How Can We Reduce Late Sitting Costs Without Introducing Overtime Policies?

Morning seniors and friends,

I need your help. My company is an engineering services company, and we have staff members who are staying late almost every day in the office and even come in on days off. This has resulted in the company incurring high costs for cabs, transportation, and other expenses. Now, my management has decided to implement some new policies or guidelines to reduce these costs. It is crucial for us to find a solution without introducing an overtime policy in the company.

Please suggest what we can do. Thank you.

Hi Payal,

Such things are very difficult to stop. But you can give them Time Sheets to be prepared daily and maybe submitted weekly basis. Let them write how much time they have spent on activities during normal working hours and additional working hours when they are sitting late. Then you can analyze the time spent on each activity and determine if it was necessary with the help of business heads. Trying this approach may help in controlling costs.

Regards,
Harshad

Hello Payal,

You need to find out whether the people are overstaying due to additional work or due to additional benefits. If it's due to additional benefits, then you can set a time limit and adhere to it strictly. If it's due to additional work, then you can sit with the people and discuss how to reduce the time spent and finish the work within the given hours. However, there may be emergencies for which you may have to extend the time. In such cases, special permission in advance should be obtained from the bosses.

Some Tips:
This is a delicate issue, so handle it diplomatically as it might affect the motivation of the workers. The best approach is to discuss the issue with the concerned individuals, issue a notification to all, and then adhere to the specified timings.

Riyaz

Thank you, Harshad, for your response. However, we are already requiring them to fill out timesheets in ERP format. Despite this, it is still not controllable, and the manpower required is also sufficient since we are the largest company in Delhi NCR in services with such a workforce. It is not the employees who wish to stay late, but their immediate seniors who have their own excuses for the same. This is a significant problem.

Thank you, Riyaz, for the response!

We have already talked to their HODs regarding this, but we haven't received the proper response.

Payal

Prepare a policy to address latecomers because coming late is also considered misconduct that affects the organization's productivity and growth. For example, arriving 10 minutes late for three days in a month will result in a half-day deduction. Similarly, other consequences can be outlined in the policy to address tardiness effectively.

Even we had the same situation in our organization. The best way out is to make the functional heads responsible. Start by asking employees to get approval for late sitting. This approval slip must be submitted to Admin by 5 pm every evening. It should state the reason for late sitting, the expected time out, and the manager's signature.

Just to let you know - we penalize employees who sit late without approval.

Regards, Shefali

Hello Payal,

My problem is similar to yours, the only difference is mine is in a financial firm. There are many ways of tackling late sittings. One way is to have virtual auxiliary software installed in the systems - Virtual Aux is the software that monitors the performance of employees, tracking their productive hours and break hours. When an employee logs into their system, they are required to log into the Virtual Aux and indicate which activity they are performing. The supervisor can then monitor this activity through controls on their system. Thus, Virtual Aux helps in monitoring productivity and efficiency, thereby reducing late sittings.

Another way to address late sittings is to ensure proper allocation of work by supervisors. It is often observed in many organizations that some employees are idle while others are overloaded with work, leading to late sittings.

A third approach to avoid late sittings is to introduce rewards for smart work. For example, if a task that was previously done manually is now automated through a macro created by an employee, they could be rewarded for their efficiency.

Lastly, instead of providing individual cab facilities, implementing cab routes with different departure times, such as 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM, and 10:00 PM, can encourage employees to travel in groups. This can help in reducing late sittings and promoting team collaboration.

I hope these suggestions are helpful in addressing the issue of late sittings at your workplace.

Hello Payal,

I feel if real people overstay due to genuine work, then there are two issues to be tackled:

1. Everyone needs to be on the same frequency as far as the timings are concerned, which doesn't seem to be the case out here. Different people are viewing it from different angles. So if your top bosses agree, then you can set a cut-off time and announce that no additional benefits/allowances will be provided beyond this point. Ensure strict adherence to this policy. Let people pay for their transportation for two days, and then people will fall in line.

2. The other issue is that if you have to meet deadlines that require people to work extra hours, then why are you also putting pressure from the other side to reduce timings or use of resources? This creates a mismatch between the expectations from different branches within the company. This part definitely needs reconciliation. Please consider this aspect.

Riyaz

You definitely need the first-level and second-level manager support to bring in any kind of change in this. Since sitting late is mostly driven by managers and sometimes their personal interest, it may be reversed too. However, if a manager is able to justify his team's late sitting, you (HR) cannot/should not interfere.

Try to tackle the situation in a way where you give more benefit to employees and less expenditure to the employer, and that HR can only do.

Come up with a policy like getting the approval of team leaders if they have to come on an off day. The team leader can make the discretion whether the employee's presence on an off day is necessary or not.
Create an awareness of smart working and the importance of their presence in the family, without forgetting their duties in the office. Help them manage time well to finish tasks within working hours.
Block all mailing facilities, chats, blogs, etc. Many people can come to work just to do their personal work, so keep a watch on whether they are actually working.

Dear Payal,

Some good suggestions by our friends in the forum. There are always going to be colleagues who will stay late. While you are trying to figure out how you will control the numbers, you may want to stress the work-life balance too. You may want to emphasize some hard-hitting benefits in that area.

It is good if you can express your concerns more from the employee benefits point of view. Lay less stress on cost-saving and more on cost optimization.

Regards,

Raghesh

Hi,

The best and practical way is to set cost reduction targets for managers, for which they will receive a bonus. This approach will enable senior management to save a significant amount of money while also keeping managers satisfied.

Additionally, overhead expenses such as cabs and other costs for off-days can be optimized by grouping employees. For instance, if two employees are coming from Area 1 and three employees are coming from Area 2, and both areas are within a 5-10km distance, it is more efficient to utilize one cab instead of two.

