Top 10 Leave Management Systems – Your Opportunity to Design Favorable Employee Experiences

Companies that deliver excellent employee experiences see 17% rise in employee productivity. These companies also witness 41% decrease in absenteeism. The way you manage your employees’ leave can also contribute to a positive employee experience.

Modern employers are willing to go the extra mile to deliver leave experiences customized to their employees. In addition to standard sick leave, maternity/ paternity leave and occasional day-offs, there are sabbatical and bereavement leave days now.

While organizations are willing to do more for their hard-working employees, management of such leave systems can become overwhelming.

The traditional method of leave management that involves manual management is a chaotic and laborious process. Manual leave management may be simple for fewer employees. But if your company has 20+ employees or is scaling fast, then manual leave management becomes a grueling task.

Between managing leave applications and manager approval emails, and adjusting employee leave sheets, the HR team can easily become overloaded. The system becomes more complicated when parameters such as different time zones, and eligibility for multiple leave types, fall in.

The efficiency of the process suffers as manual intervention carries with it the drawbacks of errors and inaccuracies. Over time, such manual management becomes a deterrent to your team’s performance and progress.

Many organizations still follow manual methods when they can easily upgrade to a leave management system and save

hundreds of workhours.

Employee Leave Management System Explained

Employee leave management system refers to tools that help regulate employee leave application, approval and monitoring process. Essentially a software, a leave management system streamlines the entire process, increasing process speed, accuracy and transparency.

The best leave management software tools are comprehensive in design and elaborate in performance. You will find them automating key tasks of leave management.

Tedious tasks such as communications with multiple decision-makers for approvals are completed in minutes. A leave tracking software handles time-taking tasks such as communications with payroll and policy compliance teams, for faster process realization.

The best leave application software tools are designed to save significant time, costs and resources for organizations. With such tools, companies can automate manual tasks and manage leave requests more efficiently.

With an automated leave management software, HR teams can create a clear process with greater visibility. As a result, employees are well-informed of their leave eligibility, which paves way for a fair leave management process.

HR teams can ensure that employees get the leave days they are entitled to, while adhering to company’s leave policies. The end result – all stakeholders are happy. The HR team too, is relieved of leave management stress.

Leave Tracking Software – A Reliable Solution for Common Leave Management Challenges

Leave management, or time-off management, is a seemingly simpler process that can have serious consequences when not ably managed. Process inefficiencies can result in HR staff and team managers working overtime to ensure employee fulfilment and policy adherence.

As leave management involves multiple segments, an inefficiency in a single segment can impact multiple teams and sometimes entire organizations. From impacting productivity to attracting lawsuits for labor law incompliance, faulty leave management can cost more than money.

Here are a few leave management challenges that a leave tracking software can help you overcome:

Difficulty in Tracking Leave

Tracking leave days of an entire organization can be a difficult task. Include factors such as new hire leave allotments, leave accruals and leave overdue, and the process easily gets complex.

An inefficiency to track leave days poses difficulty to all stakeholders involved –employees, team manager, HR staff and the company.

Without a proper leave tracking system, employees remain unaware of elapsed leave days. Team managers remain unaware of the number of leave days to which their team members are entitled.

Without proper insight into leave data of employees, the higher management will find it difficult to make well-informed decisions. For example, the senior management may need clear leave data from across the organization to determine employee benefits and budgets.

Without a reliable employee leave management system, leave tracking becomes erratic and crucial data insights are lost through loopholes. These inefficiencies lead to consequences such as employee dissatisfaction, bad decisions, staffing discrepancies, work overload and project delays. 

Payroll Errors

Leave management and payroll are closely linked. Errors and inaccuracies in leave management can lead to serious payroll errors.

Without efficient leave tracking, HR teams have zero insight into paid, unpaid, holiday or other leave days, claimed by employees. This can lead to faulty payroll calculations, and even undue loss of pay for employees. 

Sorting through different types of leave days is in itself a huge task for the HR team. Add unplanned leave days to the task list, and the process becomes a nightmare. A failure to update unplanned leave days can lead to payroll errors. The situation can quickly escalate when there are more employees.

