If you’re hoping to build a positive hybrid work culture that revolves around collaboration and in-person socials, managing team attendance is going to be an important part of that.
At Officely, we’re passionate about giving everyone the flexibility and autonomy to work wherever they work best. But it’s also important to recognize that sometimes an office is the best place to collaborate – and that in-office work can have a lot of benefits for some types of work, especially when creativity and innovation are required.
Obviously, proximity bias can be a problem in a flexible work environment. But we also know it’s nice to come in and see the people you work with.
So, what can you do when your office attendance isn’t where you want it to be? How do you motivate hybrid workers to come to the office without strict return-to-office mandates?
In this article, you’ll find our top tips on how to build sensible attendance policies and monitor employee attendance – and what benefits you can expect to see.
Should I monitor attendance with a hybrid team?
If you’re convinced that hybrid work is the future, you’re probably wondering whether tracking attendance is a good idea – after all, you want to give employees the freedom to decide for themselves where to work from and when to come to the office.
At the same time, knowing who’s in the office (and when) is helpful for managing office utilization, planning in-person collaboration, and spotting trends that could affect team productivity.
So, should you monitor attendance?
The short answer is: yes, but tread with caution.
Attendance tracking can provide valuable insights without crossing into micromanagement territory. Instead of using it as a tool to enforce rigid office policies, think of it as a way to understand how your team works best. For example, attendance data can help you:
- Identify patterns, like which days are most popular for in-office work
- Plan events, meetings, or collaboration sessions for times when more people are likely to be present
- Measure how effectively your office space is being used, so you can adjust seating arrangements or resources as needed
- Build alternative hybrid work schedules adapted to teams’ needs
However, monitoring hybrid employees’ attendance works best when it’s part of a culture that is based on trust, flexibility, and choice. By using attendance tracking to inform decisions – not dictate them – we’re convinced you can find the right balance between creating an office that your team likes coming to, while respecting your people’s autonomy and treating them like adults.
Tip: Don’t use attendance as a performance metric; it’s not. Instead, use it as one piece of the puzzle to support collaboration and create a hybrid work environment where everyone thrives.
Some causes of low attendance in a hybrid work environment
To address low attendance, you need to first understand some of the many reasons your employees may prefer to work from home.
Every role and person works differently
While a sales rep may need or want to be in the office more often, your graphic designers or content writers are much less likely to need to be physically present at your workplace to work at their peak.
In fact, some roles and individuals work better alone, so take this into consideration. Flexible work arrangements based on the actual needs of each department might be a good idea – but make sure to do this in a way that doesn’t leave some employees feeling privileged or others feeling undervalued or treated unfairly.
Personal matters (or hobbies) are at play
Before jumping to conclusions, consider whether there’s a bigger issue outside of your control.
If an employee’s attendance suddenly drops, there’s a high chance something is happening at home which has impacted their ability to come in as often.
For example, some might prefer to work remotely for a while while caring for sick children or an aging parent; others may ask for changes in their work schedule to accommodate a new hobby.
There’s nothing wrong with either of those scenarios, and your employees might not necessarily want to explain the reasons behind a change in their attendance patterns. If their productivity hasn’t changed, you don’t necessarily have to do anything about it. (We truly believe that a flexible hybrid work schedule should be exactly that: flexible.)
Your workspace may need improving
Do you think your office is conducive to focused work? Does it provide enough opportunities for collaboration? If you want your people to thrive in a hybrid work environment, you need to ensure you’ve created a comfortable, safe workspace with a variety of desks, meeting rooms, and areas for informal meet-ups.
If you’re wondering what your employees’ ideal workspace looks like, it could be worth sending out a return-to-office survey.
Employee motivation could be lacking
You might not willingly consider that your employee attendance has dropped due to a lack of motivation, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t possible, both for individual employees and your team as a whole.
This requires taking a hard look at what working at your company actually feels like, whether your people are aligned with their roles and tasks, and whether they feel valued and appreciated. When it comes to hybrid working, low attendance might not always be a matter of personal preferences but be a symptom of bigger issues, so you should consider that possibility, too.
Tips to manage and track employee attendance in the office
So, how do you actually manage attendance in a hybrid setting? Here are our best tips on how to give your employees structure and also to ensure they enjoy coming to the office to meet up with others.
