How to Handle a No Call No Show Policy

While managing a workforce efficiently involves addressing every-day challenges, a “no call no show” can easily disrupt operations and negatively impact team morale. On top of that, employee absenteeism already costs employers around $1,600 per employee, annually. 

With the proper policies in place, you can prevent no call no show incidences and handle them with more grace, should they infrequently occur. 

By understanding the importance of this issue and taking proactive steps, you can foster a reliable and motivated workforce.

Table of Contents

• Problems Without a No Call No Show Policy
• Handling No Call No Shows in the Moment
• How to Create a Policy
• Using Self-Service to Prevent
• Where to be flexible
• Address Core Scheduling Issues
• Commonly Asked Questions

Problems That Grow Without a No Call No Show Policy

Without a no call no show policy, problems arise that can eat away at your company’s culture, which according to research, can lower overall job satisfaction. Absenteeism can also hurt employee motivation, customer service, and product or service quality. Ouch!

By understanding the problems firsthand, you’ll build a better policy that addresses these issues and keeps employees top of mind.

Operational Disruptions

When an employee fails to show up without notice, it can disrupt the planned workflow and have negative downstream consequences for other departments or customers.

Increased Workload

Other employees often have to take on additional responsibilities to cover for the missing employee. In the end, this can easily lead to unnecessary stress and fatigue for other team members that have to work overtime to cover.

Low Morale

Regularly covering for absent colleagues without notice can foster resentment in the workplace. Staff that have to cover may feel unfairly burdened or that the company tolerates that kind of behaviour.

Recommended Reading: 11 Annoying Scheduling Issues & Easy Solutions

Handling No Call No Shows in the Moment

Whether you want to prepare for when you have to handle a no call no show, or you’re dealing with it right now, here are some tips to handle it with success. 

You don’t want to be caught up not knowing what to do like this manager:

EMBED POST: https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/18xmjk7/help_with_first_no_callno_show/ 

First Offense

If you’re dealing with a no call no show for the first time, it’s important to approach the situation with empathy. 

Try to reach the employee and understand the reason for their abrupt absence. Attempt to get a hold of the employee through internal work communication methods. If that doesn’t work, HR should have emergency contact information you can use as a last resort.

Ideally, you should receive a response from your staff at this point with multiple contact points. However, in the unfortunate event that you still can’t reach them, it’s important that you document this incident to keep a record, including dates and communication attempts.

Once you hear back, you can decide whether you want to issue a verbal or written warning (more on this in the policy development section). For example, if they were absent because they simply forgot about their shift, it may be sensible to issue a warning and remind them of the absenteeism policy.

Sometimes, there could be adequate reasons why the employee did a no call no show. For example, the person could be in a dire personal or medical emergency. That’s why it’s best to approach these situations with grace and an open-mind.

Repeat Offences

For employees that repeatedly have no call and no show, you’ll need to be structured and stringent in your approach. Left unchecked long enough, you’ll have big problems like we discussed in the beginning. 

First, provide a formal written warning outlining the consequences of further no shows. This should detail the business impacts of their actions, what they need to do to remediate the situation, and how they can better communicate absenteeism. 

If the written warning does not improve tardiness, it may be time to look at putting the employee on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). This is a plan to help the employee improve their attendance, with consequences tied to missing core metrics. 

The last route to take, and often not recommended unless all other steps have been taken, is termination (make sure you’re following regional labor laws).

How to Create a No Call No Show Policy

You’ve seen what can happen when no call no shows occur and one of the best ways to combat that is through building a thorough No Call No Show Policy. 

This policy can live in your employee handbook and is also perfect to include in new employee onboarding and re-training initiatives. 

Follow these steps on how to create an effective no call no show policy for your organization:

1. Define Expectations Clearly

First, a well-crafted policy should be clear and comprehensive to cover different cases and circumstances related to missed shifts. 

Start by defining what constitutes a no call no show. This could be the legal definition for your region or the Wiki definition that states “An unexplained absence from work, usually grounds for discipline, where the employee does not alert the employer of their absence ahead of time nor during the scheduled shift.”

This may look like: “No Call No Show” is defined as not providing any notice via phone, email, or internal tool communication, to the supervisor or HR department for shift absenteeism up the shift start time. 

