Media

Many South African companies faced the challenge of staff turnover and absenteeism in 2010. Last year the situation was compounded by the FIFA Soccer World Cup and the ‘flu epidemic that hit the country during the winter months. This trend is likely to continue into 2011 and is especially prevalent at the blue collar worker level.  Staff absenteeism can in some instances be as high as 10% of the workforce at any given time. What is the solution to this situation?  

Nritika Singh, managing director of Isilumko Staffing (IS), a national recruitment company, which offers temporary, flexible and permanent staff, says, “One of our company’s goals is to offer our clients added value, by providing solutions to their internal staffing problems. Staff absenteeism, which is a common phenomenon in this country, can have a ripple effect on the entire operation of a business. By not having a full staff complement at all times individuals who do not turn up for shift work for example, can compromise the whole production process.

“Isilumko Staffing has worked towards a proactive solution to this widespread problem, its effect on the staff attrition rate, the disruption to business and the subsequent need for the retraining of new staff. It is a costly and vexing cycle.”

Singh says that the whole process starts with effective recruitment. It goes much further than finding a candidate, even at the blue collar worker level, with only the core skills that are required for a job. IS’ offerings include conducting personality tests and looking at candidates levels of job dependency. Furthermore, by investigating and understanding the client’s working environment IS is able to provide a better candidate match for the job.

“It is essential that the client has an accurate absenteeism monitoring and reporting system and an absenteeism policy if none exists. This absenteeism policy will be communicated to our staff so that they are aware of what processes need to be followed.”

The consequences of staff not turning up for work, for whatever reason, are serious. This is why timekeeping has to be monitored. The client’s staff must be made aware of their rights by communicating the company’s policy and providing training to ensure application. In some cases counselling rather than discipline may be appropriate, as there could be factors beyond the person’s control. It is also important for clients to inculcate a work ethic that reinforces attendance. The perception that all the available annual sick leave should be used as it will be ‘lost’ otherwise, needs to be changed.

Singh says that IS provides support in two important areas:

•    On site management: IS places a manager on site to co-ordinate the scheduling and placement of staff each day, e.g. on a production line should a staff member be absent, those that are present are re-allocated.  The manager is also responsible for generating the absenteeism report.  This process has ensured proactive management of staff. IS provides an onsite reserve team, as well as a standby team, who can be sent to the company within 30 minutes of the alert. Thus creating a preventative situation and obviating any possible downtime on shifts and ensuring the smooth running of the business.

•    Incentives: IS provides and promotes special incentive reward programmes for staff on behalf of the client. There is a reward for positive behavior, which takes the form of a tangible cash, appliance or shopping voucher-type incentive. A group scheme sick
fund kitty can also be implemented and apportioned pro rata.

Singh concludes, “Absenteeism increases costs, reduces service and productivity and demotivates fellow staff. You cannot avoid some absenteeism, but levels above 10% indicate a serious problem. We believe that our measures can turn the situation around.”