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A Human Resource Planning Approach For Reducing The Cost Of Absenteeism, Dow Scott

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although absenteeism rates can be reduced significantly in most organizations, it must be recognized that absenteeism is a legitimate employee benefit and will occur at some level despite control efforts. The author proposes that a human resource planning approach can substantially reduce the cost of absenteeism by staffing for predicted levels of absenteeism. There are three preconditions for such an approach: (1) absenteeism measures must be developed and attendance data collected: (2) the probability that jobs will be vacant must be calculated; and (3) a cost analysis for alternative strategies of filling job vacancies must be completed. Diagnostic instruments are …