A Complete Guide to No Calling and No Showing (NCNS)
No call no show (NCNSs) is every small business owner's worst nightmare. They leave you understaffed, try to find cover at the last minute, and worry about your missing team member.
What makes NCNS particularly difficult is that it happens for a variety of reasons. Employees can get sick, forget their shifts, or even decide to quit while ghosting you. And each type of NCNS requires a different approach, or you risk damaging staff relations.
So let this article be your complete guide to NCNS. We explain why employees may not show up, how you should respond, and some preventative steps you can take.
Potential causes of a no call no showBefore we dive into possible responses to NCNS, it's important to understand why staff may miss work without telling you. This way you can develop a comprehensive plan for each scenario and be better prepared to deal with last minute absences. It also helps you spot team members who need empathy and understanding so you can strike a more supportive tone in your conversations.
Personal emergencies - Sometimes employees have such serious problems that they are too distracted or unable to call you. This is usually due to injury, disease or trauma. Local and National Incidents — Events like traffic jams, strikes, and bad weather can block staff on their way to work. Health Issues - If a team member has a chronic health condition, it may cause them to oversleep or forget their responsibilities. Certain mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, can also affect people so much that they may have trouble making phone calls. Disorganization - Some employees may simply forget when they are supposed to be working. Others may have poor time management skills, overschedule themselves, or be unwilling to risk you declining a request for the day off. Job dissatisfaction - Frequent, unexplained absences can be a sign that there is a bigger problem at your company. For example, staff may want to avoid certain people or certain times of the day, stop enjoying their work, or burn out. Lack of communication or confusion - Poorly communicated schedule changes can lead employees to mistakenly believe that they are not working. And if they don't expect to talk to anyone, they may not have their phone nearby to hear your calls or see your messages either. Software Malfunction - Sometimes poor reception or issues can prevent people from receiving team communications or alerts. Potential Employer Responses to No Calls and No ShowsOnce you have established the reason for an NCNS, there are several additional steps you need to take. It's important to be fair and consistent here. If your team notices that you treat some employees differently than others, they may perceive favoritism.
Check the reason for the absence - How to approach this depends on the reason the team member gave for the NCNS. If they are sick or injured, you can ask for a doctor's note. And if they got it wrong, you can check to see if you've communicated the current timeline clearly. Some reasons are harder to verify than others - you'll need to determine if the person has a history of no-shows and use your judgment to assess claims such as messages not getting sent. Decide on the consequences - Depending on the NCNS's reason, you may need to take disciplinary action. One-off events may only warrant a quick conversation or a verbal warning. However, continued absences require debriefings, suspensions, and even terminations. And if you already have an out-of-office policy in place, check it out for the appropriate answer. Refer to state and federal laws - You may think you have reason to terminate an absent employee. But before you act, check whether you are complying with applicable labor laws. For example, the Department of Labor (DOL) states that you can terminate staff for abandonment after five days of NCNS and only if they had no good reason to be absent from work. Explain your decision — Whether you take disciplinary action or not, justify your response. You will help people who have made a mistake to understand the...
No call no show (NCNSs) is every small business owner's worst nightmare. They leave you understaffed, try to find cover at the last minute, and worry about your missing team member.
What makes NCNS particularly difficult is that it happens for a variety of reasons. Employees can get sick, forget their shifts, or even decide to quit while ghosting you. And each type of NCNS requires a different approach, or you risk damaging staff relations.
So let this article be your complete guide to NCNS. We explain why employees may not show up, how you should respond, and some preventative steps you can take.
Potential causes of a no call no showBefore we dive into possible responses to NCNS, it's important to understand why staff may miss work without telling you. This way you can develop a comprehensive plan for each scenario and be better prepared to deal with last minute absences. It also helps you spot team members who need empathy and understanding so you can strike a more supportive tone in your conversations.
Personal emergencies - Sometimes employees have such serious problems that they are too distracted or unable to call you. This is usually due to injury, disease or trauma. Local and National Incidents — Events like traffic jams, strikes, and bad weather can block staff on their way to work. Health Issues - If a team member has a chronic health condition, it may cause them to oversleep or forget their responsibilities. Certain mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, can also affect people so much that they may have trouble making phone calls. Disorganization - Some employees may simply forget when they are supposed to be working. Others may have poor time management skills, overschedule themselves, or be unwilling to risk you declining a request for the day off. Job dissatisfaction - Frequent, unexplained absences can be a sign that there is a bigger problem at your company. For example, staff may want to avoid certain people or certain times of the day, stop enjoying their work, or burn out. Lack of communication or confusion - Poorly communicated schedule changes can lead employees to mistakenly believe that they are not working. And if they don't expect to talk to anyone, they may not have their phone nearby to hear your calls or see your messages either. Software Malfunction - Sometimes poor reception or issues can prevent people from receiving team communications or alerts. Potential Employer Responses to No Calls and No ShowsOnce you have established the reason for an NCNS, there are several additional steps you need to take. It's important to be fair and consistent here. If your team notices that you treat some employees differently than others, they may perceive favoritism.
Check the reason for the absence - How to approach this depends on the reason the team member gave for the NCNS. If they are sick or injured, you can ask for a doctor's note. And if they got it wrong, you can check to see if you've communicated the current timeline clearly. Some reasons are harder to verify than others - you'll need to determine if the person has a history of no-shows and use your judgment to assess claims such as messages not getting sent. Decide on the consequences - Depending on the NCNS's reason, you may need to take disciplinary action. One-off events may only warrant a quick conversation or a verbal warning. However, continued absences require debriefings, suspensions, and even terminations. And if you already have an out-of-office policy in place, check it out for the appropriate answer. Refer to state and federal laws - You may think you have reason to terminate an absent employee. But before you act, check whether you are complying with applicable labor laws. For example, the Department of Labor (DOL) states that you can terminate staff for abandonment after five days of NCNS and only if they had no good reason to be absent from work. Explain your decision — Whether you take disciplinary action or not, justify your response. You will help people who have made a mistake to understand the...What's Your Reaction?
