Dealing with employee absenteeism is an ever-present problem for some business managers. This issue should be addressed in your employee manual, but you can take the following steps to improve compliance.

*Educate employees about your policy. Don’t just spell out the policy in writing—go over it with employees in face-to-face meetings.

*Keep close track of attendance and tardiness. Maintain a special ledger for this purpose so you refer to it when violations occur.

*Set up a one-on-one consultation with problem employees. Discuss the improvement that is expected of them. Don’t forget to keep a record of your meetings.

*Follow-up after meetings. Hold another session with the employee—whether it’s good or bad news. If the problem persists, contact your human resources department.

*Take corrective action when it is warranted. Most likely, this begins with a formal warning, to be followed by suspension and possibly even termination. Again, keep detailed records of all activities.