Attendance-based recognition is prevalent, but current data proves that recognition based on good attendance tends to lower performance and increase absenteeism.
Usually, the goal of a perfect attendance recognition program is to increase employee presentism and decrease absenteeism. But, the underlying goal is really to increase productivity. According to the CDC, productivity loss due to absent employees is a whopping 225.8 billion dollars a year.
The first conclusion is that if employees weren’t gone as often, productivity would increase. But, that isn’t what happens. Instead, sick employees come to work, but perform poorly. Illnesses travel, making more employees sick and unproductive. And, the number of deeply sick employees increases, further increasing absenteeism.
And, there is another problem with pushing employees to show up: it’s motivating the wrong thing.
Physical Presence isn’t as Ideal as Emotional and Mental Presence
Focusing on employee attendance takes the focus away from employee performance. Instead of recognizing employee engagement, effort, and performance, attendance is set up as the golden standard.
This often leaves employees feeling disgruntled, unappreciated, and unfairly left out. But a few changes can turn your attendance recognition program into recognition that motivates and inspires.
Employees waste an average of 8 hours a week at work. This wasted time consists of personal calls, surfing the internet, gossip, spacing out, and applying for other jobs. Even when employees “show up” for work, they may not be fully “checked in.”
Instead of focusing on physical presence, consider an attendance policy and recognition system and focus on emotionally and mentally “showing up.”
1. Clearly Define the Objective of Your Program
The reason most attendance point programs fail is because the real objectives weren’t clearly identified. Managers assumed that the objective should be to encourage perfect attendance. But, in reality, the objective was probably increased production. The assumption was that perfect attendance would inspire increased production.
Instead, managers should look at recognition and identify the true objectives. Then examine the program from all angles. Look for ways that employees might game the system. Often, poorly constructed recognition programs may demotivate stellar employees and encourage poor employees to game the system.
Harvard Business School found this. When the feature company rewarded for perfect attendance (including no tardies), poor performers increased their attendance. But there’s a catch. Poor performing employees only increased their attendance long enough to qualify for the reward. After that, they dropped back down to previous levels.
And, top employees felt the program was unfair. As a result, their productivity dropped.
- Does attendance recognition reward the right behavior?
- What unintended behaviors may arise from the recognition?
- Are there negative results that may occur?
The lesson is clear. Make sure you define the objective. Instead of pushing perfect attendance, recognize engagement and performance.
2. Modify Your Definitions of Perfect Attendance
Instead of eliminating perfect attendance recognition, consider modifying it to fit your company culture. Reward employees with “perfect attendance” when they show up engaged in a project. Or, recognize attendance to long and difficult meetings, particularly ones that might be draining due to conflict or obstacles the team faces.
Recognize employees that help eachother out with a “Always showing up” award or “attending to the team’s needs” award.
Instead of focusing on employees who physically show up for work, seek to highlight employees who mentally and energetically show up for work. Recognize employees whose hearts show up and who attend to the most difficult problems.
Employees who show up after taking time off to get better can be recognized for the way they jumped back into the fray of work “attending to the backlog.” And, you can recognize employees for “perfect attendance fighting illness at work” when they stay home instead of coming in sick. This can help encourage employees to stay home when sick and avoid spreading illness.
3. Get Peers Involved
Once you’ve redefined what “perfect attendance” means, get everyone involved. Encourage new employees to recognize the employee that “showed up” and helped them the most their first week in the office.
Recognize customer service reps for “perfect attendance” to customer problems. Or “100% attendance to listening accurately.” Teams can recognize other teams for “the perfect presence” while working together.
Encourage employees to give “perfect attendance” awards to anyone who shows up, puts in a great performance, or is exceptionally present during a challenging time. As peers recognize each other, not for physical presence, but for heart and soul “presence” engagement increases.
And, where engagement increases, productivity increases. That is the real mission of an attendance program.
Conclusion
The more effective way to foster recognition that improves performance is to clearly identify objectives. But, how you recognize is as important as recognizing the right activities. Check out two critical errors recognition programs make that harm intrinsic motivation.
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.