Fostering an attendance culture
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Last updated: 22 June 2006
Fostering an attendance culture: A guide for APS agencies
Section 7: Appendices and references
Appendix A: Agency consultations
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
- Australian Customs Service
- Australian Crime Commission
- Australian Electoral Commission
- Attorney General’s Department
- Australian Public Service Commission
- Australian Taxation Office
- Centrelink
- Comcare
- CRS Australia
- Defence Housing Authority
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
- Department of Defence
- Department of Education, Science and Training
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Department of Family and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
- Department of Finance and Administration
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Department of Health and Ageing
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Department of Transport and Regional Services
- Department of Veteran’s Affairs
- IP Australia
- Medicare Australia
- National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme
Appendix B: Measuring workplace absence
Measuring the overall rate
In calculating overall absence rates, many organisations use a standard formula to show the amount of time lost:
Number of days/shifts lost to absence x 100
Total number of working days/shifts
Measuring frequency
A simple calculation, often called the frequency rate, may provide more helpful absence information on which to base policies to reduce absence. This rate shows the average number of spells of absence per employee (expressed as a percentage) irrespective of the length of each spell:
Number of spells of absence x 100
Number of employees
Measuring incidence
Another simple calculation can reveal the proportion of employees absent during a given period:
Number of employees having one or more spells of absence x 100
Number of employees
The number of employees can be based on a head count or full time equivalent rate. Where these measures are applied, agencies should ensure that a consistent methodology is applied for determining the number of employees.
Appendix C: Case studies
Department of Health and Ageing
Injury Management – A Preventative Approach
In 2000 the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) was experiencing poor safety audits and high compensation premium increases. Since then DoHA has focussed on a more systematic injury and prevention management (IPM) approach centred around better practice interventions.
Better practice approaches emphasise enhancing the responsibility of business units, engaging managers, improving prevention practices, improving work practices and effective metrics and reporting. In addition to focussing on compensation cases, DoHA also puts significant effort into prevention and management of non-compensable cases which make up approximately 40% of the case load.
As part of the IPM approach, business units are financially responsible for a proportion of the annual premium cost, based on their proportion of staff numbers. In addition, managers are required to provide funding for early intervention on injuries irrespective of whether a compensation claim has been lodged or accepted. This is seen as a proactive measure to implement a return to work program. Managers are also required to contact People Branch where a staff member’s absence on personal leave, regardless of the reason, is likely to exceed two weeks so that early intervention can be initiated if warranted.
Return to Work Case Managers provide timely, one-onone training for managers in their roles and responsibilities regarding rehabilitation or return to work action as required, to engage them actively in these processes on behalf of DoHA.
As a result of these and other approaches, DoHA has reduced:
- its premium rate from 166% of the APS average in 2002-03 to 94% of the APS average in 2005-06
- the four year total costs on which premiums are calculated by 19% over a three year period
- its total estimated claim costs by 50% over four years
- the average cost of high impact claims for psychological injury by 25% over the past four years
- the average cost of occupational overuse syndrome claims by 34% over the past four years.
The IPM approach is part of a broader Health and Life
Strategy which is designed to improve health and well being of staff, facilitate work/life balance, increase productivity through decreasing workplace absences, improving morale, decreasing injury rates, increasing staff retention, and attracting quality staff to the department. The Health and Life Strategy is shown in the following table.
| CORPORATE PLANNING | ||||
| BUSINESS PLANNING | ||||
| Workforce planning | ||||
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| DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK | ||||
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Better health Better care Better life |
HEALTH & LIFE STRATEGY | Employer of choice | ||
Organisational health
|
Agreement making
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Employee assistance
|
Diversity
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Citizenship
|
Centrelink
Attendance Management Strategy
In January 2005 Centrelink began a project for improving absence management and leave rates, following continued high levels of workplace absence. Centrelink devoted time to analysing underlying causal factors impacting on workplace absences, including organisational culture and management practices.
Centrelink used their knowledge of the driving factors, in-depth data analysis, and feedback from staff consultations to set the direction for the strategy, and set about reforming absence management through three key areas. A range of actions were put in place to support the strategy targeted at SES, Managers and Team Leaders and staff throughout the Customer Service Area Network, Call Centres and National Support Centre. At the broadest level, the three key areas included:
Communication and awareness raising
- raising awareness of staff in relation to levels of absence and its impact on productivity
- ensuring managers and team leaders are regularly discussing attendance with staff.
