Concern Of Absenteeism In Training

Hi All,
Could you please advise the steps or measures which needs to be taken to avoid absenteeism in training once the individuals were hired?
There were many individuals who are unable to report and causes delay in training programme. The reasons they cited are like this:
1. Medical issues (especially female trainees)
2. Someone in distant relation expired or hospitalized and noone to take care
3. Important festival celebration
4. Any close relative marriage / birthday function etc.
Also, let me know how to avoid such suituations to give 100 % attendance in training and if someone is unable to report then how to handle the situation and give a message to entire training team to avoid reoccurence.

Dear Pravin,

We too had such issues in my ex-organisation. After investing efforts to plan based on need, schedule, finalize the list of participants, as a in-house trainer, my experience says that, employees are fond of giving excuses without evaluating the cost of training, hence we modified our PMS wherein we had added quantifiable parameters allotting 10% stake to it. Now, its upto employees to secure their hike in pay else they can focus on 90%.

1) Minimum No. of trainings to be attended per year, even it is a repeated programme.

2) No. of training attended.

3) Performance post training.

Based on their attendance and performance, they can secure hike in pay.

At times we even had issued warning letter with a note, this will be considered as a parameter while evaluating your performance with regards to your punctuality, accountability and ownership to upgrade your skills and knowledge favoring competencies.

You need to have some kind of mechanism to make your employees more accountable and responsible towards their job. Request your HEAD HR to consider you views and modify your PMS to suit your modus operandi.

With profound regards

Absenteeism in training may not be always because of the employee's lack of keenness, but often due to the Manager/ Supervisor of the employee not relieving his subordinates on the pretext of shortage of personnel to manage operations. This disease is more prevalent in organizations conducting training programs within the house (through their own trainers/ hiring external faculty). One of the ways to solve this problem is to inform all managers & employees that if attendance at the training point shows an employee as absent, he/ she will be deemed to be absent on payroll unless advance intimation is received through the concerned manager about the individual being on leave due to unavoidable circumstances. This process is managed well if an automated training management information system is deployed. Some organizations are using EmpXtrack software to track absenteeism during training & have been able to streamline their systems.

Hi All,
Let me clear once again that I have shared my concern on the training which we provide after joining to the trainees and maintaining 100% attendance in that. It is something to related to product training and missing any particular day training impact the training progression and delay in the plan. Refresher training or any other session is totally different aspect altogether.