Latest / The Operator's Manual with Fexingo: Daily Decisions, Tactical Wins, and Business Execution / How a Single Question Cut Absenteeism 40 Percent
Transcript
- Lucas: So we get a lot of questions from listeners about absenteeism. It's one of those costs that doesn't show up as a line item but bleeds into everything — overtime pay, lower throughput, morale drag on the people who do show up. Luna: Right. And most companies throw attendance bonuses or punitive point systems at it, and neither seems to work that well. Lucas: Exactly. So today I want to talk about a plant in Ohio — a mid-sized manufacturer, about four hundred employees — that cut unscheduled absences by forty percent in three months. And the fix wasn't a bonus or a stricter policy. Luna: What was it? Lucas: A single question asked at the end of every shift. The question was: 'Is there anything that might keep you from making it in tomorrow?' Luna: Huh. Just asking it — not tying it to any consequence? Lucas: No consequence. No tracking. The supervisor asked it casually as people were leaving. The idea came from a behavioral economist the plant consulted. She argued that the question does two things: it forces the employee to mentally pre-commit to showing up, and it surfaces small barriers — like a sick kid or a car problem — that the supervisor can help address before they become an absence. Luna: That's interesting. And you said forty percent reduction — that's not a tiny effect. Lucas: It's huge. The plant's baseline absentee rate was around eight percent, which is actually pretty typical for manufacturing. After three months, it dropped below five percent. They calculated savings of about six hundred thousand dollars a year in reduced overtime and temporary labor costs. Luna: That's a real number. And before we go deeper, I know this kind of concrete example is exactly why people listen to this show. If these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a real difference. So back to the Ohio plant — the key was that the question was asked consistently but not punitively. It wasn't 'you better be here tomorrow.' It was 'can I help you get here?' Luna: And that shifts the dynamic from surveillance to support. I can see why that works. Lucas: Right. The behavioral principle is called 'implementation intentions.' When you articulate a potential obstacle and a plan to overcome it, you're much more likely to follow through. The question essentially forces that mental rehearsal. Luna: So it's not just a nice gesture — it's a cognitive nudge. Lucas: Exactly. And the plant saw the effect within the first two weeks. The supervisors initially thought it felt awkward, but after a few days it became routine. They also started noticing patterns — like a lot of absences on Mondays because of childcare issues. So they started offering a flexible start time on Mondays, which reduced the problem even further. Luna: So the question also gave them data they wouldn't have gotten from an HR dashboard. Lucas: That's the beauty of it. The supervisors learned the real reasons people miss work — not just 'sick' or 'personal day.' They learned about transportation problems, eldercare, even things like a broken washing machine that meant someone had no clean uniform. And they could act on those. Luna: And acting on them doesn't have to be expensive. Carpool coordination, a loaner uniform, a twenty-minute schedule shift. Lucas: Exactly. The plant manager told me the biggest single fix was letting a few people start thirty minutes later on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost nothing. Reduced absences for those employees by sixty percent. Luna: So where else does this work? Warehouses? Call centers? Lucas: There's a call center in Phoenix that tried a version of it — they asked the question at the end of each shift, but they also asked it at the beginning of the week during the team huddle. Their unscheduled absenteeism dropped about twenty-five percent over six months. And a warehouse in New Jersey saw a thirty percent drop just by having the shift supervisor ask it during the pre-shift stand-up. Luna: So it's not industry-specific. It's about the human factor. Lucas: I think so. The common thread is that it replaces a passive, bureaucratic approach — 'you have X number of sick days, use them wisely' — with an active, personal one. And it doesn't require any technology. Luna: That's the part that surprises me. In an era of AI scheduling apps and biometric time clocks, the fix is a verbal question. Lucas: Sometimes the most effective tools are the simplest. And there's data behind it. A study of hospital nurses found that when charge nurses asked a similar question at the end of a shift, the next-day call-in rate dropped by thirty-five percent. The study controlled for shift type, unit, and seasonality. Luna: So the evidence is solid. But I imagine some managers would worry it feels intrusive. Lucas: That came up in the Ohio plant too. Some supervisors felt uncomfortable — like they were prying into personal lives. But the behavioral economist trained them to frame it as a resource question, not a surveillance question. The tone matters. It's 'is there anything I can help with?' not 'is something going to stop you?' Luna: That's a subtle but critical difference. Lucas: And the employees themselves reported feeling more supported. In a follow-up survey, seventy percent said the question made them feel more valued. Only twelve percent said it felt invasive. Luna: So the net effect is positive. And it's cheap to implement. Lucas: Cheap, fast, and scalable. The Ohio plant spent nothing on training beyond a one-hour session with the consultant. The whole thing cost maybe five thousand dollars in consulting fees. The first-year savings were over half a million. Luna: That's a ridiculous ROI. Two hundred to one or something. Lucas: Yeah, basically. And the effect persisted. Eighteen months later, absenteeism was still below five percent. It wasn't a novelty effect. Luna: Why do you think it stuck? Usually these behavioral interventions fade over time. Lucas: I think because it became part of the culture. The supervisors started using the information they gathered to make small changes — like adjusting shift start times, arranging ride shares, even keeping a small stash of emergency uniforms. So the question wasn't just a question — it became a mechanism for continuous improvement. Luna: It turned into a feedback loop. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the key for any operator listening. Don't just ask the question and stop. Use the answers to actually remove barriers. The question loses power if nothing changes. Luna: So practical takeaway: pick one shift or one team, train the supervisor on the framing, ask the question every day for two weeks, and see if the pattern of absences shifts. Lucas: That's exactly what I'd recommend. And measure it. Track unscheduled absences before and after. The Ohio plant had a very clear baseline. Without measurement, you won't know if it's working. Luna: And if it works, you've got a case study to roll it out wider. Lucas: Right. And if it doesn't, it cost you almost nothing. It's the kind of experiment that has very low downside and enormous upside. Which is rare in operations. Luna: Yeah. So often the big wins come from the small, low-risk moves. Lucas: That's the whole philosophy of this show. And I think this one is worth trying. The question is: what's keeping you from starting tomorrow? Luna: I walked right into that one.