What’s your company policy when it comes to time tolerance? If you don’t know this, please
check your Employee Handbook or talk to your HR person because as a rule of
thumb, you should be aware of the rules and policy of your company. However, if
you company has not established any rules or policy on time tolerance, it’s
time to get cracking because it is THE monitoring tool to curb indiscipline in
your workforce. In other words, determine the formula in time management so
everyone is evaluated at a level playing field.
Nonetheless, while
drafting this policy, a company should avoid being overly stringent in their
time management because of one very apparent human factor. A superior could
always say “The work time starts at 9 so
I don’t care what drama revolves around you, you need to get here on time at
9:00 or you are considered late”, but considerations have to be evaluated
in separate cases. The policy could be airtight and help save the company a few
extra dollars but would that benefit the company in a long run? One has to
consider the excuse of the tardiness no matter how cliché and trivial it may
sound.
Traffic jam, oversleeping, sending kids to clinic, dropping kids
somewhere, dropping by the pharmacy are probably the most popular answers. When
this happens, you should look at the pattern, is it repetitive or it is a
one-time thing? Not all rules apply to
all employees and employer can’t win it all. Hence, while time is expensive and
really valuable, one needs to find balance and tolerance in managing employee’s
time.
The drafted policy
must not only contain some flexibility but it also must provide clear
indication of the duration marked as tardiness or/and absence. The policy also
needs to present remedies to curb the situation. Every staff must be made clear
of what they are given leeway of and what are not. For example, a definition of
absence in a company is “absence from work for as long as 3 hours without the
knowledge of your immediate superior”, and tardiness means “arriving to work 15
minutes late than the official check in time”. The flexibility or the tolerance
can be adjusted accordingly but by having no tolerance during clock in and
clock out would involve more instances of non-compliance from the staff than
necessary and leave a bad taste in their mouths about the company, which could
reduce the morale collectively.
must not only contain some flexibility but it also must provide clear
indication of the duration marked as tardiness or/and absence. The policy also
needs to present remedies to curb the situation. Every staff must be made clear
of what they are given leeway of and what are not. For example, a definition of
absence in a company is “absence from work for as long as 3 hours without the
knowledge of your immediate superior”, and tardiness means “arriving to work 15
minutes late than the official check in time”. The flexibility or the tolerance
can be adjusted accordingly but by having no tolerance during clock in and
clock out would involve more instances of non-compliance from the staff than
necessary and leave a bad taste in their mouths about the company, which could
reduce the morale collectively.
The policy must
also quantify the occurrences and provide a plan of action to salvage the situation.
For example, if absence is considered as 1 and tardy is considered as 0.5, a
count of 6 in 6 months demands for a counseling session. If the situation does
not improve and similar occurrence happens in the next 6 months, perhaps verbal
advice should be offered followed by a warning letter etc. It’s the duty of the employer to come up with a
rather flexible yet clear policy and remedy to tackle issues in time
management. Another factor to look at is the nature of the business. Does the
tardiness cost the company a lot of money literally for example to run a
production line or to start shooting a movie or the time lost could be
replaceable? Hence, time tolerance has to be adjusted to suit the company.
also quantify the occurrences and provide a plan of action to salvage the situation.
For example, if absence is considered as 1 and tardy is considered as 0.5, a
count of 6 in 6 months demands for a counseling session. If the situation does
not improve and similar occurrence happens in the next 6 months, perhaps verbal
advice should be offered followed by a warning letter etc. It’s the duty of the employer to come up with a
rather flexible yet clear policy and remedy to tackle issues in time
management. Another factor to look at is the nature of the business. Does the
tardiness cost the company a lot of money literally for example to run a
production line or to start shooting a movie or the time lost could be
replaceable? Hence, time tolerance has to be adjusted to suit the company.
Accomplishing this,
it is vital that a company is equipped with a reliable Time Management System
to record and save the time of each employee for analysis. The most trustworthy
system to date is the Biometric system that captures the attendance of a person
through Biometric features such as fingerprint and face recognition. The time
recorded must be precise and reliable but most importantly it should comply
with the rules and policy of the company, besides providing up up-to-date
instant reports on subject at hand.
it is vital that a company is equipped with a reliable Time Management System
to record and save the time of each employee for analysis. The most trustworthy
system to date is the Biometric system that captures the attendance of a person
through Biometric features such as fingerprint and face recognition. The time
recorded must be precise and reliable but most importantly it should comply
with the rules and policy of the company, besides providing up up-to-date
instant reports on subject at hand.
Time in business
is undeniably valuable but a slight time tolerance given to employee will go a
long way in keeping that healthy culture and work environment.
TimeTec Cloud is
an online Time Attendance and Workforce Management Solution accessible via web
and mobile app, priced at USD2/person. Attendance in TimeTec Cloud comes with
tolerance features that can be set automatically. Find out more at
www.timeteccloud.com
is undeniably valuable but a slight time tolerance given to employee will go a
long way in keeping that healthy culture and work environment.
TimeTec Cloud is
an online Time Attendance and Workforce Management Solution accessible via web
and mobile app, priced at USD2/person. Attendance in TimeTec Cloud comes with
tolerance features that can be set automatically. Find out more at
www.timeteccloud.com
