How Can I Creatively Address Late Arrivals Without Resorting to Penalties?

My name is Monica, and I work with an IT MNC as an Assistant Manager in HR. I am facing a problem dealing with a few senior employees. Over time, even the colleagues of these seniors have started taking things for granted. Since the issue is in its early stages, I would like to address it with a creative solution rather than resorting to penalties.

One idea I have is that anyone arriving after the flexible window time would need to ring the Wind Chime at the main door so they are noticed. Another idea is to write the names of latecomers on small slips and hang them on an artificial tree placed somewhere in the office.

I would appreciate more suggestions to consider. Another idea that came to mind is to assign a TITLE to the habitual offender of the week and post it on the intranet. Please suggest some titles if this idea sounds acceptable.

I am seeking fair opinions and would appreciate an early response.

Have a good day,
Monica

How about:

1. No tea or coffee after the Flexi Window Time until lunchtime.
2. All offenders must treat other members (or their department members) to ice cream on the weekend. I would really enjoy having some free ice cream.

Dear Mr. Ajmal,

Thank you for your valuable and interesting ideas. I liked both of the ideas but am a little doubtful about the first one, as people will start bringing drinks from their homes, otherwise will start boggling over the pretext that they are not able to concentrate... or something similar. The second one is very interesting.

Thanks again. I have observed that you always take pains to reply to almost every query. Keep it up; it's a very appreciable job.

Have a great day.

Monica :)

Monica,

Posting messages on the intranet or bulletin board should do the trick. However, since you have to deal with senior employees, you could also try allocating some extra responsibility or an additional piece of work to make them feel responsible and accountable. Perhaps you might need to ask the respective managers to take care of that.

As for the title, how does "LATITUDE" (late attitude!!) sound? Or maybe "LATIDUDE." But if it's a woman who defaults, this might not fit. 😉

Hi Monica,

Please inform the usual offenders to treat all their team members with chocolates if they arrive late to the office. This is what I do with my team, and it really works. It would definitely improve the situation at your place.

Regards,
Vishal

Hi,

To me Vishal's idea seems good. Since you mentioned that they are senior guys, penalizing them in any way would be offensive. It could also be dangerous to the company. You never know, they could also take out their anger on other team members or undermine the organizational culture.

The idea of giving others chocolates seems good, and everyone would take it well. Being in the HR department, we should help people realize their mistakes but in a very gentle manner.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Hi Soumya and Vishal,

The chocolate idea is great. There are a few people who do not want to follow, especially those in senior positions. How do you crack them?

Regards,
Madhavi

Hi Monica,

Well, this problem is everywhere. Senior staff have this tendency to be late. To tackle this issue, you should send a general email to all staff regarding late arrivals and the associated consequences. If you can subtly address the issue with senior staff, they may start arriving on time. Alternatively, involving top management could also be effective.

Another option is to deduct leave days in accordance with the company policy. However, make sure to obtain permission from your boss before implementing any measures to avoid getting into trouble.

Mohit

Some more....

These are not creative but are effective.

1. Let there be a Card Entry System. Ask the security person to write the time with red ink if the person comes in late. Most of the people won't like red ink on their entry cards, so they would try to avoid it.

2. Keep an attendance register and, after the flexi window time, move the register to some other inconvenient place.

By the way, I am in favor of flexi timing at work.

Dear Monica,

All the suggestions seem to be quite interesting; nevertheless, the fact remains that if the defaulters are hell-bent on not improving their punctuality, then the other option that seems to be a little harsh but surely effective could be to deduct half a day's leave if there are more than three instances of late coming in a month.

Regards,
Shubhda

Hi Monica,

I don't like to appear as the party pooper, but is there a risk that the 'creative' ways of drawing everyone else's attention to those persistent latecomers could be perceived as treating adults as children and in some instances be seen as negative? If that were to happen, is it possible that the focus would switch to a debate on the merits of public ridicule and away from those who are late - thus defeating the purpose of your intervention?

Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned dialogue? I am assuming that you or someone is able to sit and discuss the impact and perceptions of others with those senior employees who are always late? Should you succeed in reversing the habits of the seniors, then those below them will once again follow their role models.

Suggestion for Addressing Late Attendance

Please fix a late attendance report (monthly or weekly as per convenience) on the notice board, visible to all. Print the names of those who arrive late to the office, even after the provision of flexible working hours. This action will surely grab the attention of latecomers, regardless of their seniority, and will eventually have an impact on their behavior.

Best of luck.

It is simply an issue of discipline. If the CEO (or whoever is the topmost official) is convinced, then the matter is easy. You can pool up the suggestions and seek an audience with him, inviting his suggestions to take it further for implementation.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

I agree with Murdhar. What we did in my organization for the latecomers was, we fixed a time for signing the attendance register (i.e., 8:30 am). After that, we had to submit the attendance register to our Head of HR, and the latecomers would seek permission from our Project Director through email, copying the HR team. If the Project Director approved, then the employee would be allowed to sign the attendance register.