Crafting an Effective Attendance Policy for a Large, Diverse Workforce: Any Tips?

I am looking for a sample attendance policy and guidance because I am at the point of creating one for the company that I just joined. It is a trading company with more than 750 employees. Most of the employees work in fields such as hypermarkets, ports, customs, malls, etc., with minimal or no supervision. Therefore, it is challenging to monitor their 'in' and 'out' timing on a daily basis.

Considering these scenarios, how can I create an effective attendance policy for my company?

Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

Shaji

Hi,

Basically, when the company is a trading type, it is really very difficult to keep track of employees overall. Especially in the marketing/sales department, you really cannot get a hold on them and keep a check either.

The employees should be asked to first come to the office, punch their cards, and then proceed towards their meetings and appointments for the day. But the same cannot be asked in the evening time. I mean, it may happen that an appointment has been fixed at 6:00 pm with a client for which the employee has to start at least 2 hours in advance depending on the place of the meeting. The employee cannot punch the card at 6:00 pm to show that he/she has dutifully stayed at the office till 6 pm and delay the meeting.

In such cases, you can keep track with the respective department Heads about all the employees under him/her and report to him/her about the time entered, the meetings for the day, and time out. Respective department heads/immediate superiors are better persons to give you the correct information about that particular employee.

Make it a point to:

- Coordinate with the respective department heads every day, know briefly about the schedule for the day.
- Initiate a practice that HR should be informed if an employee goes to a meeting/appointment directly from home (without coming to work first).

Hope this would help you a little.

Ambika Kamath

Dear Ms. Ambika,

Thank you so much for your detailed response to my request. Points are noted, and I will incorporate these points into the policy that I am developing in this matter. Once again, thank you so much.

Regards,
Shaji