Thank you,
Brijinder

Hi,

This issue is being faced by most companies, and there is no permanent solution except realizing the issues. Basically, two kinds of people work late: either a person is really overloaded with work or must be lazy if it happens regularly. Hence, we need to address this in a very diplomatic way so that we can convey the message. The second thing is through regular meetings, counseling, or training. However, we need to find out the real facts.

Regards,
Arun

Hi Buddy,

It's a cultural change IT people have brought in India nowadays. Late sitting has become a fashion. Other than IT professionals, nobody really needs to sit in the office for long hours to complete their daily tasks. For exceptional circumstances like developmental projects, it is understandable. In those cases, management would not consider cost-cutting. However, in your situation, as management is considering austerity measures, it is not the right approach.

HR can play a vital role in changing this "attitude." It's a false justification, to be honest. The human brain cannot produce good output if it is continuously strained for 4 hours of mental exercise or 8 hours of physical exercise. Anything produced beyond that is not of quality. You would also agree that those who stay late as a "fashion" do not deliver quality results nor complete their tasks efficiently. Moreover, many of them are seen chatting all day without tangible output.

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Good luck to you.

HR AUTOMAG

Sorry, I couldn't attach the PPT. The text is being inserted. You may put it in a presentation and try.

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Regarding the second text, the user seems to be seeking advice on reducing the costs associated with staff staying late at the office. Here is the corrected text:

"Morning seniors and friends,

I need your help.

Our company is an engineering services firm where staff members frequently stay late in the office, even on off days. This has led to high expenses on cabs, transportation, and other monetary aspects. Our management has decided to implement new policies to reduce these costs, but we want to avoid introducing an overtime policy.

Please suggest what actions we can take to address this issue effectively.

Thank you."

Hi Payal,

I suggest that you should create an online timesheet which includes entry time, exit time, and an explanation of the work they had done during the day, indicating the time devoted to each task. This will help in reducing their time and also in the appraisal process. You can easily check the performance of the employee through the internet.

Hi,

The tendency of late sitting or working beyond regular office hours needs to be checked as it denotes inefficiency. If you have the optimum manpower, numbers, as well as skills, then there is no reason that people should sit late in the office or come to the office on Sundays. Exceptional work emergencies are not counted, but they should be occasional. Why not go for an IE study?

In my organization, as a matter of policy, sitting in the office beyond regular office hours is not allowed. Anyone wishing to stay after hours needs written permission from his HOD stating the reasons for the same. The same policy applies for Sundays. Discuss this issue with your senior management and come up with a clear-cut policy on it. Stop reimbursing taxi and other expenses that your staff may be claiming on this account.

Mohan.

Hi!

All the suggestions shared by members are excellent. One of my comments is that you can fix a monthly budget towards overhead costs such as cab expenditure, tea and snacks, overstay allowance, etc., after necessary approval from top management. Ask the HOD to provide justification in case the costs increase during the monthly review meetings.

Thanks

Hi,
Time sheet is one tool that is available but it is more for clocking total hours worked. It may be very difficult to find out productive hours from time sheet. Educate them on completing activities on time and the advantage. Tell them the difference between Hard working and Smart Working, need for planning.Have some recognition program for such people. Remember to have top management / managers with you when you are implementing these things.
Sorry Manasvi. I have a different view on this. If their manager says they have to stay over time to complete the activities that really shows bad planning/effort estimation. If this is the case, the problem is not with the people but with the process.
Here is a case which I heard: Just to share with you on what I heard:- When Kent Beck (Father of Extreme Programming) & his team implemented some payroll application for the famous Daimler group ( project duration – 4 years ) there were only 3 occasion where they have to stay beyond their office hours.
So, if he can plan & execute, we also can.
Regards,

Well, there has to be a genuine reason for using a cab instead of giving them some allowance for late sitting, which would handle their conveyance. This would not only save costs on private cabs but also discourage employees from sitting late and working, as they would have to hunt for a taxi themselves, which is a bit time-consuming affair.

Hi Payal,

I think IT companies work like this, right? Because I also work in a software company, but we don't provide any cab facility. People should travel on their own transport, but sometimes we will give comp-off to them for the extra hours they worked so that they can take paid time off. Coming to your issue, please check with the concerned department and determine whether employees should stay late at night. I think if there is any project deadline, we can't say anything. So, before checking with the concerned team leader about the work priority, then make any decisions.

Regards, Ramya.R

Dear All,

We should find out the balance in work allocation to all the concerned and payment according to the work done by him, not time consumed by him. Another work technicality should be taken care of, and importance and involved intellect should be considered. It should not be based on the Boss Chamchagiri; it should be based on the work done. Only then can we all, as a whole, develop India's work culture like other countries such as Japan, etc.

Thanks. Please comment.

Morning seniors and friends,

I need your help. My company is an engineering services company, and we have staff members who stay late almost every day in the office and even come to the office on off days. As a result, the company is incurring high costs on cabs, transport, and other monetary expenses. Now, my management has decided to implement some boundaries or new policies to minimize these costs. Most importantly, we do not want to introduce an overtime policy in the company.

Please suggest what we can do to address this issue effectively.

Here is an interesting email sent by Infosys' Mr. Narayana Murthy to his staff.

Hi Payal,

I totally agree with the solution given by Mr. Bajaj. You can't stop late sitting immediately. For that, you need to prepare the job description with the active consent of the functional head. If he thinks we need some extra hours to meet deadlines, then it's okay; otherwise, there is no need to sit late.

Another important point is to stop providing cab facility to individual employees. After office hours, you should set a specific time for every route at intervals of 45 minutes or 1 hour, and employees have to go not individually but as a group.