These inaccuracies and consequent outcomes can become vital starting points for employee dissatisfaction.

Absence of a Faster Leave Management Process

Leave management from the employees’ end starts with a leave application, which is sent to the manager for approval. The employee has to provide a valid reason for the leave to be approved. The manager approves the leave amidst attending to business and team priorities.

This extensive manual process is time-consuming, which, more often, can lead to inadvertent errors. The manager may, for example, forget to approve the application, to address an important meeting or other business priority. The employee may mistake the error for disapproval, which can result in resentment.

The length and complexity of the process can also result in missed leave requests. This can prove costly when the company has a crucial project to complete.

The entire process leads to miscommunications, work delays, reduced productivity, and frustration for all parties.

Lack of Employee Awareness

Without a visible leave management process, employees stay in the dark regarding your leave policies and their leave type entitlement. This results in unnecessary back and forth enquiry emails. This email overload adds to HR workload.

In addition, absence of clear communication regarding leave types leaves employees frustrated. Sometimes, it can lead to ill-informed decisions that result in loss of money for employees. For example, an employee may apply for a paid vacation leave only to find that the policy is no longer valid.

With an automated leave management system, it is easier to keep employees aware of their entitled leave days. They can also be kept up-to-date about change in leave policies so that they can plan their leave and life accordingly.

Why Use an Employee Leave Management System?

With an automated leave management system, it is easier to streamline employee leave management process. A reliable software facilitates easy coordination within stakeholder teams. Monitoring and reviewing the leave process is easier.

The best leave application software enables you to regulate, coordinate and supervise, your leave management.

Improve Ease and Efficiency of Leave Applications

A typical employee leave management system works in the following manner:

• The employee views available leave days
• He/ she selects required leave day and files a leave request
• Team manager, HR and other decision-makers in the leave approval workflow, are sent notifications for leave approval
• Approval or rejection is marked by the decision-makers
• Leave balances are auto-updated accordingly
• HR staff and team managers can view leave data whenever required, on their dashboards. Leave days can be tracked to check for absenteeism.

The entire system is simple, easy and thorough for everyone involved. The best leave application software allows for easy integrations with existing systems, which makes leave application even faster and efficient.

For example, you can integrate your leave management system with instant messengers. This integration facilitates instant leave request filing and real-time communication with all concerned parties.

Eliminate Workload

An automated leave management system automates tasks that you have been doing manually. From employee leave requests to approvals and team notifications, every task is automated. Employees get to view the status of their application without having to wait for emails from the HR.

Employees can view key aspects such as updated leave policy, leave balance, and accrued leave days, on their dashboards. With appropriate access controls, HR teams and team mangers view employee leave balance, leave history, team schedule and staff availability.

With relevant information at their fingertips, teams can make better leave decisions and employees can plan better.

The process is faster, transparent and more efficient with a leave tracking software.

Eliminate Data Inaccuracy/ Loss

With manual methods, there are emails, paperwork and spreadsheets, to fill and maintain. Being manual, this method poses the risk of inaccurate data entry. In addition, there is the risk of spreadsheets getting corrupted, virus-hit or lost due to hardware damage.

An automated leave management system minimizes manual intervention, eliminating data entry inaccuracies in the process. With an online leave management software, you can easily eliminate the risk of data loss.

Ensure Compliance

Organizations are governed by local, state and national laws for employee leave. There are also proprietary company policies that employees need to adhere to, during leave application. These details can make leave application process complex.

With an automated leave management system, you can easily customize settings to reflect all applicable laws and policies. You can ensure leave compliance at all stages while also preventing policy misuse.

Facilitate Well-Planned Leave-Taking

The best leave application software tools enable great collaboration within and among teams for greater project quality and productivity.

These tools provide real-time information on employee leave balances. They also display team calendars so that an employee chooses leave days in accordance with other team member schedules. This collaborative leave-taking ensures that you allot tasks in balance without overloading team members.

With a leave tracking software, team managers can proactively adjust team schedules while other stakeholders can make well-informed decisions.

