requests Bradford Factor

seen several requests for help with this now.
the thing is the b****** Bradford Factor
is a tool used by unthinking HR departments to determine sick absences and ultimately use this to discipline/dismiss employees. on your own conscience be it if you help with these.

Yes, I was looking at that like all tools in the wrong hands it can be dangerous, I can see the point of it as an "Indicator" but as some one who hardly ever took time off, 2008 I got sick 8 times in 6 months, prior to that I had half a day off in 8 years, and that was because of the safety aspect! The simple formula would have said I was off excessively although the longer record would show I was way below average!

I think that a good manager knows who is abusing the system and who isnt, I always did!

BUT!

Is it really our place to not help, because it might loose some one a job?

A lot of our help goes into financial models, which may also do the same.

At the end of the day, the calculation is going to get done, so perhaps its better that it gets done right rather than wrong!

Given the amount of legislation in the UK on employment rights it is very difficult to fire somebody (after 2 years) and just the simple quote of the bradford factor would open the company up to all kinds of problems. Would you still help if the question was how do I count days off and sick days, which consequently could have the same outcome! (its the same just lacks the poncy formula)

I never made gallows either nor would I build the guillotine. I said its only conscience, answer away at will. I'm not objecting just pointing a finger and hoping it makes anyone feel guilty. i just think HR (H=human) should talk to humans and not use stats and therefore be actively discouraged!
edit :
i was just googling to find some obscure formula for nuclear fission that i could kid someone into translating into excel. just to prove the point,
ahh well now i'm waiting for the men in black to kick my front door in, blast and bother!

I noticed that the topic seems to be coming up a bit more.

As an information analyst working with HR data for a large council I can confirm that the HR departments are looking very carefully at managing attendance and getting the most out of a workforce that is going to shrink considerably over the coming years.

If sickness absence is managed correctly and managers given the correct support and guidance to allow them to monitor it then measurements like the Bradford Factor should be largely unnecessary. To my mind it's a knee jerk reaction to a problem that should have been properly addressed in the past.

Dom

Originally Posted by martindwilson

i just think HR (H=human) should talk to humans and not use stats and therefore be actively discouraged!

In their defence (and of my job) we gather a huge amount of data with relation to employees and it would be foolish not to use it to try and improve things. When you have staff numbering into the tens of thousands it's hard to talk to every one of them. It is possible though to empower managers with the information that they need to manage staff, which is where I come in fortunately.

Dom

Along similar lines, statistical measures are often used out of context and can lead to false conclusions. I have tried to identify when these measures are being misused and provide some guidance to the person suing them. I would suggest a similar approach here. While helping a person get the Bradford Factor calculation correct, you might take the opportunity to warn them about its possible abuses.

I think that the bradford factor has its place and used as a tool to "flag" which employees might have a problem is a valid use to point to further investigation.

Its not our place to judge what the spreadsheet is used for, but to help with correct calculation. I agree that it should be used with caution, my wife informed me that the company we both worked for had her calculate the Bradford Factor for them. Knowing the way they worked and the competence of the people in charge, it would be a dangerous tool in their hands! (The funny thing is my wife is Disabled and would have probably been in the to 3% of people flagged up by the formula).

Perhaps people in HR, as it seems we have some here could pass on a little guidance as to best practice with it!

I am just a humble "jack of all trades" with an interest in Spreadsheets, but I always research formulas and methods before I apply them!

Perhaps a better way would be to apply a 6 sigma methodology to measure absences and look only at the "really" outlying figures from the company (or better still department) averages! Either way, data is only an indicator of "abnormal" patterns which should then be looked at to see if there are underlying reasons.

FWIW, I automated an Excel spreadsheet used by "my" HR team about 12 years ago. This calculated the Bradford Factor for all the members of staff and created tables and pretty graphs for the teams at different levels. It was used for a few years and then the novelty seemed to wear off and it faded into obscurity. Consequently, I've been tracking these posts with some interest.

The points for and against using the BF are all well made. As an "indicator" it is very useful but, in black and white, the figures, particularly out of context, can put managers and staff under a lot of pressure to "improve attendance".

Clearly,someone who has taken every Monday off for five or six weeks could be regularly hung over after a weekend on the pop. Equally, they might be attending hospital for out-patient treatment. If the appointments were on, say, a Tuesday or a Wednesday, they may not be perceived in such a bad light.

It is a tool to be used but, if my experience of management in a High Street Bank is anything to go by, senior management do have a tendency to just "look at the highlights" ... or low lights, depending on your viewpoint.

All that said, we take part in this forum to help people utilise Excel and not make judgement calls on what they do with it.

For me personally, I've learnt a lot recently and, if I had to work on the BF again, I might do things differently with the insights I have gained from all the other contributors. So, thanks for that!

Regards

perhaps I will write a paper on the "Squiggler Factor" which is the new method of working with absenteeism in HR.


Sq = S^2 * D * CS^4

Where Sq is the Squiggler Factor
S^2 is the number of instances squared
and D is the number of days off

and CS^4 is a good dose of common sense.

Clearly,someone who has taken every Monday off for five or six weeks could be regularly hung over after a weekend on the pop.

ah now you know why I'm against it!