When an employee is sick or an unexpected event causes them to call out for their shift, you’re tasked with quickly finding someone to replace them.
What’s your current strategy?
It could be as simple as using an employee directory and dialing each number until someone says they can cover—but that’s time-consuming. Traditionally, organizations rely on schedulers or managers to handle these calls, which involves answering incoming phone calls from employees calling out. However, this can be a taxing and time-consuming process.
For those of you looking to get away from manual processes, we have good news: there is a another way. With Indeavor Call, you can leverage a managed service that combines the best of human oversight with advanced technology to efficiently handle your call outs. Indeavor Call takes the burden off your shoulders by answering employee calls and notifying the appropriate supervisors of who has called off work.
The Challenge with Call Outs
Perhaps the biggest issue with absence management is that so many companies have reactive measures in place. They only really think about how they are going to fill vacancies when a vacancy occurs. This can create a cascading effect of problems, including:
- Supervisor Burnout: Supervisors are often overwhelmed when they have to handle an influx of call offs, which diverts their attention from solving operational issues. Instead of focusing on optimizing workflows or addressing on-the-floor challenges, they spend an increasing amount of time finding last-minute replacements. This strain not only reduces their effectiveness but can also lead to fatigue and job dissatisfaction.
- Reduced Productivity: When vacancies are filled in haste, the replacements might not be the best fit in terms of skills or experience for the specific tasks at hand. This mismatch can lead to reduced productivity and even errors if the tasks are complex or require specific certifications.
- Employee Burnout: Frequently relying on the same employees to cover shifts last minute can lead to burnout, especially if they feel they cannot refuse. Over time, this can impact employee morale and lead to higher turnover rates.
- Cultural Risks: When call outs are handled reactively, HR policies may not be consistently enforced. Over time, this can lead to uneven treatment of employees, where some workers feel like they’re being unfairly burdened or others are given preferential treatment. A lack of uniform enforcement can also result in a negative workplace culture, lower morale, and increased risks of non-compliance with company policies.
- Compliance Risks: In industries with strict compliance requirements, such as food processing or nuclear energy, having the wrong person fill in—or failing to cover a shift entirely—can lead to regulatory violations and potential safety risks.
- Poor Employee Satisfaction: A reactive approach can lead to dissatisfaction among employees, as they may feel that the scheduling process is unfair or overly burdensome. This can affect overall engagement and loyalty.
- Increased Operational Costs: Reactive strategies often require pulling in last-minute replacements who may be entitled to premium pay, such as overtime rates. This can significantly increase labor costs unexpectedly.
- Inefficient Use of Resources: Managing call offs reactively often means that HR or front-line supervisors are spending a disproportionate amount of time handling emergencies rather than focusing on proactive workforce management strategies.
Employee call outs can vary significantly based on various factors. Employers often observe an increase in absences leading up to public holidays, as well as on Mondays and Fridays, and during major sporting events. Our data from Indeavor Call reveals that 15% of annual call volume occurs in January. This spike at the beginning of the year is primarily due to organizations resetting their leave policies on January 1st.
Further supporting this trend, January also has the highest call volume compared to other months. In 2024, organizations using Indeavor Call averaged 164% calls per user, indicating that every employee called out at least once, with more than half calling out twice. Indeavor Call is designed to alleviate this burden by streamlining the call out management process, allowing managers to focus on maintaining smooth and efficient operations.
Indeavor Call: More Than a Call Center
Indeavor Call is not just a solution; it’s your strategic partner in managing unexpected employee absences effectively. Designed to support enterprises across various industries, this feature extends beyond traditional call center services by leveraging Indeavor’s own workforce management experts, who are HIPPA certified to ensure privacy and compliance, to receive employee calls offs, enforce your HR directives and notify your front-line staff.
24/7 Call-Out Management
Indeavor Call provides around-the-clock management of last-minute call outs, crucial for maintaining operational continuity. It streamlines the communication process, allowing managers to efficiently manage staffing needs without the delays and inefficiencies associated with traditional call centers.
By supporting last-minute absence requirements with workflows designed specifically for real-time scheduling needs, Indeavor Call ensures that organizations can respond swiftly to unexpected changes. Managers can leverage workforce management experts to capture employee call offs seamlessly and directly integrate with existing enterprise systems. This comprehensive approach not only enhances responsiveness but also optimizes resource allocation, ensuring that every shift is filled promptly and effectively.
Real-Time Notification
Stay informed without delay. Indeavor Call ensures that all critical personnel, from HR to department supervisors, receive instant notifications of employee absences. Through email, in-app alerts, and comprehensive reports, your team will have access to up-to-date information, enabling quick adjustments to labor plans and preventing potential disruptions in your operations.
Enterprise Ready
With access to a dedicated, toll-free number, Indeavor Call is designed to integrate effortlessly into your existing infrastructure. The Indeavor platform generates compliant, accurate labor plans based on real-time knowledge of available labor. This capability is essential for keeping your operations agile and responsive to the dynamic nature of workforce management.
No Duplication, No Scripts
Indeavor Call streamlines your call off management by eliminating duplicate data entries and avoiding scripted responses. By integrating real-time leave data directly into your labor scheduling system, our service ensures a seamless flow of information, closing any gaps in communication and staffing. This integration enhances the accuracy and timeliness of your staffing operations, helping maintain efficiency across all levels of your organization.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
Reevaluating your employee call out policies now with Indeavor Call can make a significant difference later. Our service is here to support you through both the normal and high call off periods, helping you keep your operations seamless and your workforce engaged.