Get 360-degree Employee Leave Data

With a reliable employee absence management software, you can review your employees’ complete leave history. The software tells the number and type of leaves an employee is entitled to, and the claim count.

The software communicates the grounds on which employees availed their leave days. The tool details leave claim rejections and the reasons for rejection.

With a 360-degree view of your employees’ leave details, every stakeholder team is able to run a smooth process.

Top 10 Leave Management Systems

The best leave application software tools are those that are easily customizable to your needs and systems. From accommodation for different leave types to data-rich dashboards, these top 10 leave management systems are leading the leave management software domain.

ADP

A cloud-based tool, ADP leave tracking software offers automated time tracking and more, for improved employee time and attendance management. This automated leave management system is available on ADP Marketplace.

If you are already using any ADP solution, then you can easily integrate ADP leave management with these solutions.

ADP is one of the top 10 leave management systems for these features:

• Accommodates a variety of leave types. These include state and federal government mandated leave, FMLA, parental leave, company policy leave, and military and bereavement leave
• Automated employee leave applicability in compliance with state and federal laws, and company’s internal policies
• Access to ADP experts for up-to-date information on leave compliance laws
• Comprehensive leave reporting managed on a cloud environment
• Employee Dashboard for information on employee leave requests, balances, open leave status, and back-to-work schedules. Data security controls available to safeguard employee health information.
• Option to choose self-service online portal, AI-based platform or a mobile app, to file leave requests. Guidance is provided to complete the process.
• Effective integration with ADP solutions as well as other HR suite solutions 

Pocket HRMS

This cloud-based solution is designed to manage your employees’ leave days with more efficiency and speed. Pocket HRMS promises an advanced leave management process, greater flexibility and transparency.

A great addition if you are looking for a simple system with extensive leave type accommodations and customization.

Some notable features of this solution include:

• Facilitates custom leave type creation
• Allows flexibility to define leave rules based on different parameters, including designation, business unit and location
• Automatic quarterly, annual and monthly leave credit
• Customizable comp-off function
• Customizable yearly leave calendar
• Single-click email-based leave approval/ rejection
• Instant custom report generation
• Monthly/ yearly employee attendance summary of a single employee or a comparable single-page summary view of multiple employees

Zoho People

If you are looking for an online leave management software that is simple, effective and user-friendly, then Zoho People is it. This software guarantees minimal time theft with its leave tracking, recording and management features.

Zoho People is known for its:

• Support for custom leave types
• Unit-based leave, calculated in hours and days
• Logging of comp-off
• Leave type customization based on employee role, location and even experience level
• Location-based holiday calendar
• Customized leave reports for every employee
• Ability to export or import leave data

Workforce

Workforce is one of the best leave application software tools in the cloud-based tools category. This leave management system assures flexibility, customization and comprehensive insights.

Some key features of the software include:

• Automated tracking of leave and time-off hours
• Automated monitoring of leave accruals
• Automated application of all applicable rules
• Convenient data capture on different channels, including mobile and internal systems
• Self-service leave management by employees through mobile

Kissflow HR Cloud

This is a cloud-based employee absence management software. This tool guarantees less time-spend on time and efforts that organizations invest in employee leave management.

Some software features that can transform the way you manage employee leave days, include:

• Auto leave updates, depending on employee role, eligibility and holiday calendar
• Leave accrual management, including leave balance tracking
• Detailed reports, including leave trend reporting
• Easy integration with HRMS, payroll and accounting systems
• Employee self-service portal for leave management
• Data security through controlled access

If extensive customization at every step is your leave management goal, then Kissflow HR Cloud is an apt solution.

Leave Management Software in India

A leave tracking software is one of the best business tools to invest in, if your company has operations in multiple countries. You can have a leave management system set to the rules, laws and policies of the specific location.

Among the top 10 leave management systems are the tools discussed below. They help you adhere to regional compliance laws and meet your productivity goals.

greytHR

An easy-to-use cloud-based solution, greytHR handles your entire leave management process with ease. From leave applications to leave policy and tracking, get all the tasks done with greytHR.

