Staff íSickiesí cause biggest HR headache

Nearly a quarter (23%) of small to medium sized businesses owners and managers in the UK are plagued by suspicious employee sick leave according to new research* from Bibby Financial Services.

Other difficult and awkward Human Resources (HR) issues that management have to deal with include employee tardiness (20%), staff complaining about colleagues (20%), pay disputes (18%) and even having to intervene when it comes to poor personal hygiene of staff (10%).

With such a varied list of day to day HR issues to deal with, the research found that owners and managers are struggling to keep up with legislative changes (33%), deal with difficult members of staff (13%) and find the time to deal with HR issues properly (11%).

David Robertson, chief executive, Bibby Financial Services, said: ìAccording to the latest CBI figures**, the cost of staff absence to the UK economy rose to over 13 billion in 2005, with as many as 13% of days lost to sickness considered non-genuine by employers ñ in other words staff ípulling sickiesí ñ at a cost to the economy of 1.2bn.

ìDealing with such issues is a delicate process for employers and must be done ëby the bookí, which takes a lot of time and consideration. Whatís clear from our research is that with so many things going on in a business environment, owners and managers simply donít have the time to handle everything themselves and important long-term HR issues get left aside for the short-term, quick-fixes.î

However, itís not all ëdoom and gloomí for owners and managers, struggling to deal with staff issues and run a successful business.

Robertson said: ìMany companies are waking up the fact they do not have to go it alone, and can get help and support with a range of difficult business tasks. For example, we are finding increasing numbers of our clients outsourcing non-core areas of their business to the experts, ensuring their business keeps on top of important legislation and gets professional help in dealing with day to day HR issues.î

To help owners and managers manage non-genuine absenteeism, Bibby Financial Services developed the following tips:

1. Are you flexible? ñ Staff ëpull sickiesí for all sorts of reasons. Many companies beat the sickie culture by introducing flexible working practices like flexi-time or job-sharing, or even letting staff take extended lunch hours for important appointments, which encourages loyalty and reduces unnecessary days off.

2. Keep an eye out - Try to find out the real reasons why employees are not turning up for work. Keep a log for absences and talk to repeat absentees in confidence about the reason they are taking so much time off.

3. Encourage annual leave - Ensure employees take their allocated annual leave. Time off is important for staff performance levels and those who take it return to work revitalised and stress free, and less likely to need non-genuine time off.

4. Analyse management style- One of the top reasons, outside of illness, that employees are absent is due to stress, and the number one reason employees become stressed has to do with their relationship with their manager or supervisor. Use team building techniques to break down barriers and have an ëopen doorí policy to allow staff to vent grievances and air concerns.

5. Arrange holiday cover ñ Donít overburden employees working in the office when other colleagues go on holiday, as this can lead to increased stress and absenteeism.

* Bibby Financial Services research, August 2006, conducted by Continental Research. Based on a nationally representative sample of 300 managing directors, financial directors and other senior managers of businesses with an annual turnover if over 50,000.