What should I do if an employee keeps showing up late?

It can be a constant challenge to address employees showing up late to work.  First of all, hourly employees frequently have transportation issues getting to work. They simply can’t afford reliable transportation.  Cars or buses breaking down is sometimes an excuse and sometimes the truth. If you have the ability to be picky in hiring, try to filter applicants based on proximity to your location when you’re hiring new employees — they’ll prefer the short commute and you’ll potentially end up with a more reliable employee.

Consider using a work scheduling app like Homebase. With the free Homebase app, your team members will get a notification an hour before their shift starts, along with a notification if their schedule changes. In the app, they can also trade shifts they know they won’t be able to make, track their earnings, and more.

Also, consider the method of servant leadership that became a popular term from Chick Fil-A’s management techniques.  They believe that you should go above and beyond to help your employees. Give them the benefit of the doubt. When an employee proves to be untrustworthy, then make an employment decision but until then, try to help when you can.  This may be on occasion giving an employee a ride to work or offering to reimburse them for Uber or Uber Pool in cases of emergency. Read more about managing with empathy here.

Some managers may implement punitive measures like reducing an employee’s hours, a constant stream of disciplinary actions, or termination.  I suggest using these tactics only after you have tried the suggestions above. Read more about this here.