How Can We Encourage Better Punctuality Among Department Managers? Seeking Your Advice

Hi everyone, can you help me propose an action on how to improve punctuality among the Department Managers? Your help would be highly appreciated.

Thank you and warm regards,
Arlene

Addressing Punctuality Issues Among Departmental Managers

From your query, it seems that departmental managers are not abiding by the rules and regulations of the organization. Punctuality is the starting point of discipline. If managers are not punctual in their duties, how can we expect their subordinates to be punctual?

Please convince them that "Discipline starts from the top." Try to understand their problems and find out the reasons. There may be genuine reasons, but they should not be a daily occurrence. They are managers; handle them with care without hurting their egos. However, prioritize discipline. Make them understand the adverse consequences of such habits. Those who are not punctual in their duties are perceived as having a casual approach. Counsel them on this matter. It may take some time, but you will surely overcome this issue.

You can start daily late-coming reports and have them signed by HODs. Regular monitoring and reporting will yield positive results in establishing and maintaining discipline in the organization.

Best Wishes.

Provide cab, auto, bus, and other vehicle facilities. I am sure no one will be late. Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Regards.

Give some extra incentive and reward to the most regular and punctual person.

As already pointed out by Ramesh, punctuality is an important aspect of employee discipline. One method of ensuring punctuality is to reward discipline. Some organizations do this by giving 20% weight to 'Discipline' in their performance appraisal system. They define 'Discipline' as a sum total of punctuality, dress code (where introduced), defiance of authority, and adherence to company rules and policies.

I take this opportunity to appeal to all members to provide enough information about the scenario and the intensity of the problem. For example, how large is your organization, how many departments are there, and how many managers do not come to work on time? Do they work beyond the office hours on a regular basis, and if so, for how long after normal working hours do they stay at work?

I am not in the habit of making general comments when insufficient information is provided. Hence, I raise questions. Please excuse me.

We have five (5) Managers: HR Manager, Purchasing & Logistics Manager, Sales & Marketing Manager, Technical/Operations Manager, and Finance Manager. Our office hours start at 9:00 am and end at 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Normally, all these Managers arrive between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, but they leave the office at 10:00 pm.

Thank you & Warm Regards,

Arlene

If they are working until 10 PM instead of working until 6 PM, where is the problem? Have you inquired from them why they come late and leave late? As a manager, I used to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early to work but left on time, even though some workers were working overtime. I was not paid for overtime.

Have you got workers working on shifts? Are managers working nearly 4 hours after the closing time?

Our principal office in Singapore has raised the issue of managers being late, but all managers, whether late or not, still stay in the office beyond 8 hours. It seems they want to compel all managers to report on time by asking me to propose an action on the matter.

Current Shift Details

To answer your inquiry, we only have one shift from 9 am to 6 pm, but staff typically work overtime due to the workload. I have spoken to some of them about their late arrivals in the office, and they mentioned the usual reasons such as traffic, which is very unpredictable here in Manila.

Thank you.

Arlene

Punctuality in Single Shift Organizations

It is a good practice in many 'single shift' organizations to have all employees, including managers, report on time in the morning. This allows managers to take stock of available resources, schedule work, and allocate tasks. In such a scenario, there is no fixed time for managers to end the day, although their subordinates (at the worker level) finish work at a set time, unless some are required to work on a paid overtime basis. The point to observe here is that there is no concept of overtime for managers. However, if the managers are not punctual in the morning, there is an apparent delay in the commencement of work in that department.

To that extent, your principal office in Singapore seems justified in asking all managers to report on time. To introduce this culture of punctuality, your Head of Indian operations (and not the HR) has to drive this change.

Regards

When information keeps coming in dribs and drabs, it is difficult to keep track without going back and forth. So, let me try and summarize your problem before trying to find a solution.

Current Situation Overview

You work for a company that has its HQ in Singapore. The normal working hours are 9 am till 6 pm. There are 5 departmental managers (HR Manager, Purchasing & Logistics Manager, Sales & Marketing Manager, Technical/Operations Manager, and Finance Manager) who habitually come late (between 9 am and 10 am). They stay behind till 10 pm. Workers do get paid overtime, and they do work late. However, managers are not paid overtime money. Your Principal office has asked you to give your proposal to ensure that managers come on time to work, irrespective of whether they work more than 8 hours and stay late.

Questions for Clarification

Let me ask a few more questions to get a clear picture of the problem. What is your role, as you say even the HR Manager comes late? You say that managers give unpredictable traffic as the reason for their late coming? Have you asked them if that does not apply to their workers, who come on time? Or do the workers also come late? If so, what actions do you take?

Finally, if managers are staying late every day, they can plan for their following day's work, leave instructions, and go so that even if they do not turn up for work (for whatever reason), the work will go on.

I totally agree with what you said. To answer your questions, I am an Executive Assistant based at the headquarters in Singapore. I have been tasked with monitoring the attendance of all the Managers. Yes, even the HR Manager has arrived late to the office. The HR department has already implemented a Tardiness Policy for the staff with corresponding penalties, and it has been clearly communicated and accepted by the entire organization. However, here in the Philippines, it is a common practice among some organizations for Managers to have a flexible schedule.

Thanks,
Arlene

Improving Punctuality Among Department Managers

Department managers are educated enough to know the importance of punctuality, and it cannot be taught to them. However, they need to realize its importance. It would be better if you conduct a meeting and raise this point, or circulate an email from the senior heads regarding this issue to the managers.