Note the specifics in the above example. It notes who should be notified, the supervisor or HR; and when, which is any time up to the shift start time. 

Also, specify the proper channels for notifying absences. This can include acceptable modes of communication like phone call, email, Evolia app messages, etc. 

Finally, outline the documentation required for absences, such as doctor’s notes for medical leave or emergency contact details in case of unforeseen circumstances.

2. Set Consequences

Once the expectations are clear of what constitutes a No Call No Show, outline the different consequences when this policy cannot be adhered to. 

Ideally, set up a gradual disciplinary approach, which may include different actions and responses based on the offence. This could include:

• First Offense: A verbal warning and a reminder of the policy.
• Second Offense: A written warning placed in the employee’s file.
• Third Offense: Suspension without pay or termination, depending on the severity and frequency of the incidents.
• Immediate Termination: In cases where the absence causes significant disruption or poses a safety risk, immediate termination may be warranted. Clearly outline scenarios where this would apply.
• Impact on Pay and Benefits: Detail how no call no show incidents affect pay and benefits, such as the forfeiture of a day’s pay or loss of attendance bonuses.

Important Tip: Have a lawyer review your No Call No Show policy to make sure it aligns with important labor laws and regulations.

Also, understand the procedure for any consequences. Does a manager initiate the processes? Does HR? Does the CEO sign off? Figure out what’s going to work for you and your company.

3. Communicate the Policy Effectively

It’s important that all staff are aware of this policy and you understand that they understand the new policy. 

Employee Handbook

One of the best ways to communicate a larger employee policy change is to update the employee handbook, and have each employee sign off that they have reviewed the changes in either print or digital formats. 

This way, you have a track record and documented history that staff have reviewed, and you don’t need to pester them about reading it or not.

Info Sessions 

Info sessions are a great way to provide updates to staff while addressing any specific questions they may have. A great way to coordinate this is by using a top-down approach. First communicate to leaders or department managers, and then let these managers run the info sessions. Staff may feel more comfortable providing constructive criticism directly to a manager in a closer setting. 

4. Enforce Consistently

Once you know that employees have signed off on this new policy and you’ve rolled out necessary training or information sessions, enforcement is the next challenge. 

It’s important to apply the policy to all employees, regardless of their position or seniority. And if the policy needs to be applied, ensure it’s going through the right channels and sign-offs that you set in step 2.

Of course, documentation is crucial for both company reference and HR legal considerations. Keep detailed records including dates, times, and any communications with the employee. This documentation is crucial for tracking patterns and any following disciplinary actions.

5. Review and Adjust the Policy as Needed

No plan is perfect in its first iteration. If you receive important feedback that changes need to be made to the policy to better accommodate the business or staff, do so in a timely manner. It’s important to your employees that they see the feedback is heard. 

6. Provide Support and Resources

When it comes to rolling this out successfully, you’ll need to ensure you’ve set your employees up for success from the beginning, too.

Flexible scheduling

The best way to do this is by offering flexible scheduling options and giving at least 1 to 2 weeks of notice for posted shifts. Allow staff to swap shifts via a scheduling app.

Utilizing these benefits 

Working with staff to help them plan and utilize all vacation or flexible working options can go a long way. This flexibility will ultimately prevent the likelihood of a no call no show incident.

Prevent No Call No Shows With Self-Service Staff Replacement

By giving employees control over their shifts, your business can enhance flexibility, improve morale, and ensure proper shift coverage. Here’s how…

Using leave management software like Evolia, employees can easily log on, swap a shift with a coworker, or send their shift to a shift pool (with manager approval). Instead of the clunky alternative with the scheduling manager manually making adjustments and schedule updates in excel or things like Google Calendar.

With these kinds of tools, employees can also easily communicate with their colleagues more effectively, with built-in internal team communication tools. Staff can easily download these workforce apps on their phone or access them on a computer. 

Staying up to date with the latest shift info or providing last minute updates for a missed shift is easy. If you make it easy for your employees, they’ll make your job easier, too.

Recommended Reading: The Do’s and Don’ts of Managing Time-Off Requests Fairly

Final Thoughts

Addressing no call no show incidents effectively requires a well-defined policy, empathetic management, and fair scheduling practices. 

By implementing a no call no show policy that fits your unique business and employee absenteeism requirements, managers and HR teams can maintain a more reliable and committed workforce.