Two-thirds (65%) of respondents manage absence through the combined efforts between HR and line managers,according to research by HR, talent management and payroll software provider Midland HR.
Its Understanding absence management study, which surveyed more 120 HR professionals, also found that 85% rely on reports to assist with communicating about the state of absence.
The study also found:
- 66% of HR executives desire real-time information about absenteeism across their organisations, while 54% would appreciate alerts to new figures and trends.
- Respondents have varying ways in how they define the cost of absence to the business; 56% refer to the employee’s salary including allowances, benefits and on-costs such as pensions and overtime, 41% use a combination of salary plus allowances, benefits and on-costs, and 3% base the cost on the employee’s salary alone.
Richard Thomas, director of Midland HR, said: “Clearly, organisations are still struggling. This research highlights a real lack of consistency in measuring and reporting absenteeism.
“Therefore, the way businesses measure absence needs to improve and the only way this can truly occur are by improving the entire absence management process.
“Of course, modern HR systems have a role to play in providing more sophisticated and intelligently presented absence information.
“Management teams also need to be able to draw meaningful insights from these reports so that they can improve their processes, management styles, employee engagement, productivity and, crucially, the bottom line.”