The editor, who interviewed me, shared that research indicates that students do better academically when their regular teacher is present, so there are compelling reasons to encourage teachers to come to work. For our purposes, however, these thoughts can apply to people who work in any professional occupation.

You will always have Gamers. Consequently, your goal with any attendance system is to honor the commitment and dedication of your employees who come to work. In organizations, people have a tendency to write policies to punish and control the behavior of the few gamers. Instead, policies should recognize that the majority of employees come to work and recognize this contribution.

Create an Effective Attendance Policy

With an effective attendance policy, first, you must have a way to track the time people take off from work so that the integrity of your Paid Time Off (PTO) policy, your sick leave policy, and / or your paid vacation policy is ensured. This also ensures that the time off rules are the same for everyone which is important for the sense of workplace fairness and justice. This is especially important to manage unscheduled absences for which many workplaces have trouble with work coverage. This is true for teachers and other employees who have work stations that must be covered.

Second, and probably most importantly, you need to manage absenteeism. This means that the employee needs to call in directly to the supervisor who is trained to manage absenteeism. This starts with the personal call and the supervisor telling the employee that they will be missed and the impact of their absence on the workplace. Each instance ends with the supervisor personally welcoming the employee back to work and once again, telling the employee about the impact of their absence on the workplace and their coworkers.

Third, if possible, allow flexibility in your workplace so that an employee with an early doctor's appointment or a sick child, as examples, can work later or come earlier to make up the time. Women, unfortunately, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures, experience more absenteeism related to family matters. Especially single moms, with no safety net of family or a partner, struggle with attendance, in my experience.

So, this flexibility might also include the ability to share jobs, experience flexible days or hours, and work from home, or telecommute, under guidelines. I'm not a huge fan of compensatory or comp time (Nolo.com) because I believe it encourages a clock-watching attitude that is not in keeping with the accomplishment of the whole job and goals that I look for in an exempt or salaried employee. But, exempt jobs are the jobs that will most frequently allow flexibility.

Fourth, rewards and recognition for positive attendance can make a difference. While you don't want people feeling as if they must be paid extra for doing their job, you do want them to know that you appreciate and respect their positive attendance. In some cases, especially with non-exempt employees, and to reduce unscheduled absences, you may want to build actual monetary rewards into your attendance policy.

Finally, I don't even like to discuss this, but as with any employment responsibility, there must be consequences if the employee is failing. To whom is this the most important? To all of the employees who have good attendance, work hard, and find their personal motivation affected by people who fail to come to work. Progressive discipline is critical, starting with coaching and feedback, and performing the steps in attendance management listed above.

Please take a look at the Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy I've developed. Your feedback is always appreciated.

_{Image © Kelly Young}

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You Will Always Have Gamers originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 07:43:13.

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Sample policies, procedures, checklists, and forms are also provided for your personal, not commercial, use. I am continuing to add to my Human Resources sample letters. These sample Human Resources letters provide guidance for common letters you encounter in business and human resources. Use these sample human resources letters to make job offers, thank rejected job candidates, resign from your job, review resume cover letters, review interview thank you letters, and provide effective employee recognition. Find sample human resources letters.

Additionally, here are sample employment letters that will help you find, employ, and welcome staff to your company. Please let me know of additions and specific topics you'd like to see covered.

_{Image © Pali Rao}

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You Use HR Letters originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 07:31:09.

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I've themed this week's newsletters and blog posts around layoffs and dealing with unemployment. But, I encourage people who are still employed to adopt the practices recommended in: How to Keep Your Job, and that employers who must do employee layoffs adopt these best practices.

Still employed? Watch for Thursday's newsletter. I am taking on what currently employed people need to do now to be as prepared as possible if the dreaded layoff occurs.

How you lay off employees in this economic climate really matters. You've heard me discuss alternatives to layoffs, none of which are exceptionally positive, but may provide temporary solutions for your business.

The pain of layoff and unemployment is real and scary for people. Prospects are cloudy on the employment horizon. Sometimes, when you've tried everything else to preserve your business, an employee layoff becomes essential. Best practices in layoffs matter for the employees you lay off and the employees who survive the layoffs.

Employee layoffs allow you to cut costs while preserving your relationship with your most critical employees. Plan first for your organization's future when you embark upon an employee layoff. These are best practices of employers toward the employees they must lay off. Find out how to help the employees who survive the layoffs maintain positive morale and motivation.

_{Image Copyright Nicholas Monu}

More About How Employers Do Layoffs

• Layoffs With Dignity.
• Layoff Survivors.
• Survivors Can Soar After Layoffs.
• How to Cope When Coworkers Lose Their Jobs.
• How Did You Cope With the Loss of Coworkers in Layoffs?

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Employee Layoff Practices Matter originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 06:23:39.

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