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No Call, No Show Employees: How to Handle Them

No Call, No Show Employees: How to Handle Them

If you’re a project manager of a construction business, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of dealing with a “no call, no show” employee. The worker either doesn’t bother to show up or doesn’t call in and indicate why they won’t be there. Dealing with this type of behavior can be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.

It’s essential to handle the situation respectfully and fairly to you and the employee. Keep reading to discover our tips for handling no-call, no-show employees by enforcing employee attendance rules.

How an Absent Employee Impacts Your Construction Business

When an employee doesn’t show up at the worksite, it can cause a severe blow to your company. If you’re not ready with another worker or if there are no other workers available, then things will start falling apart quickly.

Here are some things that might occur when an employee fails to show up for work:

If you don’t set an attendance policy in your company, all your employees can come and go as they please without providing valid excuses.

Why You Should Implement an Attendance Policy for No Call No Show

According to a 2020 survey by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), a total of 3 percent of the full-time wage and salary workforce was absent on any given day. No call no show for companies can cause significant losses in time and productivity and increase labor costs. 

Most often, workers will tell their employers why they’re absent, but some will make up excuses to get out of their daily tasks. It might be beneficial for managers to have the employee’s emergency contact list on hand to verify any emergencies that might prevent them from coming to work.

Company policies ensure employees know what will happen if they skip work without calling ahead. When you implement an employee attendance policy, your employees will understand the consequences of not following the rules and do their best to fall in line.

Top 5 Tips to Handle No Call, No Show

The no-call, no-show policy is a crucial aspect of any company. Some employers give their employees a chance to explain themselves before firing them while others terminate the worker after 2 or 3 days without showing up for work–so what should you do?

Here are the top five tips for handling such tricky situations in your workplace:

1. Establish Attendance Rules

Manage attendance and productivity by establishing rules for employees. These can include daily, weekly or monthly targets with consequences if they’re not met, such as starting the termination process.

Attendance policies should also provide flexibility so that you don’t penalize an employee for unavoidable circumstances like a medical emergency or death in the family. For instance, for circumstances covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, or if they’ve given prior notice.

Here are some examples of what these rules might look like for workers:

By creating attendance rules, workers will know what time they have to arrive at their job site, their expected lunch hours, and what time they can leave.

2. Create an Employee Handbook

The no-call, no-show problem is one that many businesses face. To handle these issues effectively, you should create an employee handbook with policies for emergencies and time-off requests, as well as define what constitutes a violation of your company’s attendance requirements. Your workers will know how they will be judged when asked about their commitment to work obligations.

You can also try getting legal advice from someone well versed in state law regarding employment contracts. There may still exist certain areas where human error could result in compensation claims by either employer or worker, so a lawyer can help you make the best decisions. Consider consulting with an employment attorney to ensure that the policies you set forth comply with state and federal laws.

3. Communicate The Policy with Your Employees

When you create a new company policy, be sure to communicate it with your team. This gives them an opportunity for questions and concerns, so don’t just send emails without talking first.

Speaking about policies also sets forth clear guidelines that everyone understands and confirms by reading and signing their names when they agree on the new measures put into place.

4. Enforce Your Policy Continuously

Consistency is critical to any enforcement of your no call, show policy. Some companies maintain an on call list to manage sudden absences and ensure that workflow isn’t disrupted.

Whatever you choose, ensure everyone pays their price equally. Hence, there isn’t favoritism among employees who do good work without making excuses or those who get creative with explanations about why they missed a day.

The consequences of not following your no-call, no-show policy should be outlined. That is why it’s critical that you set up an enforcement procedure, including penalties, and ensure everyone, even good employees, should be held accountable for their actions.

Several penalties that can result in termination include:

Attendance systems involving facial recognition have made tracking workers and registering absences easier. When a construction worker fails to clock in, or someone else punches for them, a flag alert system can detect such an issue immediately. MobiClocks’ color-coded alert system, for instance, will notify managers about missed, suspicious, and offline punches and helps them keep track of workers.

5. Improve Your Scheduling Process

No one likes getting stuck with a scheduling headache. But if you still have problems after setting up your no-call, no-show policy, it’s time to improve call no show employee scheduling at work.

You can reduce or eliminate the risk of no-show jobs by implementing an employee scheduling process that gives workers control over their work schedule and allows them to request time off.

Some employee scheduling apps like MobiClocks, for example, have a built-in chat feature that allows seamless communication with human resource management. 

For instance, construction workers who want to leave early because of an emergency can quickly communicate with their managers and keep them updated about their problems. 

Get Better at Handling No Call No Show Employees

The importance of a no-show policy cannot be overstated. With the potential for adverse consequences, if your employees show up without warning, they will likely want to avoid these risks and work towards making sure that none happen in future times.

A no call no show policy will prevent future problems with sudden absences and avoid reckless job abandonment situations. By enforcing such a policy, you can maintain an active staff while growing at whatever speed works best for your company’s growth.

For more information about the latest attendance software for better employee scheduling, check out our buyer’s guide to time and attendance systems.

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