Solutions to curb the spiralling trend in absenteeism and unproductivity

According to SCubed, the productivity indices' in South Africa compare poorly to those of its major competitors. Research estimates that a company with 500 employees and an annual staff cost of R60 million, will lose up to two hours of productivity per employee per day. Employees will, on average, be absent for 6 days per annum and the company will have a staff turnover of at least 10% per year. This reality has the following financial implications: R15,750,000 is lost due to an unproductive and misaligned workforce, R1,000,000 is lost due to absenteeism, and R850,000 is lost as a result of staff turnover and placement cost.

In a bid to address this challenge, SCUBED will host an event to discuss possible solutions that employers can consider to curb the spiralling trend in absenteeism and diminishing productivity. The organisation will also launch its 2014 software that is set to help improve employee engagement in the typical South African workplace at the Blue Valley Golf and Country Estate Club House in Midrand on 24 October 2013. Dawie Roodt, a Director and Chief Economist of Efficient Group, will deliver the keynote address at the event.

"According to the 2012 Gullup Survey relating to employee engagement in the workplace, only 9% of the SA workforce is actively engaged employees, whilst 46% is not engaged and an alarming 45% is actively disengaged. We believe that thriving employees and countries are those with high employee engagement levels, and have a higher labour output which in turn will attract greater foreign direct investment,” says Dave Jacobs S|CUBED's lead Strategist.

The current weak labour output, sharp increase in absenteeism, high staff churn and low level of performance management in the workplace are a growing concern amongst employers and employees alike.

"Our S|CUBED Human Capital Management Solution developed by PBS is designed to assist clients manage all HR and related process. Among our clients, Bestmed, one of the largest medical schemes in the country, has taken a step to deal with the spiralling employee health related costs,” says S|CUBED's CEO Gerrit Stimie.

Bestmed has been using the S|CUBED solution for the last 3 years and is pleased with the results. "We are passionate about helping South African organisations thrive and helping employees become more productive, that's why we support companies like SCUBED,” says Sasja la Grange, Bestmed's Corporate Communications Manager.