Blog
Blog
Blog
IDOC actively shares industry-focused articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos and other thought leadership with our members and other optometric practitioners. Below, you will find links to our growing library of educational materials and multi-media assets written and created by IDOC's team of seasoned industry experts.
Amy Alvarez | 2/15/2019
NEW YEAR, NEW ME, NEW ATTENDANCE POLICY

My least favorite phrase to hear was “Michelle called out today”.  It almost sucked the air out of the room.  I had already planned out the whole day, for myself and the team.  Before hearing that, I probably had a project in place, hopeful to progress in some way. Adjusting and compromising on expectations would begin, priorities would shift and everyone’s stress levels would rise! And, let’s be honest, even down one person, we couldn’t show up the same way for our customers!

In your practice, I think you can all agree that there are few things as frustrating as when you have an unplanned absence.  It changes the entire dynamic of the day.  A call out is never easy but the smaller the team, the more burden it can put on our staff and our patients!  Sure, there are reasons why one would have an unplanned absence and we must respect that we all have full and busy lives with obligations to others and ourselves.  There are also people who have more obligations at some point in time than others.

But this isn’t the Wild, Wild West and there are a few things that we can do to address chronic issues of attendance.

Remove your own mental barrier: All missed shifts are not created equal but they all count.    They should all be discussed for accountability.  You don’t have to play detective to determine if Sally’s call out for a headache is weighted the same as Matt’s call out for a sick child.  It is OKAY for you to ask your staff to show up to work when they have been scheduled!

Approved/Unapproved: View time away from work as approved versus unapproved time.  Did the employee give the practice the ability to prepare for the absence?  If you were not able to adjust the schedule or prepare the team for this disruption, it is an unexcused absence.  If the employee came to you to request the time off and you approved it, the practice was given the opportunity to prepare by adjusting the schedule.

Viewing time away from work as approved versus unapproved removes some of the grey area of the weight held by each absence.

Paid Time: The time you give your staff to be paid when they are away from work is a benefit that you provide your staff but does not have to be tied to attendance.  Paid time allows your staff to have more flexibility – they don’t have to choose between missing their pay or resting with the flu.  However, even though you provide this time, it should not be used for excessive unplanned absences.

Set your own criteria: Determine what you think is excessive, while giving your employees the wiggle room to be human.  Anyone can get the flu.  Are you going to fire your employee for missing work for it? I doubt it – in fact I am sure you would rather they STAY AWAY!  This is an internal number that you set for yourself to be mindful of, not a number you share with your staff.  When we tell our staff they have a “free pass”, they will likely take it – pushing it just to the edge until they are “teetering on the line” (or worse… over it).

I recommend following The Rule of Three – 3 infractions in 3 months is starting to become excessive.  However, if you already have a concern about attendance, switch to 3 in 30 days while you get your staff used to the new format.  Remember, whatever you decide to use as a benchmark is your own information and not something you need to communicate with your staff.

Document, Document, Document: I say this so much to our members, some day you are going to start finishing my sentences!  I have a form I used but it could be as simple as a word document.  Write down, EVERY TIME, why you coached your employee, how the conversation went and what you asked them to change.  Keep these records together and use this information in future conversations, especially if you must escalate to more formal corrective action.

Amy Alvarez
HR Consulting and Services Manager
Amy Alvarez, SHRM-CP is IDOC’s Human Resources Consultant. Amy has experience in HR in healthcare and retail, management in big box and specialty retail stores and physician recruitment. Through these roles and training, Amy is well-versed in recruitment and hiring strategies for “hard to fill” roles, dealing with low productivity, helping encourage employee engagement, on-boarding, training, day-to-day management in a retail setting, employee relations, and so much more.
Trending Blogs
 
 

12/2/2022 | Author: IDOC

Hayley Stewart, IDOC Financial Services Manager

The end of the year is quickly approaching, which means you are probably thinking about your practice’s bookkeeping and all the many year-end deadlines that are going to be here before you know it. One of those deadlines you... Read more



11/4/2022 | Author: Nathan Hayes

IDOC is excited to announce the first benchmark report for our new Books & Benchmark; Financial Statement Benchmarks are live.  With over 30 practices connected to the database, we’re now able to run benchmarks.  Let us share a couple of aspects of how we do benchmarks that... Read more


9/9/2022 | Author: Maddie Langston

 

If you are looking to increase the number of new patients at your practice, then your marketing strategy should include working on how to get noticed in local online search results. One powerful way to increase your visibility in local search is to optimize and maintain the... Read more


8/22/2022 | Author: Kelsey Garcia

So you created a Facebook and Instagram account for your practice, but now what? Coming up with post ideas can be overwhelming and can quickly leave your creative “well” feeling dry. By categorizing your posts into three main buckets, you can easily streamline the brainstorming... Read more


8/5/2022 | Author: Dr. Steve Vargo

As I type this, the news is dominated by concerns over the economy, including unease around inflation and a looming recession. This has practice owners understandably concerned and asking, “What should I expect, and how can I prepare?”

I’m not an economist, and I... Read more


7/22/2022 | Author: Nathan Hayes

Do you worry that your staff aren’t consistently doing the little things in your practice? Do you lose sleep because you just ‘don’t know’ what’s happening outside your lane?  Do you struggle to find the time to oversee things?

Let me suggest that... Read more


7/15/2022 | Author: Amy Alvarez

I think I would be hard pressed to find an independent practice owner who doesn’t understand the power that marketing has on their ability to attract patients to their practice. Keeping patients, new and existing, visiting the practice is an important part of a successful... Read more


7/8/2022 | Author: Lana Greene

I have never spoken to a practice with a zero patient-owned-frame (POF) percentage. I encourage practices to strive for less than 25% POF percentage at a minimum, and less than 15% for the best-in-class. You may see a slight increase year-over-year, which will happen when you sell quality... Read more


5/19/2022 | Author: Dr. Steve Vargo

As research for launching a new service called IDOC Specialty Services, I interviewed several industry experts of various specialties. At the end of each call, I asked everyone the same question: “What prevents more ODs from succeeding with a specialty?”

Their answers were insightful.... Read more