If you are struggling with lateness, early leaving or excessive mobile phone/internet usage amongst your employees you’d better learn how much does it cost your business!
An interesting article published by Detroit Business Law reveals the true cost of employee time theft.
The article’s author gives the following example:
· An employee who robs you of 5 minutes per day 5 days per week (25min per week) is stealing the equivalent of approximately 2.8 days per year assuming an 8 hour work day
((25min per week x 52 weeks)/60min/8h)
· If you pay him/her £10 an hour and he/she is stealing 2.8 days per year, it’s costing you £224.00 per year (plus payroll taxes and employee benefits)
· If he/she steals an hour a day 5 days per week that cost simply rises to 33 days per year and £2640.00 (plus payroll taxes and employee benefits)!!
What can you do to minimize employee time theft at your workplace?
1. Your Personnel Policy should include information on workplace regulations regarding working hours, mobile phones and internet usage, making personal phone calls as well as policy relating to tardiness.
2. Your employees should be aware of how much you are willing to tolerate—you can disallow personal phone calls except emergency cases or restrict the internet usage. Make it clear what consequences can follow the breach of this agreement.
3. You may wish to set up a rule in your time and attendance system which would exclude from employees salary the hours lost by lateness and early leaving.
4. Installing a biometric clocking in device will also eliminate ‘buddy punching’ – a situation where anyone can clock in a person who is running late. Combined with software, a modern time and attendance system gives you much more insight into the occurring attendance issues than just a clocking in machine.
The attendance management system can make it easy to track attendance patterns, trends and costs helping you discover problem areas early on – before absences get out of control. Armed with that information you can discuss it with an individual and find out if there are ways to make positive changes – especially if there is an underlying reason for their poor attendance record.
Our clients have noticed that just knowing automated employee absence management systems are in place was enough to deter staff members from taking unnecessary leave.
*Source: http://www.detroitbusinesslaw.com/2010/01/29/employee-time-theft-you-cant-afford-to-ignore-it/
