It’s not controversial to say that you’re at your best when you’re guiding, supporting, and advocating for employees, not getting lost in the black hole of administrative paperwork.

But leave management is such an administrative beast, isn’t it?
It’s a nasty nest of legal compliance, payroll calculations, benefits tracking, and employee communication.

Managing it all in-house is simply asking for trouble. Outsourcing everything isn’t the answer either because you simply can’t turn a blind eye to such a critical function of your organization.

Employees on leave still need a trusted internal resource to turn to, and you know your people and company culture better than any third party ever could.

So how do you strike the right balance of relying on a leave management vendor without relinquishing control?

The answer lies in better visibility. Ensuring you have clear, real-time insights into leave data without being buried under it.

If you’re like most HR leaders, you’re juggling leave tracking across convoluted spreadsheets, manually updating multiple siloed systems, and praying that no one accidentally fat-fingers a crucial date in payroll. It’s a recipe for disaster, and here’s why:

• Payroll nightmares – A huge chunk of errors in leave management stem from payroll miscalculations. If a policy isn’t applied correctly, you could overpay, underpay, or flat-out violate compliance rules.
• Ever-changing regulations – HR leaders shouldn’t be expected to know every leave law in every state like the back of their hands. Every year, new policies roll out at federal, state, and even municipal levels. Staying compliant without a dedicated system is borderline impossible.
• Policy inconsistencies – The same leave scenario can be handled differently for different employees simply because there’s no single source of truth or repeatable process. It’s not just inefficient, it’s legally risky.
• Constant adjustments – Over 70% of leaves get adjusted mid-way. Births don’t happen on a schedule, company holidays fall during leaves, payroll percentages shift. Tracking all of that manually? A full-time job in itself.

And let’s not forget that an outdated process doesn’t just impact HR. It confuses employees, disrupts payroll teams, and ultimately leaves companies exposed to legal trouble.

Relationship status: It’s complicated…

In 2025, the legal landscape surrounding employee leave is more convoluted than ever. Thirteen states have enacted their own Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) laws, each with its own set of unique provisions. Federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), still apply, creating an intricate and ever-evolving compliance puzzle that HR professionals must solve.

“Handling leave shouldn’t feel like navigating a legal minefield, but that’s exactly what it is for most HR teams.” — Jen Henderson, CEO, Tilt

Staying compliant means HR professionals must continuously monitor legislative updates and interpret nuanced regulations. A misstep can have severe financial and legal repercussions, not to mention the human impact on employees relying on their leave benefits.

One HR professional recalled an instance where a misunderstanding of state law led to an overpayment of benefits, which the company later had to claw back from the employee’s paycheck. “HR felt bad. The employee was blindsided. It was a no-win situation,” said Henderson.

The reality is, HR professionals aren’t legal experts, but they are expected to act like them. Without the right support systems, compliance becomes a source of stress rather than a structured process.

HR technology should not just check boxes; it should empower teams. If you can find solutions that allow you to address your core functionalities efficiently, as an HR leader, you then possess the power to level up. You get to go from tactical to strategic, from reactive to proactive.

Too often, HR teams are stuck in administrative cycles, struggling with compliance, payroll accuracy, and manual leave management.

Yesterday’s software lacks the control HR teams need to ensure organizational consistency and transparency to keep track of everything in one place, and trust to get the job done.

Trust is paramount when selecting an HR technology because when systems are ineffective, it doesn’t just create internal frustration, it damages trust between employees and employers and erodes trust between HR and the vendor.

A mismanaged leave process, for example, can result in incorrect benefits being applied, missed payroll adjustments, or even wage clawbacks, all of which erode confidence in HR and leadership.

Technology should remove these burdens, allowing HR professionals to experience relief and to focus on the bigger picture.

The skills required to succeed in today’s workplace are shifting rapidly, and businesses must be more agile in managing talent. As Tilt COO Taylor McLemore explains, “In a world where talent needs to be fluid, leave needs to be fluid.”

Leave management can no longer be a rigid afterthought if your organization wants to keep up, it must be a core part of HR strategy that evolves as the business evolves.

Yet, many HR teams are still burdened with outdated software and manual leave processes that slow them down and create inconsistencies.

If you’re reading this blog then you’re probably feeling some sense that managing leave through spreadsheets, email chains, and disparate systems is no longer viable.

The future of work demands a modern leave management system that provides scalability, compliance, and a seamless employee experience. You should be demanding it too.