How Can HR Tackle Late Arrivals in IT Without Disrupting Flexibility?

Dear HR professionals,

I would like to know what the most innovative ideas are to prevent late reporting in IT companies. Considering the working conditions, such as late nights, it poses a dilemma for HR to consistently remind employees to arrive on time. Moreover, implementing flexible timings may risk disrupting office decorum. Your suggestions are appreciated.

Kindly suggest.

Thank you.

Well, I would suggest not asking them repeatedly to come on time if you have already emailed them once. It would be better to establish a rule for latecomers; for instance, if a person is late for three consecutive days or for five or more days in a month, a portion of their salary should be deducted. Additionally, you can start considering employee punctuality as a key factor in the appraisal process and communicate this to all employees by sending a circular.

Many companies have already implemented such measures to address these issues, increase productivity, and improve the company's return on investment (ROI). I am confident that implementing similar strategies will yield positive results over time.

Instead of forcing them to come on time, let them know what they would achieve by coming in on time. Connect with them and inspire them. You need to build rapport with every employee and help them understand the importance of punctuality for the company and for themselves.

The more you emphasize not coming late, the more they may be tempted to arrive late. Avoid using "DON'T" because the human mind does not process the word "NOT" effectively. Coach and inspire them; that is the only way to success! Good luck!

You could take the following steps:

1. Put a notice mentioning that the sign-in time is made flexible (9 - 10 AM).

2. The sign-out time is 7 PM, but it can be extended by the employee to enable the completion of the work assigned.

3. However, if any employee is detained by the project manager (who assigns the tasks for the day) to undertake any extra task, he/she may be permitted to come late the next day. In such cases, the PM shall send an email to HR indicating the time at which the employee will report the next day. Delay beyond 1 hour (reporting time - 11 AM) is not permitted. However, dinner shall be provided by the company to all those detained beyond 8:30 PM, provided HR is informed by 7 PM.

4. For detaining a female employee for an extra task, the PM shall be responsible for arranging her safe return home.

5. The above process is to ensure that the attendance procedure is regulated in the company, and the PMs have the requisite power to detain employees for essential jobs leading to the timely delivery of projects and client satisfaction.

6. Those not following the above guidelines will be treated as absent (for 0.5 day, if they report by 1 PM).

It may be better to get the draft notice cleared by your management. Also, it may be desirable to send a copy of the notice by email to all managers and team/project leads.

In addition to these, we can introduce monthly awards. If you have a large team, you can at least provide recognition. What we do in my firm is we started with a monthly recognition email to all, which informs everyone who the top attenders of the month are (people who took zero leaves and have not received even a single late mark). Since ours is a small team, we recently decided to introduce a monthly budget of X amount per month for such top attenders. This will enable them to look forward to and strive to be punctual.

As you mentioned, if the issue of late arrivals is too frequent, consider allowing flexi-time of about an hour so that people do not feel they are unfairly treated. Instead of relying on punitive measures, why not initiate a rewarding method to better engage employees at work? All the best.