5 Key Benefits of an All-in-One HR Leave Management System

HR leave management systems are fast becoming the norm for professionals managing employee leave — they help simplify an otherwise complex process that often involves employee support, scheduling, and compliance with labor laws. 

Modern employers need a user-friendly HR leave management system that can track leave balances and field employee requests in real time. With all-in-one dashboards and an employee self-service portal, you can streamline the leave process and be better prepared to navigate employee absences.

Let’s take a look at how HR leave management systems work, key benefits, and features to look for so you can find the best leave management solution for your HR team.

What Is an HR Leave Management System?

A leave management system is a software solution that your HR team can use to track leave balances and approve or deny time-off requests. An effective leave management system can track vacation time, sick leave, and longer leaves such as medical leave under FMLA (the Family and Medical Leave Act).

HR leave management systems are more than just a shared leave calendar: they can assess employee eligibility for leave, track overlapping leave entitlements, and assist with attendance tracking and workforce management.

Plus, cloud-based systems give small businesses access to the same robust software solutions that large businesses use to enforce company leave policies. You can speed up the leave approval process with leave request templates and a self-service portal that employees can access from their mobile devices.

How Do Leave Management Systems Work?

Leave management systems provide a central platform for your HR team to field leave requests across your organization. Instead of time-consuming, error-prone manual processes, cloud-based leave management software simplifies leave tracking with a standardized approval process.

Your leave approval workflow might look something like this:

1. An employee logs in to a self-service portal or mobile app to submit a leave request that specifies the length and type of leave.
2. Your human resources team receives a real-time notification of the leave request and can decide whether to approve it, deny it, or request additional documentation. With Pulpstream, you can set up a rule-based engine to automatically assess employee eligibility against leave laws and your company policies.
3. Approved leave requests are synchronized across your attendance system, so the employee’s manager can prepare for the employee’s absence.
4. The approved leave period will be reflected on their timesheet and submitted to the accounting department, streamlining the payroll management process.

5 Benefits of an HR Leave Management System

As HR teams strive to keep up with leave laws and improve employee satisfaction, traditional systems such as shared calendars and Excel spreadsheets are no longer sufficient. Even a human resources information system (HRIS) may not have the required functionality.

Using an HR leave management system can save your organization time and money, but the benefits go far beyond that. Here are five ways that leave management tools can improve the employee experience and benefit your human resources team:

1. Reduce Human Error

Paper-based systems are prone to error, and so are spreadsheets. Managers can easily overlook a leave request that’s written on a calendar or sent in a Slack message. Plus, they may fail to notify the accounting department, resulting in payroll errors.

When you use integrated leave management and time tracking software, you’ll have a centralized system that can send out real-time notifications when action is required.

2. Comply With Employment Law

Leave of absence requests may be covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and state employment laws. In recent years, several states have implemented paid family leave programs and other paid time off (PTO) requirements that even small businesses must comply with.

Using a leave management system ensures you track leave accruals appropriately and maintain a paper trail of the return to work and ADA interactive process.

3. Empower Employees

Employees don’t want to fill out paper FMLA forms if they can help it. Employees can do their banking online, order lunch online, and do almost anything else online — and they want to be able to submit leave requests online too.

Choose HR software that employees can log into to view their leave balance, submit a leave of absence request, and upload supporting documentation on their own. Use the onboarding process to inform them about their leave obligations and entitlements.

4. Centralize Information

Having a centralized time-off management system provides greater visibility into work schedules across your organization. Team members can view each other’s scheduled absences to plan ahead and cover tasks or trade shifts.

To comply with confidentiality requirements, avoid disclosing an employee’s reason for leave and use general labels such as “Employee time off” or “Annual leave.”

5. Track Metrics

Finally, the best leave management software enables you to track employee metrics and address employee attendance issues such as absenteeism. You’ll be able to identify patterns in employee behavior, such as excessive leave requests or overtime.

Coordinate leaves of absence with performance management to improve productivity and optimize your employees’ schedules.

5 Features to Look for in a Leave Management System

When choosing an HR leave management system, you’ll want to consider factors such as pricing, functionality, and whether you’re facing any specific issues, such as low staffing levels, high turnover, or absenteeism. No matter your situation, here are some of the most important features to look for in a leave management system:

1. Cloud-Based

Cloud-based software is a must, especially in the age of remote work and distributed teams. Employees should be able to submit their leave requests from anywhere, and your managers and HR team should be able to respond from anywhere as well.

Plus, cloud-based software requires less infrastructure and maintenance than legacy systems, allowing you to stay focused on your business priorities.

2. Customizable

While employment laws such as the FMLA apply in all 50 states, some states have their own paid leave policies and PTO regulations. Your company may also have its own leave policies that vary from one location or department to the next.

A customizable platform like Pulpstream can handle multiple types of leave, and even account for state leave laws that apply to some employees but not others.

3. Automated

Automation is another key component of any leave management system. While you’ll need HR professionals to handle complex cases, recurring tasks such as calculating leave balances can be handled automatically by your leave management system.

Logic-driven workflows ensure leave requests are processed appropriately, while automated notifications keep things moving in real time.

4. Low- or No-Code

One obstacle HR teams face when choosing a leave management system is the worry that they’ll need to develop it from scratch. But low- and no-code tools like Pulpstream make it easy for non-technical teams to replace legacy systems without hiring an outside development team or learning to code.

With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can automate HR processes and manage employee data without having to write a single line of code.

5. Integrated

Another thing to consider is whether your LMS will integrate with other HR management software, such as your HRIS. If you can’t share information between systems, then the convenience and accuracy of your leave management system will be reduced.

Fortunately, many leave management tools offer integrations with existing systems, helping you avoid interruptions and eliminate data silos.

Streamline Leave Management Without Any Code

Leave management encompasses everything from balance tracking to attendance and absence management. A comprehensive HR leave management system allows you to field employee leave requests in line with leave laws and company policies, and keep the appropriate team members updated the entire time.

Pulpstream simplifies LoA management with a no-code, cloud-based platform that you can use to automate repetitive tasks and streamline your approval workflow.

Contact us today to request a demo and learn more!