It doesn’t take deep diving into behavioral psychology to discuss several factors that contribute to why humans tend to stick to familiar behaviors even when better alternatives are available.
Habit formation, cognitive bias, risk aversion, and crushing cognitive overload all contribute to our tendency to stick with the status quo even when doing so may be against our own best interests.
When it comes to the intricate nature of employee leaves of absence and the ways in which they are administered, tracked, and managed, it can be quite tempting to avoid change and just stick with the ways things have been done.
Even if managing leaves on spreadsheets or relying on the oft-incomplete and ineffective solutions a carrier may provide is familiar, or “the way it’s always been done,” it doesn’t mean that the approach is scalable, compliant, or easy for HR teams and employees to navigate with ease and confidence.
Why Internal Leave of Absence Practices No Longer Cut It
Like sitting in a tub of water with the temperature steadily increasing, it can be difficult to notice just how hot the water is until it’s too late; you’re cooked.
The leave-of-absence landscape has seen its temperature steadily rise year after year, which has People Ops leaders sweating it out every time a leave request pops up in an inbox. They’re desperate for some cool, calming relief, but why have things gotten harder for HR when it comes to leaves of absence?
(Of course, those of you reading this know leave was never easy to manage to begin with)
Over the years there have been countless leave-related developments whose impact on the landscape has varied wildly, but there are a few obvious factors worthy of emphasis that help paint the picture of why internally managing leaves of absence has been an ever-increasing dumpster-fire inferno (a DFI, if you will) for HR teams across the country:
- Leave laws are constantly changing
- Employees are decentralized
- Leave policies are expanding
- Leave requests are rising
- Stigmas around leave are being broken
- Reputations are on the line
Internally managing leave can no longer adapt to rapidly changing leave laws.
Internally managing leave can no longer account for scattered employee populations.
Internally managing leave can no longer keep up with evolving company policies.
Internally managing leave can no longer scale with the rise in requests.
Internally managing leave can no longer ensure compliance or prevent discrimination.
Internally managing leave can no longer keep organizations out of the media mud.
People Ops leaders have been feeling the pressure from using antiquated processes and systems for a modern leave of absence reality. Manual leave processes with siloed data and a lack of effective employee support are hanging organizations out to dry, and it’s impact can be felt all across the organization
“With the complexity of leave I have absolutely seen the tipping point,” said Jen Henderson on a recent episode of the Modern People Leaders Podcast. “There is no spreadsheet that can figure out a way to track, organize and accurately respond to the over 400 permutations of leaves of absence. It’s just untenable.”
As if the above reasons weren’t enough to cause strife within any organization, the unpredictable nature of leave itself adds another layer of complexity and another dose of anxiety because there’s just no way to know if your day, week, or month is going to be derailed at any moment by a complex leave request that pops up.
And then another one pops up.
Then another.
Businesses need a better way to provide better leaves. Not just for the employees who need the empathetic support in their time of need, but also for the People Ops teams trying their best to administer and manage this ever-complexifying process in order to keep the business running as smoothly as possible.
Tilt Recap: The modern leave landscape is putting extra stress on People Ops teams trying to keep up with leave trends with outdated solutions. The result is burnt-out People teams, unsupported employees, compliance concerns, and negative business impact.
People Ops Teams Are Ready For A Better Leave Solution
Given the sensitive, personal nature of leave and its potential impact on employees and the business, it’s not surprising that People Ops professionals have had a strong cognitive bias toward holding on tightly to their existing processes.
The gap between the level of service teams want to provide employees on leave and the level of service that can actually be provided with their existing approach, however, has no longer become viable.
Organizations that recognize the need to break up with their current leave process are experiencing the benefits of a better leave solution that automates processes, scales with ease, adapts to policy change, supports all leave types, and securely tracks and stores data, all while providing a seamless guided leave experience for employees.
Beyond that, they’re no longer sweating the ramifications of getting it wrong. That uneasy feeling that’s been hanging over People teams like a sword of Damocles every time a leave request occurs.
“It’s very easy to get leave of absence wrong,” added Jen. “One of the main reasons that employers are looking for an outsourced solution is that they recognize and often have experienced the consequences of doing it wrong.”
