Why is it important to have a call-off service? First, because employees need a platform where they can inform about their leaves without being confused about who to approach. Second, it helps maintain an accurate record of leaves taken by employees so that the management can look into trends and patterns of specific periods or natures of absenteeism and take action accordingly. And third, because having a strong absence management system in place discourages unexplained or sudden leaves and improve productivity.
Every company or business works for improving its bottom-line. In an ideal state, employees come in every workday on time, give their 100% to the work, and the company works towards its growth in an undisturbed manner. However, such a situation can never be possible in the real world.
Employees are human beings and they will need an off some time or the other on account of sickness or injury, a personal issue, or any other obligation. However, the incoming workload isn’t dependent on employee availability. Not finishing the work on time causes losses. Moreover, the company has to dole out money for paid leaves, and one employee’s absence can disrupt the working of other team members if it is a group project.
Therefore, it is necessary for a company to have a proper absence management mechanism in place so that the work can be substituted beforehand and there is no confusion over paid or unpaid leaves later. Since employee absences are not a regular or fixed occurrence and neither it is large enough a domain to demand a separate department for a majority of the companies, such services can be outsourced to a call center in the form of employee call-off service.
What does an employee call-off service do?
The call center gives a toll-free or local number to the employees where they can call to inform about the leave. The telephone agent at the call center will attend the call, will notify the caller with information about the remaining paid leaves or related company policy, note down the required information, provide the caller with a verification number or ID, and update the employee absence portal. The concerned manager or team leader will then be informed about the absence.
How can having an efficient call-off service in place help your business:
1. Adherence to leave policy: If there’s a system in place to document absences, their duration and reasons, it becomes easier to keep records and manage erring employees or tackle issues that create frequent absenteeism.
2. Better business communications: Since telephone agents who attend to absence calls are trained in communication, there is a professional tone maintained in the whole dealing, which avoids unpleasant exchanges and keeps the processes smooth.
3. Reduce grievances: As there will be proper records for every absence, there will be no grievance related to unfair calculation of paid or unpaid leaves.
4. Save time and human resource: The reporting mangers or team leaders will not be disturbed with a non-value added responsibility of keeping track of employee presence and hence, precious time and effort is saved.
For a hassle-free service, it is important to choose a plan that is in sync with your company’s processes or values. And therefore, one should choose a call service provider that along with providing customizable options, ensures accuracy of the documentations with time and date stamps, allows flexible communication options like calls, messaging, fax, and most importantly, is cost effective.
Overall, an employee call off service aims to manage employee productivity and reduce pressure on the operational manger, so that precious time and money is saved and better planning or work can be done.
Are you having a tough time managing your employees’ working hours? Share your issues in the comments section below.