Create clear policies on attendance
We love flexibility, but it’s still important to create clear policies on office attendance and absence and actually define what your hybrid work model looks like.
Maybe employees can choose whether to come in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, but you’d like them to come in on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Or maybe you’d like teams to come to the office on the same days, so that they actually have the opportunity to work together on common tasks. Or perhaps you’d like to set a number of in-office days but let your people decide which ones work best for them each week.
The most important thing is to be clear on your policies. That way, if you have to have a conversation about attendance you can help ensure miscommunication won’t be a part of it.
Encourage open communication
Speaking of miscommunication, your staff should feel supported to discuss what works for them – and also why remote work might be sometimes the better option for them for a specific period of time.
Whether they’ve been struggling with workloads or dealing with family issues, it’s important to create an environment and culture where they can be open with their managers. And for this, managers need to ensure they’re approachable and understanding.
By prioritizing open communication and flexibility, your leadership team will help create a positive work environment where everyone feels supported to do their best work.
Invest in employee well-being
It is essential to invest in employee well-being to ensure that attendance is consistent and productive.
What this looks like will be different from workplace to workplace.
One way could be by providing access to healthcare resources. This can include offering health insurance, providing on-site medical services, or connecting employees with medical professionals.
Additionally, promoting mental health awareness and support is crucial in creating a healthy work environment. You can offer resources such as mental health counseling or employee assistance programs to support your employees' mental health needs.
Or you could include wellness programs within your employee benefits, such as gym memberships or mental health days.
Use technology to track attendance trends
Let’s be clear: attendance sheets are a thing of the past. One of the best ways to understand how and why your employees aren’t coming into the office, is to use a modern attendance data platform.
A tool like Officely collects and analyzes data on desk bookings to give you full visibility into office attendance. Employees also get to see when their favorite coworkers are coming to the office – and you get to see all the stats on attendance and resource utilization in a private admin dashboard.
There, you can find the following info:
- The most popular office days
- Office attendance trends over a custom period of time
- The average amount of days in the office
- Individual attendance data
Eliminate the guesswork to your employee attendance and find out what brings the most value to your team and what makes them eager to come to work, from workshops to time with specific coworkers to socials and events.
Here’s how this looks in Officely:
Alt text: Officely insights UI 30-day view with top metrics: “Total office users, average daily usage, most popular day,” and “office attendance” across the top
Alt text: Snapshot of employee list with quick view of “days in this week, last four weeks, last 4 wks v average” and “6 mo trend”
Address time and attendance issues early
The best way to manage any attendance challenges is to address them early.
This involves setting clear expectations for attendance, potential consequences (if any), and providing extra support to employees who might need it.
It's important to communicate any expectations clearly and consistently to all employees, but also to address attendance issues promptly when they arise.
One of the additional benefits of using an attendance tool is that you’ll be aware of any cases where employees’ attendance is dropping due to personal reasons or even burnout. This gives you time to decide on a plan to tackle the issue.
By taking a proactive approach to managing attendance, you can help ensure that your hybrid office runs smoothly and that you’re doing what you can to encourage your employees to come in.
How to measure hybrid work attendance
Measuring hybrid work attendance without clear metrics is a bit like navigating without a map – it’s impossible to know where you are or where you’re headed to, let alone how to make meaningful improvements.
To gain real insights into how your team is using the office, you’ll need to decide on what metrics make the most sense to you and use these to track attendance trends and patterns. For example:
- Overall office attendance rates: Track how many employees are coming into the office on any given day to see how your hybrid model is working.
- Popular office days: Knowing when employees prefer to come in can help you plan meetings, team-building activities, or collaborative projects.
- Department- or team-specific attendance: This can help you assess whether your policies work well for everyone or whether they need to be fine-tuned to different teams’ needs.
- Individual attendance trends: You don’t need to micromanage employees, but individual trends are still important and can help you flag potential issues early on, like employees who may need extra support or flexibility with work hours.
- Average in-office days per employee: Tracking this over time can help you see whether attendance is increasing, decreasing, or staying consistent.
- Resource utilization: Understand how desks, meeting rooms, and other office spaces are being used to make sure you’re able to make the most of your office space.
Using a platform like Officely can make tracking these metrics very simple for your admin team. With data from desk bookings, you can visualize attendance trends, see when employees prefer to come in, and adjust your hybrid model based on real insights, rather than guesswork.
.webp)
.svg)