The Best Ways to Track Absence in the Contact Centre

A lot of contact centres struggle to get their absence rates under control. Why? Part of the problem is that it’s hard to take steps to reduce absence if you aren’t tracking it properly in the first place.

So where do you begin with uncovering the full picture? To find out, our Editor, Megan Jones, spoke to Dr M. Dave Salisbury, Gemma Carter-Morris, Karl Fletcher, and Michael Clark for their best tips and techniques for getting a firmer grasp of absence rates in your contact centre.

Here’s what they said…

10 Ways to Track Contact Centre Absence

1. Track Everyone in the Same Way – Even Upper Management!

Treat everyone fairly – no matter what level of the organization they are working at.

“When it comes to tracking absence, we treat everybody with the same principles across the breadth of the business, so there’s a sense of fairness for all. It doesn’t matter where you rank, it’s the same process.” – Karl Fletcher, Novuna

2. Look at Organizational Trends and Comparisons – Not Just Individuals!

It is important to understand and analyse your absence data, as this can give you lots of information into where some of the challenges might be.

“Look at trends including categories of absence, whether they are short or long term, what is causing the highest levels of absence, and if there are any historic or departmental trends.

For example, if there is lots of absence relating to musculoskeletal problems, then there might be opportunities for more ergonomically designed chairs or standing desks to counteract the impact of being sedentary all day.” – Gemma Carter-Morris, Next Steps Consulting

“It’s important to look at trends to understand what is happening and when – particularly to compare absences between different groups of people based on tenure, seniority, and role.” – Michael Clark, CXTT Consulting

3. Make Note of Any Seasonal Trends So You Can Better Prepare for Them

Look out for seasonal and predictable periods of absence.

For example, do you see higher absence rates in September, as children go back to school and share sickness bugs with their parents? If you are looking out for these trends, at least you can plan better for them – even if you can’t bring them down.

If your sickness levels do spike and you want advice on how you can tackle this common issue, read our article: Get Sickness Under Control – 21 Management Tips

4. Cross-Reference Absences Against Refused Holiday Requests

Are you cross-referencing your absence rates against refused holiday requests? It’s another key piece of data to track!

Although this type of behaviour does raise the broader question as to whether it was really necessary to decline the holiday request in the first place!

5. Make Allowances for Absences Linked to the Same Underlying Reason

Some cases of absence can be linked to the same underlying reason, for example if someone is on maternity leave, or experiencing a recurring health issue.

These can be counted as one absence to some degree and should be treated differently to multiple cases of absence linked to lots of different reasons – for example, an individual who always seems to be off for a different reason, for example “I’m off with a cold” or “I’ve got a migraine”, which may be indicators of stress or management issues.

For the common sources of contact centre stress and how to address them in order to better support advisors, read our article: Employee Well-Being: How to Reduce Contact Centre Stress

6. Have Return-to-Work Interviews to Find Out More About the Absence

Build return-to-work interviews into your processes, so managers can talk through what’s happened and if there’s anything the agent needs to support them.

This approach can help to uncover any underlying problems (and even the real reason for the time off, if they’ve been hiding stress or family issues) and help managers signpost to relevant resources and support.

7. Double-Check Hybrid Agents Aren’t Working When They Should Be Resting

It’s harder to track genuine absence and sickness cases with hybrid workers, as they are typically more likely to try and “work through it” rather than call in sick and get marked down as absent, but you need to keep a close eye on this.

“We don’t want our people to be working at home when they are ill and should be resting. Instead, we say don’t push yourself, because you can make yourself even more unwell in the long run. This approach helps us to maintain a clearer picture of our absence and sickness levels.” – Karl Fletcher

For expert tips and advice on reducing absence, agent burnout, and attrition, read our article: Tackle the 3 A’s – Absence, Agent Burnout, and Attrition

8. Keep Tabs on How Many Times Individuals Are Off Across the Same Year

It’s important to track the bigger picture and put trigger points in place.

For example, if HR tracks that someone has had three occasions of sickness within a 12-month period, this could trigger a conversation with their line manager. Or if someone hits 100 days of absence in a year (essentially half a working year off sick!) this should also trigger a review process.

The Bradford Factor is one way to measure absenteeism for agents. If you want to find out more, read our article: The Bradford Factor – Improving Contact Centre Absenteeism

9. Track Absence at the Level Where Effective Support Can Be Delivered

All types of absence are best tracked at the lowest level, where effective support can be delivered.

10. Closely Monitor Agents Who Aren’t Using Their Holiday Allowance Well

Keep an eye on how well your agents are using their holiday allowance, as those using it poorly may end up driving up their absence levels too!

“If someone has used up all their holidays in the first three months, we track them for the rest of the year, because they’re more likely to go off sick, either because they’re burnt out or potentially “pulling a sickie” because they’re out of holiday.

We’ve got people doing the opposite as well – they save all their holidays to the back end of the year, and they don’t take them at the front end. And that worries me as well as they also risk burning out. It’s about encouraging people to keep the balance right.” – Karl Fletcher

Knowing the Why in the Data Story Empowers Leaders to Make the Best Choices

“Tracking people physically can be done using a myriad of automated tools. However, if you do not know the why, the tracking data is not even a third of the data story.

For example, did someone call in sick because they have no time left to stay home? Or do they have life events necessitating longer breaks?

Knowing the why in the data story, allowing flexibility where needed, and empowering those professionals you hired in the loop to make the best choices remains crucial to fully appreciating absenteeism.” – Dave Salisbury

With thanks to the following people for sharing their thoughts and experiences for this article:

• Dr M. Dave Salisbury, COO at D&C Consulting LLC
• Gemma Carter-Morris, Director of Wellbeing and Client Relationships at Next Steps Consulting
• Karl Fletcher, Resource Planning and MI Manager at Novuna
• Michael Clark, Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of CXTT Consulting

If you are looking for more advice on managing contact centre absence, read these articles next:

• Need to Reduce Absence in Your Contact Centre? Here’s How!
• An Action Plan for Dealing With Absenteeism
• What is Attrition Rate and How to Calculate It

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman