According to AHI's 2007 Survey of Paid Time Off Practices, firms that track paid leave using paid time off (PTO) banks versus tracking vacation, sick, and personal leave separately, experience a lower rate of unscheduled absences. Firms that have made the conversion have seen a significant drop in unscheduled absences and have saved thousands of dollars in lower productivity, lost revenue, and poor morale. However, many employers are still unwilling or unable to make the switch for a variety of reasons - some of which might be short-sighted.
Ramsey, NJ (PRWEB) November 7, 2007 -- If paid time off (PTO) programs help reduce unscheduled absences, why aren't more employers switching to PTO? The Alexander Hamilton Institute's 2007 annual Survey Of Traditional Time Off And PTO Program Practices shows that the majority of the over 1,700 organizations that responded still use a traditional time off (TTO) program. Sixty-three percent of respondents track sick, personal, and vacation time in separate banks, while 37% combine leave time into one paid time off PTO bank.
Many TTO employers told us that the reason they haven't switched to PTO is due to their union environment and need to negotiate paid time off; others were government employers that credit sick time toward retirement benefits. Others cited state laws that require payment of accrued vacation time upon termination; keeping vacation, personal, and sick leave separate cuts down on the amount of time that needs to be paid out.
While the unionized and government employers have greater forces to contend with than just convincing its internal workforce that switching to PTO is a good idea, those that cite termination pay or other cost reasons may be short-sighted in their approach and should weigh those costs versus the potential savings of reducing unscheduled absences. One source estimates that unscheduled absences cost the largest employers more than $760,000 -- and that's not including the costs associated with lower productivity, lost revenue, and poor morale.
"One of the incentives for switching from TTO to PTO is to cut down on the number of unscheduled absences, and the results of the 2007 Survey Of Traditional Time Off And PTO Program Practices support the notion that it works," said AHI President Schuyler T. Jenks.
First, when asked how many workdays employees missed due to unscheduled absences each year, most PTO and TTO employers almost equally said 3-4 days (PTO: 38.6%; TTO: 36.1%). However, you can see greater differences in the lower and higher rates of absenteeism. More PTO than TTO employees missed only 1-2 days (PTO: 29.8%; TTO: 22.8%), while more TTO than PTO employees missed 5-6 days (PTO: 20.3%, TTO: 26.6%).
Second, PTO employers were specifically asked whether implementing PTO had reduced unscheduled absences. More than half (56.5%) replied in the affirmative. Of those respondents, 54% experienced a reduction up to 10%, 32.5% experienced an 11-20% drop, and 13.6% found that unscheduled absences dropped more than 20%. Out of all PTO users, an overwhelming majority said that their PTO program either met their expectations (78.4%) or exceeded them (14.6%).
Survey Provides Benchmarks For Employers
AHI's 2007 Survey Of Traditional Time Off And PTO Program Practices provides an analysis of results according to company size and also provides results by industry so employers are able to discern how their time off program compares to organizations that are similar to theirs. This can be useful in evaluating whether to switch from TTO to PTO.
To order a copy, visit http://www.ahipubs.com/products/pto/print2007survey.html
or call 1-800-879-2441.
About The Alexander Hamilton Institute
AHI (http://www.ahipubs.com) provides employment law and management information to Human Resources managers, front-line managers and supervisors, and top management in a variety of formats, including newsletters, loose-leaf manuals, CDs, booklets, webinars, and training programs.
Company Name: Alexander Hamilton Institute
Email: Email Us Here: http://www.prweb.com/emailmember.php?prid=567516
Phone: 201-825-3377 + 110
Website: www.ahipubs.com
More Information: http://www.prweb.com//releases/2007/11/prweb567516.htm
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