Tilt Recap: People Ops teams are recognizing that just because they’ve been managing leave the same way for a while, it doesn’t equate to leaves being managed effectively or compliantly. Best-in-class organizations are putting their attachment to existing processes aside and opting for an automated solution developed and supported by leave experts that delivers the level of service required in today’s world of leave.
How A Modern Leave Management Solution Works
If existing processes aren’t cutting it and you’re ready for a better solution to leave management, it would be helpful to know exactly what that looks like.
Tilt’s approach to leave of absence management delivers an automated tech solution to overworked People Ops teams and a human heart to every employee needing a leave of absence.
Not a literal human heart, to be clear, but far too often industries try to remove the human element from processes under the premise that a solution only works if everything can be automated.
Leaves of absence are an undeniably human experience, and a mother needing to go from a parental leave to a bereavement leave should never be resigned to self-serving for answers on a lifeless platform.
Not every aspect of a leave of absence should be automated or left to A.I.
While Tilt’s platform delivers tons of automation for People Ops, from FMLA determination to payroll calculations to leave plans and reminders, our Leave Success Managers (AKA Empathy Warriors) are there to guide employees through any tough challenges, twists or turns they may face during their leave.
With customized, comprehensive leave plans built for every employee and human support, this means you no longer have to Google search leave-related for answers you really aren’t confident in. Tilt’s in-house experts have organizations covered from leave requests to reintegration after the leave journey is complete.
The Tilt site is intuitive and easy to use. The progress bar and outlined steps are fantastic features! Each step included clear instructions, need-to-know information, and actions required by me. Paired with (my Leave Success Manager) Alexandra's thoughtful communication and responsiveness, I felt well supported and impressed with my Tilt experience.
Here’s what the platform looks like for employees needing a leave:
With Tilt, employees are given everything they need for a successful leave of absence without People Ops having to lift a finger.
Employees will know how much they’re getting paid, updates to leave dates or leave types can all be tracked automatically under one digital roof, and even their managers are able to have a window into their leave so they can workforce plan and be educated accordingly.
Here’s what managers can have access to in Tilt:
With Tilt, People Ops can give managers accurate insight into their employees’ leaves so everyone who needs to know is in the know.
“Managers play a critical and often undervalued role in a successful leave of absence,” says Jen. They sit at the intersection of, “Well there is still work to get done, and will this person come back, and who on the team is going to do this work? Tilt allows managers to understand what they’re required to do and what resources are available in anonymity, not having to raise their hand and say ‘HR, please help me,’ is proven to be really valuable.”
Of course, Tilt wouldn’t be the most effective leave management solution if it also didn’t give complete visibility to People Ops.
Tilt’s role is to compliantly manage all leave types at scale, yes, but not at the expense of removing HR from all the information they need to know to properly do their job and keep the business firing on all cylinders.
Tilt is an extension of People Ops teams. That one trusted colleague who raises their hand to do your least favorite function and does so flawlessly. All while giving you access to every leave within your organization.
Here’s what the HR dashboard looks like:
Tilt makes the once complicated aspects of leave management simple, freeing up HR and People Ops teams to focus on other core functions and reducing anxiety around leave management.
Before using Tilt our management of LOA and ADA was complicated and time-consuming, filled with multiple spreadsheets and often leaving opportunities for error. Our Tilt team has become an extension of our HR team and we look forward to working with them. With the changing of state laws and the increase of leaves, Tilt has helped us stay on top of everything and stay compliant. Very thankful for Tilt and wish we would’ve made the switch sooner.
Tilt Recap: It can be difficult to say goodbye to existing processes, but when it comes to leave of absence management organizations can no longer afford the status quo approach. Laws will continue to be added and evolve. Leave requests will continue to rise. Employees will further disperse. Tilt is the leave management solution that perfectly blends automation with empathy, giving People Ops leaders the tools they need to drive organizational success.
Tilt is leading the charge in all things leave of absence management through easy-to-use tech and human touch. Since 2017, our proprietary platform and Empathy Warriors have been helping customers make leave not suck by eliminating administrative burdens, keeping companies compliant, and providing a truly positive and supportive leave of absence experience for their people.
