clear and consistent about the rules, and you want employees to know the consequences of tardiness. Treat all employees fairly, document what the consequences will be, and do not back down. This is yet another reason why you want the policy instituted in your handbook so you can follow through without fear of retribution or being accused of inequality.
Make punctuality part of the employee performance review and compensation.
Because being on time affects not just the company but the employee’s performance, it should be included in the performance review. When you put importance on timeliness, this shows the employees they should as well.
Create a reward program for punctual employees.
You will want to document this as well to show that you are tracking your rewards fairly. Examples of rewards can be gift cards, a paid day off, or tailored to the employee chosen.
Talk directly to the persistently late employee.
As mentioned before, communication is important in a business. If the incentives and non-verbal approaches are not working, you may need to have a one-on-one discussion with the employee who continues to be late. Sit down with the employee and once more mention the importance of being on time. Come up with a plan of action to remind the employee that they are ultimately the one who is responsible for showing up promptly.
At the end of the day, if discussions, policies, and incentives are not working, you may want to think about whether an employee who is flagrant about your set rules and causes poor morale amongst your team is worth keeping.
If you need to discuss your policy or how to handle a consistently tardy employee with a professional, feel free to reach out to ask for a referral to an HR company I trust. You can contact my office at 310-534-5577 or [email protected]. Having a policy to enforce is key to ending the tardiness of staff.
https://sba.thehartford.com/managing-employees/employee-always-late/?cmp=EMC-SC-SBA-46464683&eml=1
