How important is effective leave management in an organization?

There are several good reasons to manage and record employee leave. Whether you use conventional tools like emails, paper forms, and excel sheets or leave management systems, you need leave management to facilitate time-off requests in an accurate, fair and efficient way.

Why is Leave Management Important?

It doesn’t matter how much your employees enjoy working for you; sooner or later, they’ll need a vacation or require maternity leave. While planned leave can be easy to navigate for most employers, unplanned leave, like sick days or caregiving, can cause businesses to go off-track.

A lack of a proper leave management system is also bad for employees. They may feel like they can’t take advantage of their vacation days out of fear of lost productivity or being fired. 

If employees spend too much time in the office, their overall productivity plummets. Without a break, employees can’t function properly, become distracted, and exhibit more health problems. In the long run, this can damage the company's image unless employers look for alternatives.

Even something as simple as a free staff leave planner can help your organization prepare for the inevitable. However, a paid leave policy will aid your organization more in the long run.

How Do Leave Policies Lead to a Better Employee Experience?

Although 96% of Americans recognize the value of vacation days, over 40% don’t use them. 

Why Do Americans Not Take Vacations?

There are several reasons for this. For one, employees are afraid of returning to a mountain of work. If employees know their work won’t be completed by the time they return due to staffing issues, they’re less likely to take a vacation day or experience a relaxing vacation.

For another, employees may feel that they’ll be seen as replaceable, undedicated, or lack teamwork skills if they take a vacation.

A negative company culture can discourage vacations or even force senior business leaders to keep working, even when they’re out of the country.

What Can Employers Do to Solve This Problem?

A leave management policy can help ease your employees' fears of using their earned vacation time. Explain that taking the time to recharge actually aids your organization in the long run.

Providing paid leave, and use-it-or-lose-it policies can also discourage roll-over vacation days. Employers should allow their team members to disconnect fully from the business regardless of their titles. Set automatic “out of office” emails that explain they're unavailable for a period.

Organizations should also come up with temporary replacement measures ahead of time. Utilize cross-training and on-call contractors to ensure someone can fill in at a moment's notice.

What are the Benefits of Leave Management?

Employers and employees benefit from effective leave management, even if these benefits aren’t immediately apparent. With effective leave management, organizations will receive:

- Better Employee Engagement: Good leave management leads to more relaxed and happier employees. It also brings transparency between management employees, reducing unexplained, unscheduled, or frequent absenteeism.

- Regulatory Compliance: Leave management systems can ensure that organizations comply with state laws, avoiding legal and payroll complications. It will also ensure everyone is taking their earned vacation in accordance with federal laws.

- Improved Productivity: A leave management system and/or policy saves time and money because you won’t have to flip through paper-based records or post-it notes to understand who has or hasn’t taken their required paid time off. 

- Reduces Expenses: The average productivity loss associated with unplanned absences is 36.6% and accidental allotment of paid leave can cost companies thousands. By tracking leaves, organizations will reduce mistakes and expenses. 

For organizations to cash in on the benefits of a happy and satisfied workforce, employees need to take leave to recharge or spend time with their families. An effective leave management strategy will ensure your employees take full advantage of their paid time off.