So how would you create this sort of system? Here are four key questions to work through.

You should create categories to clarify "how late is late." Although we outlined the challenges of holding too firmly to these limits (if your lowest category is 1-30 minutes late and someone is 31 minutes late, do they truly get the bigger penalty?), you do need a framework. Consider how many categories you want and how many points are accumulated for each. Then list the other factors that might matter. For example, did the employee give notice of arriving late and if so, how much notice? An employee who's MIA for the first part of the day and just rolls in whenever he wants likely deserves more points than the proactive employee who texts you as soon as he realizes his car won't start for the morning commute.

As you're building up points with each infraction, determine how many points it takes until there are consequences. When do you give a verbal warning, written warning, or even a termination? Is there anything that could reduce or increase the consequences? This is where it gets nuanced. For example, you may decide that two tardies equals a verbal warning... but two days of late arrivals in one week simply isn't the same as an employee who arrives late once in January and once again in October. Work through these nuances before implementing a system to keep your leadership team on the same page with how to apply the guidelines.

Determine who's responsible for tracking points and who's responsible for taking actions. Is it the individual supervisor, department head, or the HR department? Maybe the supervisor tracks points, then calls in HR after a certain number is reached and it's time for consequences? Consider when a situation calls for leeway or exceptions... who gets to make those decisions? We recommend you pull together a committee or group to talk through exceptions, instead of leaving it to an individual supervisor. Relying on just one person could lead to inconsistency across departments, or inconsistency for employees within a department if a supervisor strongly favors one person over another.

Even if your point system provides flexibility and isn't officially published, it's still an important guideline and you need to follow through. Make sure whoever's responsible for tracking the points is doing their job. And then periodically check whether your system is actually working. An effective Attendance Point System should clearly decrease attendance issues, with the exception of unique situations that can't be controlled. This means fewer people who have incidents, and fewer incidents per person. And if an employee just doesn't get it, you have the process (and the points-driven documentation) to engage in disciplinary action, up to termination. If you don't see a decrease in attendance issues over time, revisit your system to see where it could use improvement.

You don't need to implement an Attendance Point System. But if your business struggles with tardies and absences, using these tips might help you address a key employee problem without the legal risk often inherent in these systems.