"Following up on absences requires a lot of administration." "Some sickness certificates are missing." "Managers find it difficult to initiate absence conversations." Every absence policy has its weaknesses. To address them, you need to know what level of maturity your policy is at. Because only then will you know in which area the absence software can provide you with optimal support - and take your policy to the next level. Our checklist will help you along the way.

The maturity of your absence policy: check your level right away

Level 1: the basics are in order

You spend a lot of time on manual administrative tasks

• You record absences, but you don't follow them up (correctly)
• You have no insight into your absence data (reasons, patterns...)
• Your absence figures are scattered across different platforms
  
  

Level 2: Your absence strategy is embedded in a policy

You manage absences through clear processes and procedures, which you have anchored in an overall absence policy. But in practice, compliance and follow-up prove difficult.

 You don't always manage to apply your absence policy consistently

• Your actions and initiatives to reduce absence are fragmented
• Your managers find it difficult to conduct absence conversations with employees
• The threshold for raising wellbeing issues is high, which means that problems are sometimes kept under the radar for too long
  
  

Level 3: Your absence policy is part of a broader wellbeing policy

Your sick leave policy is part of a broader well-being policy in your organization, which actively supports and promotes the well-being of your employees. But now you are trying to go one step further: make the policy sustainable and future-proof. 

• Ability to find the complex reasons behind your absence problems
• You're measuring satisfaction and engagement, but you can't link that data to your absence data
• You don't yet adequately support your employees in their physical and mental well-being
• You want to address absence proactively, but aren't sure how
  
  

And what happens now?

You now have an initial picture of how far your absence policy has come. Now it's time to address the typical problems within your maturity level. And that can be done - at any level - with absence software. 

First and foremost, absence software helps you structure and optimize your basic processes. It ensures reliable data collection of absence figures and automates routine tasks. You also gain, on a centralized platform, insight into key absence indicators and their causes, so you quickly know your strengths and weaknesses.

But absence software can also help you if you have already implemented clear routines and measures. The digital support ensures consistency and reliability and provides valuable tools for your managers in their absence discussions (including messages, templates, checklists...). This way, you ensure a smooth and low-threshold absence communication across the company.

At a later stage, you can enrich your absence data with new parameters (satisfaction, motivation, productivity...) and enable AI to recognize absence patterns. This way, you make your policy increasingly sustainable and future-proof.

But how exactly does absence software work? We'll be happy to show you. Request a demo today.