The Real Reasons You’re Failing to Tackle Lateness

Lateness is one of the most common and visible challenges in contact centres, yet it’s often misunderstood. While it may be tempting to view it as simply a matter of discipline, the reality is far more complex.

So we spoke to contact centre experts – including Dan Smitley, Doug Casterton, Juanita Coley, Keith Stapleton, Marco Jetmir Ndrecaj, and Matt De Giovanni – to find out where leaders typically get it wrong and their best advice on what it really takes to effectively address lateness.

You’re Pretending There’s Nothing Wrong With Your Schedules

When lots of your agents are regularly coming in late, you need to stop making it an individual “blame game” and look wider.  

“While lateness can sometimes be caused by individual behaviour, more often it is a design issue with your schedules!

When schedules are poorly structured, the consequences are immediate, so stop the blame game and take a closer look at what’s causing the problem.” – Juanita Coley, CEO & Founder of Solid Rock Consulting

After all, agents have lives outside the contact centre, and failing to respect that creates friction.

Even making the smallest adjustments can help, as some leaders have found the timing of their schedule distribution to be a problem, as they aren’t always distributed in enough time for agents to juggle their childcare responsibilities (for example) to arrive on time.

To uncover the underlying principles of great agent scheduling, read our article: The Dos and Don’ts of Agent Scheduling

You’re Blaming Individuals Instead of Exploring Underlying Causes

You can often do more harm than good by rushing straight in and blaming individuals.

Instead, make good use of available data to spot wider trends, as this will get you into good habits of seeking out clear visibility into agent behaviour and operational patterns – rather than relying on guesswork or assumptions.

By analysing trends over time, you can also spot underlying issues early and identify opportunities for improvement that might otherwise go unnoticed. All helping you to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive, strategic action.

“When you use data to spot patterns and trends on certain days or times of the week, you can make informed decisions about how to address the real challenges your teams are facing.” – Matt De Giovanni, Workforce Optimization Consultant and Co-Founder of Right Time Right Place

Invest time in talking to your people too! One-to-one conversations can have a huge impact in reducing lateness.

“By understanding the underlying reasons, leaders can address the real issues rather than simply penalizing individuals without all the facts.” – Marco Jetmir Ndrecaj, Director of Customer Experience Management at Shared Services Connected Ltd

You’re Treating One-Off Instances Exactly the Same as Repeat Offences

Avoid a blanket approach with your agents, as you really shouldn’t be having the exact same conversation with someone who is showing a pattern of lateness as you have with someone who is late once.

For example, if somebody is always 10 minutes late to a certain shift, you should take a very different approach with them compared to the person who has suddenly turned up late as a one-off and only then because their bus broke down on the way to work.

“Typically, a repeat offender needs a firmer hand and a clear warning that the next step in the process is more formal, whilst a one-off case needs more of a pastoral care approach to understand what’s happened to them that day.

Treating them both the same gets you nowhere.” – Keith Stapleton, Director at Select Planning Ltd and Associate Consultant at The Forum

You’re Not Being Clear Enough on the Definition of “Being Late”

Do your agents even understand what you mean by “being late”? This can have a very different meaning in different organizations, so make a conscious effort to explain what is expected at the start of their shift.

For example, does an 8am start mean that’s the time you expect an agent to be logged on and taking their first call OR when you expect to see them enter the building? 

Whatever you decide, take a proactive stance to clearly communicate these expectations and the consequences of lateness to everyone. This could be included in your onboarding, as well as regular reminders in team huddles and even posters on the walls.

“It’s your role as a leader to set expectations. When you are very clear what the expectations are, everyone sees it. Everyone knows it.

And you send a clear message to all that “I trust you to come into work on time. And when you don’t, there are consequences.”” – Dan Smitley, Founder of 2:Three Consulting

You’re Not Giving Your Agents a Path to Make Up the Time

You should also allow agents the opportunity to offset their lateness by creating pathways to make up time – such as staying late or adjusting schedules.

After all, life happens and agents need to know they aren’t going to be punished if their bus breaks down on the way to work. They can just make up the time later in the day and forget about it. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.

Your Agents Don’t Understand Their Individual Impact

It can also help to show agents the impact of individual behaviour on the wider team. For example, by using educational tools like “the power of one”, as this concept demonstrates to agents how their presence contributes to the organization and the customer experience.

“It can really help in the long run when you make it clear that “it’s just 5 minutes” has a far wider impact than they might have originally thought.

So, embrace the storytelling opportunity here!” – Doug Casterton, Workforce Optimization Consultant and Co-Founder of Right Time Right Place

This approach can help nip some cases in the bud of those who might habitually arrive late without realizing the impact of their actions.

Lateness Is Rarely JUST About Agents Being Late

Lateness in the contact centre is rarely just about agents being late – it’s often a symptom of wider operational, scheduling, or personal challenges.

So, rather than defaulting to punitive measures, the most effective contact centre leaders focus on understanding the root causes, establishing fair expectations, and supporting their teams to succeed.

After all, lateness becomes a manageable issue when approached as an operational and cultural challenge rather than simply a behavioural one.

What Have You Tried to Tackle Lateness in Your Contact Centre?

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With thanks to the following people for sharing their thoughts for this article:

• Dan Smitley, Founder of 2:Three Consulting
• Doug Casterton, Workforce Optimization Consultant and Co-Founder of Right Time Right Place
• Juanita Coley, CEO & Founder of Solid Rock Consulting
• Keith Stapleton, Director at Select Planning Ltd and Associate Consultant at The Forum
• Marco Jetmir Ndrecaj, Director of Customer Experience Management at Shared Services Connected Ltd
• Matt De Giovanni, Workforce Optimization Consultant and Co-Founder of Right Time Right Place

For advice on dealing with absence in the contact centre, read these articles next:

• An Action Plan for Dealing With Absenteeism
• Get Sickness Under Control – 21 Management Tips
• Arm Your Agents in the Battle Against Stress

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman