Analytics in Action: Managing Absences, Employee Time, and Strategic Impact

Looking to unlock the potential of your human capital management and foster an environment of efficiency? You’re in the right place.

In a recent webinar, K-12 experts explored strategies to positively impact absences metrics, analyze employee absence data, gain the complete view of employee time, and ensure compliance with state and federal labor laws.

In this blog, we’ll give you a quick breakdown of their conversation, including key takeaways, resources to get started, and more.

Interested in a preview? Check out this snippet!

Webinar Speakers:

• Hattie Kogami, Director of Human Resources, Vallejo City Unified School District
• Kevin Agnello, Product Manager, Frontline Education
• Tim Carr, Solution Consultant Group Lead, Frontline Education

Webinar Topics:

• • Understand the importance of managing absences and employee time not just for operational efficiency, but also to stay compliant with state and federal labor laws including ACA, FLSA, FMLA.
  • How to get out of the weeds by saving time on timesheets and data entry and know when and where your employees are working, and in which job.
  • Actionable strategies that administrators can implement to reduce absenteeism, improve teacher and staff availability, and enhance the overall educational experience.

Gaining the Complete View of Employee Absence and Time: Improving Accuracy, Compliance, and Operational Efficiency

Webinar Q: How can integrating time and absence data improve school district workforce management?

A: Check out our summary from Tim below!

• • • • Integration of Absence and Time Data: Integrating absence management with timekeeping systems can provide staff a holistic view of attendance. This integration helps in creating a complete and accurate picture of employee attendance and time data, facilitating better decision-making.
      • Reducing Errors in Manual Processes: It may not be a surprise, but high error rates may typically be associated with manual timekeeping systems. According to the American Payroll Association, organizations using traditional timecards typically have a 1 to 8% error rate. But even a 1% error rate can significantly impact payroll. Transitioning to digital systems can reduce these errors, ensuring more accurate and reliable payroll management.
      • Compliance and Risk Management: Manual processes may also pose the risk of non-compliance with labor laws, so it’s crucial to have a robust system in place to manage compliance effectively to avoid penalties and fines.
      • Trust but Verify: Everybody makes mistakes. Time tracking systems should be designed to help verify and validate time and attendance data. This helps in maintaining integrity and accuracy in the system, preventing potential abuses (and honest errors).
      • Real-Time Data and Reporting: There are endless benefits of having access to real-time data and comprehensive reporting capabilities within absence and timekeeping systems. This data will enable school districts to immediately identify trends, manage absences more effectively, and adjust strategies on the fly, thus enhancing operational efficiency and responsiveness.

“In a simplified report, there’s lots of immediate, in-person, real time data that goes on day-to-day when it comes to your absences and to your timesheets. And that’s just a couple of snippets of keeping that compliant, that can be a really, really difficult task. It requires that connection of HR and Business working together.” – Tim Carr

Strategies for Enhancing Substitute Management and Absence Responsiveness in Schools

Webinar Q: How can school districts leverage data-driven strategies and technology to improve fill rates, manage substitute availability, and enhance overall absence management effectively?

A: Check out our summary from Kevin and Hattie below!

• • • • Understanding Fill Rates: Kevin highlights the importance of monitoring fill rates—the percentage of substitute-required absences that are filled. This metric is crucial for managing classroom coverage and reducing administrative burdens.
      • The Role of Technology in Absence Management: Kevin discusses the role of advanced human capital analytics in monitoring and managing absence data more effectively. This includes using technology to track substitute availability and deployment, which helps districts respond more dynamically to changing needs and ensure adequate classroom coverage.
      • Availability vs. Utilization of Substitutes: While there may be an adequate number of substitutes available, the percentage actively working is lower than before the pandemic, affecting fill rates.
      • Proactive Absence Management: Hattie emphasizes the need for proactive strategies, such as scheduling absences as far in advance as possible and avoiding planning absences on known high-absence days like Fridays.
      • Data-Driven Decision Making: Both speakers underscored the importance of using accurate data to make informed decisions regarding human capital management, stressing the role of good data practices in ensuring effective substitute management.

“Since we started using Human Capital Analytics, it’s brought up a lot of questions in our industry, you know, is our data good? Because one of the main things that we talk about is the quality of data, right?

Bad data in creates bad data out. So, how do we reflect accurate fill rates if our data is not accurate? That’s one of the main things we’re always looking at: are we putting good data in?” – Hattie Kogami

“There are things that you can do proactively, from the administration of absence management and substitute management to help mediate any negative effects that could come from absences. There is some flexibility to analyze data for better absence metrics. Even having a conversation with your staff to put absences in as early as possible so you’re able to maximize the lead time.” – Kevin Agnello

Managing Absences, Employee Time, and Strategic Impact

The key takeaway: By combining time and absence data, districts can enhance decision-making, reduce manual errors, ensure compliance, and improve accuracy in timekeeping systems. Leveraging real-time data also enables effective management of absences and substitutes, leading to optimized operational efficiency and better response to educational needs.

Watch the full on-demand webinar here.

Learn more about Frontline Absence & Time and Frontline Human Capital Analytics.