Leadership accountability and support
- articulating clear expectations of team leaders and managers in relation to managing attendance and staff well-being, including during performance assessments
- developing a resource kit for team leaders and managers based on better practice for managing attendance
- implementing a national learning program for team leaders and managers in relation to managing people for performance
- providing targeted intervention and support where high rates of absences occur.
Performance monitoring and reporting
- developing a consistent framework for monitoring and reporting at the local and national levels.
As a result of the strategy, Centrelink experienced a decrease in the number of absences between July and December 2005, with the rate dropping from 8.29 days to 7.26 days per full time employee. Their performance over time is shown on the following chart..
An evaluation of the strategy found the following actions to be effective in reducing absence rates:
- clearly articulating the reduction as an organisational priority
- setting clear expectations of accountability for SES officers, managers and team leaders
- investing in the development of team leaders, ensuring they have strong leadership skills, including skills to engage with employees, and that they take an active role in building supportive relationships and managing stress
- ensuring there is a consistent approach to managing leave across the organisation
- providing proactive HR support which responds to the needs of each workplace—analysing leave data, producing reports and providing support and coaching
- focusing on managing individuals’ specific circumstances, rather than managing the leave target
- including an emphasis on employee accountability in terms of regular attendance and being responsible for managing health-related issues
- putting in place processes to support early intervention and rehabilitation
- establishing effective administrative practices—processes for reporting absences, decision making and recording of leave, and appropriate follow up. days lost to unscheduled absence—all staff
Days lost to unscheduled absence—all staff
Department of Education, Science and Training
Employee engagement and the Management of Unscheduled Absences
To build capacity in their workforce the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) actively seeks opportunities to refine and improve the way it manages its people and to be an Employer of Choice. A vital part of the strategy is listening to feedback from employees about their work and the performance of DEST as an employer.
This is approached in a variety of ways including through the DEST staff survey. The survey model, which was first introduced in 2004, provides an indication of “employee engagement” or the extent to which employees are engaged emotionally and intellectually in contributing to the success of DEST, as well as how people feel about a wide range of other work related issues. Employee engagement takes into account employees’ views on questions related to satisfaction, motivation, commitment and the extent to which they are willing to talk positively about DEST.
Managers are encouraged to consider their area’s particular survey results (which are provided at the branch level and above) in the context of other available information such as absence data and 360 Degree feedback results. In combination, this information provides managers with a more complete understanding and basis for discussion with staff about the factors that may be impacting on engagement, absence and overall performance. Together, the information can indicate particular areas of concern on which improvement strategies should be focussed.
Managers are encouraged to explore areas of concern and implement measures to address the issues of impact, with the intent of improving engagement levels of staff.
This approach has contributed to the trend towards lower unscheduled absences in DEST over the past 12 months.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Developing and supporting managers
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) takes a proactive approach to developing and supporting their managers in dealing with workplace absence. On a quarterly basis, managers are provided with absence data relative to their business unit. This details the absence patterns of employees, including notification of absences by category (e.g. with and without evidence for sick and carer’s leave).
The ACCC use the regular reporting of data as a trigger for managers to investigate problematic absences, at which point Corporate Management Branch provides an advisory and coaching service to managers to ensure they are following due process when dealing with absences.
The ACCC ensures that managers attend training on how to interpret and apply decisions around personal leave. In a scenario based training session, managers learn to apply values-based decision making to a range of leave management situations.
Through workplace agreements, the ACCC is able to clearly define how personal leave is used, in order to limit cases of discretionary leave. This is part of an overall attendance management strategy. Subject to approval, personal leave may only be taken for one or more of the following reasons:
- inability to perform duties due to a medical condition or illness
- to attend medical examinations, tests and treatment
- to care for a family member on an unforseen short-term, or emergency basis
- as paternity leave
- in the event of the death of a family member.
The workplace agreements allow for single absences of less than one day to be taken as personal leave, or other leave under flexible working arrangements. Under the workplace agreements, employees are also obliged to informthe ACCC of the reason for and likely duration of their absence.
The ACCC also takes a broader approach to building the capabilities of their managers. The organisation recognises that its business outcomes are not only reliant upon the technical skills of managers, but also upon their leadership, supervision and management skills. The development of leadership and management capabilities are undertaken through training modules offered at the foundation, intermediate and refinement levels that cover areas of supervisor responsibilities under workplace agreements, supervising employees, communication skills, leadership for performance management, managing conflict and developing productive workplace cultures.
Through active management, the ACCC steers unscheduled absences to a level acceptable to its business objectives.
