Creating an attendance policy is essential for every business. It establishes expectations for working hours, attendance, and paid time off. It’s easier to uphold such a policy when you’re able to see the productivity within the office. But what about when you now have a remote team?
A remote working option can be beneficial to employees as much as employers, as long as there are clear expectations and guidelines. Which is why having a solid attendance policy is key to success.
Flexible schedules and a greater work-life balance is very appealing. For managers however, it comes with its own set of challenges. Monitoring if schedules are being followed, if remote employees are “showing up” during the workday, and if productivity is high are all crucial assessments for success.
In this article we address the importance of creating an attendance policy for your remote team.
Tips For a Time & Attendance Policy for Remote Teams
As flexibility within the workplace continues to increase, your workforce may contain a mix of in-person and hybrid teams. Strict adherence to attendance policies will help enable communication between co-workers, as well as efficient productivity.
Clearly outlining what’s expected of your employees will better equip managers for handling situations when employees fail to adhere to these guidelines.
Detailing everything related from:
- Working hours
- Attendance
- Paid time off
- Time tracking
Establish Clear Working Hours and Expectations
Remote employees are said to work 1.4 more days per month than in-person employees. This can lead to an overworked and burnt-out team. Clear expectations of working hours should be set not just to make sure employees are working enough but to make sure they aren’t overworking themselves either.
A best practice is to mirror the regular in-office work day, which is typically 9am-5pm. If you value work-life balance, there should be an expectation of a set number of hours employees are expected to work.
Maintain An Attendance Policy
Managers do not have the option to pop into someone’s office and inquire about projects when working with remote teams. It is important to implement an attendance and availability policy.
You shouldn’t feel like you’re hunting down employees by sending numerous emails and messages, waiting for replies and updates. Make sure everyone knows when to be available and how to communicate. Additionally, employees should be aware of the approval process for taking time off from work. Employees can’t simply use a slow day “working from home” to disappear for the day.
When working from home, employees should still be entitled to personal and sick days, but an approval process should be in place. The ability to prepare for when an employee will be absent from the day will help others to fill in the gaps.
Provide Time Tracking Guidelines
All employees should understand how to track their working hours and guidelines should be given for:
- How employees should track their time
- When employees should submit their tracked time
- What to do if employees are working outside of their scheduled working hours
- Employees should be made aware of any repercussions due to falsified information
Time and labor management technology allows for accurate payroll, ensuring employees are correctly paid for the time they work.
Avoid Workforce Management Problems
Businesses have been using time and attendance policies for years and implementing such guidelines are essential for employee and companywide success. Streamlining these processes, even if they need to be updated, will help remote employees manage their time and productivity. Managers can eliminate any confusion or problems within the workforce by enforcing these policies and ensuring everyone understands the requirements.
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