Before coming to your training, please do the following:
Attendance and punctuality are two essential qualities that not only help establish trust between employees and their employers but also reveal much about a person. In this lesson, you will learn effective methods of helping your associates to achieve standard attendance and maintain great punctuality.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
As a group, watch the two attendance videos on coaching skills from the Team Site, then discuss:
Read Deseret Industries Operations Guide, section 2, page 39 and discuss how Deseret Employment evaluates attendance.
Divide into small groups and discuss the following case study.
Tamara has been employed at Deseret Industries as an associate for one month. During that month, she has attended 80 percent of her shifts. Her current goal on her development plan is to attend 90 percent of her shifts.
You talk to Tamara about her attendance and learn that she is missing shifts because she has to stay home to take care of her kids when her sister can’t babysit them. Tamara is a single mother and does not feel she has other options for childcare. The local department of workforce services does have a childcare assistance program. Tamara is aware of the program but lacks the confidence to fill out the paperwork to become eligible.
In Deseret Employment Case Management (DECM), locate specific plans for an associate to improve attendance. As a group, evaluate the effectiveness of the goal that has been set.
Divide into pairs and role-play coaching attendance. Take turns acting as both the job coach trainer and an associate with an attendance problem. After a few minutes, discuss what you learned with the group.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Read the following quote:
“Being on time to appointments and meetings is a phase of self-discipline and an evidence of self-respect. Punctuality is a courteous compliment the intelligent person pays to his associates. Punctuality or the lack thereof oftentimes is the only introduction one will ever have to new groups and friends. Serenity and poise are not the companions of those who lack the courtesy and judgment to be on time” (Marvin J. Ashton, “Proper Self-management,” Ensign, Nov. 1976, 84–86).
In small groups, discuss what stood out to you from this quote.
Divide into small groups and read Deseret Industries Operations Guide, section 2, 42–43. As you read, think about how well you currently teach this standard to your associates.
With your group, discuss methods that you have found to be successful to coach your associates to become punctual in their work.
In Behavior Management in Work Settings, John N. Marr and Richard T. Roessler discuss behavior modification techniques to help improve punctuality. These techniques can be used to help associates improve their attendance as well.
Divide into four groups. Assign each group one of the following techniques to study and then present to the class. If one group finishes early, have those group members join another group.
“If workers see their supervisory staff or the experienced workers arriving late, they quickly follow those examples. Thus, the easiest way for new employees to learn to be on time is for their models to be on time. In addition, employers have found it helpful to instruct senior employees to model punctual behavior” (John N. Marr and Richard T. Roessler, Behavior Management in Work Settings, 39).
This is the same technique that the Savior used throughout His mortal life (see 3 Nephi 27:27).
Incentives can be an effective form of positive reinforcement to help associates improve their punctuality.
Read the following case study as a group.
Darren has struggled with being on time since he started at Deseret Industries two months ago. His on-time percentage is 65 percent. He also still struggles to follow proper clock-in procedure. He will often run into the store and clock in before being ready to work in order to improve his on-time percentage. Darren also struggles with returning from lunches on time. He currently only returns from his lunch breaks on time 70 percent of the time.
He loves buying old videos at Deseret Industries and often tells you about the videos he finds. He also enjoys shopping for old toys that come in. He got very excited when you gave him a DI dollar for meeting a production goal last week.
Some associates have never been taught how to make effective plans. By making plans, associates can hopefully build good habits that lead to good work attendance and punctuality. Help associates make detailed plans of what they need to do the night before and morning of work in order to be more effective in coming to work and being on time.
Once they have come up with a complete plan, review each step with them. Talk about any additional barriers that they need to plan for. Help them develop contingency plans for situations such as bad weather or a broken car. Encourage them to use positive self-talk each time they complete a step in the plan.
Once associates have used the plan, review with them how it went. If necessary, help them adjust. Continue to meet with them on a daily basis and make adjustments if necessary until they are able to use the plan to achieve the targeted result.
A lead associate could also help an associate make a plan.
Discuss the following case study and example of a plan.
Terry struggles to come to work on time. He has been enrolled at Deseret Industries for six months and has an on-time percentage of 70 percent. He has made goals to improve but has not seen significant improvement. He decides to make the following detailed plan of how to more effectively get to work on time.
Night before work:
Morning of work:
Contingency plan for morning of if there is a risk of snow:
Help associates change behaviors by pointing out the negative consequences of their substandard attendance and punctuality.
Read the following definition:
“Response cost or negative punishment is another way to make behavior less frequent. It is therefore a form of punishment. It occurs when a stimulus is taken away as a consequence of behavior and the effect is to reduce the frequency of the behavior. The word 'negative' in 'negative punishment' comes from the fact that a stimulus is removed” (Russ Dewey, “Response Cost ['Negative Punishment'],“ Psychology: An Introduction).
A response cost should be used after positive forms of reinforcement are used. A response cost to help an associate should be used only after consulting with the associate and other staff, such as the development counselor, assistant store manager, store manager, development manager of field operations, or bishop. After consulting as a team, decide upon an effective response cost for the associate.
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.
