Correcting Employee Tardiness

The number of U.S. workers reporting late to work has fallen 25 percent in the recession, dropping from 20 percent in 2008 to 15 percent in 2010, according to a report from Harris Interactive and job-placement website CareerBuilder.com.

The decline in tardiness at the Classic Landscapes in Las Vegas landscaping-service company is so stark that executives discussed the topic in a staff meeting. While some believe the increase it is fear-based, due to the economy and lack of jobs, fear may not be the entire equation.

Any effective strategy to encourage punctuality starts with clearly established performance goals. Employers should make sure they have an up-to-date employee handbook, and that they plainly set expectations for all staffers. Managers should also ask employees to sign statements saying they understand workplace policies.

Such direct goal-setting may have made a difference at Classic Landscapes.

For starters, the company's new management set specific standards on getting prepped for shifts. Plus, workers have earned positive reinforcement, including company updates on how pleased management is with the change in timeliness, as well as gift cards and barbecues when workers meet customer-service and maintenance goals. That softer approach works best, Mills said, because unhappy employees can ''make or break a business on the service they provide.''

''We never want to crack the whip to force them out of the yard,'' she said. ''We just asked, 'What do we need to do to motivate them?' As jobs got tighter, people started to see more oversight, and their performance naturally corrected itself. We didn't have to set ultimatums.''