Employee Retention Should be Every Employer's Goal

Second only to productivity, retention of employees is of utmost importance. It is vital for both the employer and the employee. Many companies struggle with staffing needs and many employees and/or prospective employees struggle with sustaining employment; many of these same companies that are challenged with meeting their staffing needs fire employees for the slightest infractions, however. This should not be the case... 

Attendance issues are among the primary violations and cause of employee termination. Where an employee's tardiness is insignificant and does not interrupt the flow of a company's productivity it is not plausible to terminate their employment. This does not mean that an employee should be routinely late without a legitimate cause. It means that if there is a legitimate reason that an employee is tardy or absent and the tardiness or absences are not chronic, it should be unlawful to terminate them. Many employees face challenges with transportation or getting to and/or from work. 

Addressing Transportation Issues

Employers should communicate with employees to determine the merit of specific reasons that they might be tardy or absent. The illness/hospitalization of a close relative is a legit reason for tardiness or an absence, specifically if the employee relies upon said relative for transportation to work. The employee should be given reasonable time to make other transportation arrangements... 

...If the employee is not capable of acquiring alternative transportation the employer should assist him or her with transportation by provision of an Uber or Lyft or, preferably, a company car pooling program or shuttle. Employees who would routinely rely upon company car pooling or shuttles could pay a conservative fee for this service, i.e. $10.00 per day per employee or $50 weekly, which could be deducted from the employees's pay prior to issuance or deposit... 

Requiring Employees to Address Medical Issues

...Many employees additionally have unaddressed medical issues, physical and/or psychological, that cause them to be fatigued or sluggish. Employers should require such employees to be medically evaluated and treated for these issues; for example, if an employee is iron deficient and/or deficient in other trace minerals, they should be required to take iron and/or other synonymous trace mineral supplements and/or be counseled on proper nutrition or for emotional concerns...

Attendance and Medical, Dental, and other Essential Appointments

...Employees should be capable of taking off, arriving tardy, or leaving early for medical, dental, or other essential appointments when submitting proper documentation with or without sick time with an understanding that without sick, personal, or other time they won't be paid for those particular days... 

How to Properly Handle Illegitimate Reasons for Attendance Issues

...When employees are late for illegitimate reasons they should be counseled, i.e. on the importance of planning (bathing at night if one works early in the morning and/or setting alarms to timely awaken, bath and dress themselves, and timely commuting to work). If employees are routinely late for illegitimate reasons, they should first be issued written warnings. If they continue afterwards, they should be suspended without pay for a few days. If they continue being tardy, they should be suspended for additional days... 

Conflict Resolution 

Conflict, disagreements or fights, are other issues that lead to employee terminations. Unless an employee is determined to be a threat to the safety of other staff or injurious to the business or image of a company, they should not be readily terminated. Employers should always follow due process to resolve conflicts or investigate causes of it and allow all involved parties to give an explanation of what happened. The involved employees should be issued written warnings and required to sign resolutions or legally binding promises to refrain from any further conflict and carry any issues that they have to their superiors or their human resources officers for mediation or other resolution. 

In Conclusion and Summation

Every feasible attempt should be made to retain employees. Companies with significant turnover rates or that are understaffed often due to unmerited terminations burden and compromise the health and safety of their present employees who must mend the slack. It is better for an employee to be insignificantly late than to be eliminated. Addressing employees specific issues to keep them employed should be standard protocol...