1. Human Resource Management
(Higher diploma Assignment)
By: Maha H
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2. Table of Contents
S.no Topic Page
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1. Causes of high absenteeism and turnover 3
2. Remedies to reduce Absenteeism 5
3. Identification of an individual needed for training 6
4. Steps involved in conducting of an effective training 7
6. References 9
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3. Absenteeism refers to the habitual failure to attend for work
or other regular duty. It has been viewed as an indicator of
rich individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit
contract between an employee and the employer. It was used
to be seen as a management problem and was framed in
economic or quasi-economic terms. More recent research
seeks to recognize absenteeism as an indicator of
psychological, medical or social adjustment to work.
Whereas, turnover is the word used to describe the rate at
which an employer gains or loses its employees. Turnover can be measured for an individual company or
an industry as a whole. If an employer is said to have a higher turnover than its competitors, it may mean
that the employees of that company might be having a shorter average tenure than other companies in the
same industry. High employee turnover may have negative effects like loss of productivity, low morale,
strained communications between management and the employee, or due to the increased costs of hiring
and training new employees.
a) The causes of absenteeism and high turnover can be due to:
Poor working environment – the employees may not feel comfortable to work in an environment where
there is bad lighting, limited office space, noise, no ventilation, etc. A poor working environment can
lower their morale level thus leading to absenteeism.
Poor pay –If the salary or the wage paid to an employee is not adequate according to his position in the
company, the changes in the economy (e.g. Inflation) or according to the amount of work he/she might be
doing, etc then it might lead to a discontented workforce and causing high employee turnover or
absenteeism.
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4. Stress – It can take a toll on the employees when they are over burdened with work. The pressure of
completing the work within tight deadlines can result in increased levels of stress. The employees then
resort to excuses that can help them stay away from work.
Work Routine - When an employee has to do the same job every day over again and again, it can get
monotonous. The employees might start finding the job functions boring. They would rather choose time
off to do something interesting than come to work.
Transport problems –If the employees are facing transport problems to go the firm everyday and/or to
get back to their home. It might lead them to choose the option of not going instead of facing the problem.
Poor supervision – when there is no one to look over the employees, they might start taking advantage
of the situation and might choose the option of spending more free time at home rather than coming to
work at the office.
Personal problems – some employees may be facing personal problems like marital or family problems,
financial problems, health problems, child care problems especially women who might consider their kids
the first priority and might not think twice before taking a leave or skipping work, etc.
Lack of job satisfaction – When the employees do not find their job challenging, interesting or
motivating then job dissatisfaction creeps in. It then leads to more absenteeism in the workplace.
Poor working conditions – the employees may feel de-motivated to work in a firm with long working
hours, no holidays or breaks, no health and safety precautions etc. It might then therefore lead to higher
turnover and absenteeism.
No Appraisal system –The employees may not feel motivated or contended when they know that there is
no appraisal system, they might develop an attitude of 'why to work hard for nothing', this may also cause
them to think to better to stay at home and rest rather than to work at the office as they might not feel the
part of the organization.
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5. Ways by which Absenteeism and high turnover can be reduced are:
Difficulty Remedy(s)
Poor Working Appointing an interior designer to redesign the place in order to give it a more
Environment professional make over, where the employees can feel safe and comfortable to
work.
Poor pay Introduce fringe benefits (perks) alongside the basic pay in order to motivate the
employees.
Evaluate the job so that the value of the job can be determined and the wage or the
salary can be paid accordingly.
Stress Broaden the deadline time in order to reduce stress.
Delegate authority to other people instead of over burdening one person with all
the work.
Provide Stress management training to the employee.
Work Routine Job rotation approach should be applied, where an individual is moved through a
schedule of assignments designed to give an employee breadth of exposure to the
entire operation and the employee doesn't feel monotonous.
Transport Transport service by the firm should to be provided to all the employees i.e.
problems providing the top managers with their own personal car and the lower with a free
pick and drop company transport service.
Poor supervision Monitor the attendance of all employees i.e. the departmental heads should
maintain an attendance sheet on a regular basis.
Provide an employee with a proper job description.
Giving employees incentives for reduced absenteeism in order to motivate them.
Personal Providing an employee with a counselor to deal with their personal issues and to
problems reduce their stress level.
Conduct regular health checkups to curb absenteeism due to illness.
Lack of job Provide training and fringe benefits in order to increase morale.
satisfaction Management should take complaints into account.
Clearly define the job description and job specification.
Poor working Arrange breaks at least once a day in every employee's schedule and shorten the
conditions long working hours.
Provide safety equipments like ear muffs and safety glasses to all the shop floor
workers.
No appraisal Performance appraisals should be conducted by the supervisors and then should
system be reported to the HR department so that they can reward the employee
accordingly.
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6. a. Training - refers to the activities that are designed to facilitate the learning and the development of
new and existing skills, and to improve the performance of specific tasks or roles.
Particular individuals indentified for training can be:
Any employee with a satisfactory job performance who yet might needed to be trained in order to
maintain satisfied level of performance.
Employees whose performance may not be satisfactory and might be needed to be trained for
further development purposes or for whom training maybe a necessity.
Other individuals identified to be trained can be:
The employees whose performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed.
Employees who might want to benchmark the status of improvement in a performance effort.
Employees who might want to learn about a specific topic (e.g. computers) or who wants to get
trained professionally about everything overall.
Employees who might want to pilot or test the operation of a new performance management
system.
Employees who want to overcome the changes made in the organization i.e. become more skilled
(e.g. technology).
Employees that have an immediate effect on business performance.
Employees those are new to the firm (e.g. orientation training).
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7. b. In order to conduct an effective training, certain factors should be kept in mind like:
Effective training is learner focused – It identifies and addresses issues that are important to the
learner by building on learner strengths.It includes opportunities for the learner for active
participation to recognize and draw on the knowledge and experience of the learner. Learning is
facilitated through peer exchange; it is culturally and ethnically meaningful.
Set Training Objectives –the training objectives states what will be accomplished as a result of
the training and they are defined in light of the needs identified. They arise out of gaps and
deficiencies identified in the process of needs assessment. They may indicate that trainees will
display an understanding of certain concepts, demonstrate a given skill or show a change in
attitude. Without measurable training objectives the learning process cannot be successfully
planned or evaluated.
Effective training demonstrates productive behavior and effective life skills – It integrates
decision-making, planning, organization and implementation skill building. It usually models and
reinforces workplace ethics and productive use of time. Local or community resources are an
integral part of the learning environment; it provides opportunities for learners to expand social
networks. Learners are therefore challenged to take responsibility for their own lifelong learning.
Effective training inspires and motivates – It increases the learner's knowledge about the
subject matter and reinforces worthwhile values and principles. It also provides opportunities for
humor and fun during learning to maintain a positive focus so that as a result, the learners can
leave the session with a feeling of accomplishment.
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8. Effective training consists of a qualified and a devoted trainer – The trainer should be skilled,
qualified and devoted to teach his/her learner so that the purpose of training can be fulfilled.
Effective training selects the right training method- As once the training content has been
outlined and the messages have been identified, the right training method can be selected. A
training method is a strategy or a tactic that a trainer uses in order to deliver the message so that
the learners achieve the objectives of the program.
E.g. demonstration, presentation, lectures etc.
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9. References:
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Turnover-Workplace/89823
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/absenteeism-in-the-workplace.html
Karen Borrington and Peter Stimpson 1999, IGCSE Business Studies, John Murray Ltd, United
Kingdom
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