If you are looking to minimize leave management, then greytHR automation works best.

Some notable features of this online leave management software include:

• Accommodates multiple leave types
• Find help in the Access Library for standard policies
• Creation of holiday lists on the basis of location and restricted holidays. You can also publish holiday list for access across the organization
• Automated leave granting
• Self-service leave management for employees and managers
• Customized leave reports
• Detailed reports for year-end leave processing

HR Mantra

Well-known for its “global leave module”, HR Mantra’s leave management solution offers a range of useful features.

• Completion of leave application and approval within a few clicks
• Bypass facility to handle leave applications in the absence of approval managers
• Define leave eligibility and type based on employee location, department and grade
• Customizable for any number of leave types
• Allows an Incremental Formula feature to account for leave taken by an employee on days that are significant for the business
• Set minimum and maximum limits for yearly leave and encashed leave
• Define a leave system for any business location worldwide
• Set Negative Leave Balance to accommodate leave for employees with zero-balance
• Option to define different leave accounting year for different employees
• Access to Formula Builder to handle complex leave types
• Advanced Leave Planning set up
• Import leave days
• Facility for manual leave adjustments when needed
• Complete vacation management through integration with software for payroll, attendance management and HR management
• Leave Backup management
• Leave application and approval through mobile

If great customization and flexibility are what you need in your leave management software, then choose HR Mantra.

CaptureLeave

This cloud-based employee absence management software has comprehensive features, is easy to use, and is mobile-compatible.

Some note-worthy features include:

• Automatic leave tracking and accrual calculations
• Facility to effortlessly add multiple users. Allows easy organization with groups and labels
• Employee vacation calendar creation
• In-built messaging platform for instant communication
• Facility to create, share and upload leave documents
• No installation hassles or lengthy set up process as it is cloud-based
• Manage leave application, approvals and tracking through any mobile device

CaptureLeave offers you a free 60-day trial.

PeopleHR India

A comprehensive leave management system, PeopleHR India allows you to manage employee leave from any device. 

From single-click attendance tracking to easy leave approvals, this leave tracking software packs in some amazing features.

• No limit on shift assignment to employees. Set shifts for employees one-by-one or for several employees at once
• Customize leave rules according to your policies. Accommodate LOPs, advance leave notification rules and more
• An easy-to-use web and mobile interface for leave application. Set access rules and add multiple approvers according to your company policy 
• Track and manage employee attendance with built-in Tap In/ Tap Out features. Geo-fencing and GPS tagging features are applicable for mobile users
• Add monthly or annual leave entitlements. Set leave carry forward rules according to internal policies
• Event Tracking to assess employee attendance during on-site visits, client meetings and remote working

SumHR

Available in tiered plans for startups, basic and advanced needs, SumHR offers extensive customization in setting leave days. SumHR is the first to introduce a “Leave Ledger”, which depicts employee leave days in the form of a bank statement.

With this employee absence management software, you can:

• Define any number of holiday plans
• Include mandatory and optional holidays based on different parameters including location and nationality. Customize to your local and national laws as well as internal policies
• Choose from 11 preset leave types or define your own
• Use Optional Holiday Workflows to manage leave days for employees that select their own holiday plans
• Get access to your own Leave Ledger
• Automate repeat holiday calendars
• Get a view of employees’ leave history with a Leave History Calendar
• Upload leave applications in bulk
• Customized leave reports 

Conclusion

An organization’s HR department loses 14 hours a week, on an average. These hours are spent on tasks that could use automation. Companies are increasingly employing automation to combat this process inefficiency.

With automated tools such as end-to-end recruitment software and employee leave management system, you can improve productivity and save workhours. Smart automation also helps you deliver outstanding employee experiences.

The Middle East and North Africa Economies – Transforming with Digital

Author Bio:

Shery Anderson is a recruiting professional with 10+ years of industry experience. She has a professional reputation for her one-on-one interviewing approach. Her peers and managers hold her in high regard for the results she brings in, with her approach.

Anderson believes in-depth interviews are key to discovering the best talents. She is also firm on using technology in people management for better results and relationships.