No Call No Shows- What Happened?
If you've been in the workforce for any decent amount of time, you’ve likely encountered at least one employee no call no show. This is especially common in industries with higher turnover rates, like restaurants, childcare, non-medical elderly care, and so on. So, what happened? Did they not like you? Did they accept another job or just decide they didn’t want to work? Or—just maybe—were they abducted by aliens? (I tend to lean towards aliens as a more logical explanation than the idea that they didn’t like the company. 😉)
Employee no call no shows can have a seriously negative impact on companies, co-workers, and customers. It leads to long wait times for customers, loss of revenue, stress on other team members, and low team morale—just to name a few consequences.
But what if I told you that you can actually predict and prevent no call no shows? What if the issue isn't that most people just don't want to work?
It’s easy to blame the employee and assume they’re unreliable, but what if the issue goes deeper than that? After conducting some research, I found that employees who had recent callouts were at a 28% higher risk of becoming a no call no show. This got me thinking: why is that?
Upon closer observation, I realized the problem often lies in how we treat employees who call out. I’m not talking about individuals who have excessive callouts, but rather those who occasionally need to take a day off for personal reasons. Many times, managers get frustrated with these employees, and it shows in their interactions. Instead of showing empathy or compassion, the stress of being short staffed causes managers to forget they are dealing with a company’s most valuable asset: PEOPLE.
Another factor I discovered through my research is that when an employee decides to quit and you try to convince them to stay, they are more likely to no call no show. Why? Because they dislike confrontation and would rather avoid an uncomfortable goodbye. The solution? Wish them well, celebrate their successes, and thank them for their contributions. Let them go on good terms. This kind of respectful departure leaves the door open for them to return in the future—because they’ll remember how you treated them.
Other reasons for no call no shows included poor experiences with management or customers, feeling like they didn’t matter due to an inconsistent schedule, and, of course, the occasional alien abduction—at least, that’s my theory since I never got a response from those employees!
