Q: What effects have absenteeism or presenteeism had on your team?
A: Both have been a problem in our business. Every day a staff member is either absent or present but not focused affects outcomes in terms of productivity and customer service. Simple mistakes like incorrectly quoting cost us.
Even if one member is absent through sickness, it places enormous stress on everyone else through the increased workload. We've had several episodes in the past 17 years where staff have been ill and it has been difficult to manage. When you pay a premium for temp staff to fill the gaps, it hits the business in the pocket.
We have also been affected by employees' medical issues that weren't declared in the recruitment process. We've paid the price for that twice.