Desperation [des-puh-rey-shuhn] (noun): The state of mind HR professionals enter when they log into work on a Monday morning to find an employee claiming they’ve been discriminated against for taking a leave of absence.
Just reading that is enough to cathartically flip the nearest table over and send everything flying.
If you’ve been in HR for any length of time then desperation might be an all-too-familiar feeling for you. If you’ve overseen managing leaves of absence, that feeling is almost a certainty.
As frustrating as administering leaves of absence can be for People Teams, your legal and compliance team is also desperate for a better LOA solution.
They too have a vested interest in your organization’s leaves being administered compliantly, and while normally L&C teams aren’t always looking at ways to improve HR’s tech stack, when it comes to leave management HR should view their legal teams as allies in the fight for better leaves of absence.
What does a leave management solution look like that solves HR’s administrative needs and L&C’s compliance woes? Let’s unpack what the right solution needs to have in order to get the relief you need while keeping your company protected.
Leave Software to Reduce Human Errors
Manual tasks. You hate ‘em, we hate ‘em, nobody likes ‘em.
Your L&C team especially doesn’t like manual tasks associated with leaves of absence because even if you’re continually updating employee leave data on a regular basis in a spreadsheet human error is inevitable.
A modern leave management solution automates manual tasks like creating accurate leave plans, updating leave balances, and calculating payroll. It’s designed to reduce your administrative burden while reducing compliance risks arising from manual effort.
By eliminating the need for your team to handle these tasks manually, the right leave management system protects the employees taking leave and your organization trying to administer them compliantly.
A better LOA solution should also offer an intuitive interface that simplifies navigation and use, reducing the chance of user error. With the right tool in place, HR teams can focus more on strategic initiatives rather than administrative burdens, leading to improved overall efficiency and reduced risk of non-compliance.
(…and less table flipping)
Reduce the Risk of Managers Knowingly (or Unknowingly) Discriminating
Another thorn in your L&C team’s side is managers going off script and behaving in a way that may sink your organization in legal hot water.
To address the risk of discrimination, a robust leave management solution should incorporate standardized processes and transparent criteria for approving leave requests. This ensures that all employees are treated fairly and equitably, reducing the potential for both intentional and unintentional bias.
“Managers play a critical and often undervalued role in a successful leave of absence,” says Tilt CEO Jen Henderson on a recent episode of Modern People Leaders. “Allowing 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.”
An oft-overlooked (not by your L&C team) capability of good leave management software is the ability to provide detailed audit trails that log all decisions and actions taken, providing a clear record that can be reviewed if allegations of discrimination arise.
Moreover, leave software should incorporate educational material for managers on non-discriminatory practices and legal compliance to further mitigate risks.
Mitigate Inaccurate Leave Tracking & Data
Consistency and accuracy are the names of the compliance game and L&C is playing to win.
Accurate leave tracking and data management are crucial for both compliance and operational efficiency, so a comprehensive leave management solution should feature real-time data synchronization to ensure that all leave records are up-to-date and accurate.
Your leave management solution should sync with your HRIS to maintain data consistency across platforms. Automated tracking of leave usage and balances reduces the risk of discrepancies and ensures compliance with company policies and legal requirements.
By maintaining precise records, a modern leave solution not only reduces the risk of non-compliance but also fosters trust and transparency within your organization.
Avoid Sensitive Employee Information From Being Mishandled
Without secure and repeatable protocols in place, it’s easier than you think for sensitive leave information to end up in the wrong hands (or hard drive).
Protecting sensitive employee information is paramount in any leave management solution, so to avoid data breaches and unauthorized access, your leave management solution should employ:
- Centralized leave-related data in a secure, unified platform
- Robust encryption protocols for data storage and transmission
- Role-based access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can view or modify sensitive information
- Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security, making it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access.
- Regular security audits and compliance checks to help identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
By providing a single source of truth for leave management and prioritizing data security, the right leave software will simplify data management, enhance security, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
Leave Support that Scales as Your Business Scales
Why does your L&C team care if your approach to leave management can handle leaves at scale?
Well, there’s a reason why leave-of-absence outsourcing has more than doubled in the last decade.
While a scalable leave management solution is essential for accommodating the growth and changing needs of a business, it’s also vital for handling the rise in leave requests seen across all industries.
“We’ve seen almost a doubling in mental wellness leaves of absence,” adds Jen. “I think the medical leave space will just continue to evolve as we wake up to the fact that there is more that happens in people’s lives that need protection and coverage.”
The right leave solution should be capable of handling an increasing volume of leave requests, employee data, and compliance requirements without sacrificing performance, consistency, or accuracy.
Company size and leave requests aren’t things that scale upward, the number of leave laws organizations have to adhere to are scaling up as well.
Leave software should offer customizable features and configurations that can adapt to new company policies, government regulations, and organizational trajectory.
Automated workflows and integration capabilities with your HRIS are vital for seamless scaling.
By offering scalability, modern leave management solutions ensure that HR and L&C teams can efficiently manage leave processes and compliance needs, regardless of the company’s size or growth goals.
Picking the Right LOA Software
Legal and compliance teams are desperate for a better approach to leave of absence management, so they’re relying on HR leaders to present them with the best possible solution to facilitate leaves effectively while reducing existing risks.
Tilt’s holistic approach to leave of absence management gives HR teams a safe and secure platform that easily administers all employee leave types across the country.
“In a new era of work from home, suddenly businesses like ours are challenged with tending to various local and federal leave of absence regulations in all of the various places our people are located across the country,” says Daryl Neville, Head of People Ops at Mix Talent.
Tilt takes the guesswork out of leave management through tech automation and a team of leave leave experts to deliver a seamless experience for employees with compliance confidence for the organization.
“Tilt has provided a partnership that serves as an extension of our company’s People team to ensure our compliance with leave regulations,” adds Daryl, “providing a perfect solution for us to manage compliance while minimizing our overhead, but more importantly, they ensure we can maximize the total employee experience.”
Tilt is the only leave management solution that provides 1-1 human support for employees taking leave while also being able to scale as your organization grows or leave requests increase.
Give your employees the gift of a better leave experience and your L&C team the gift of compliance assurance with one of the most complex and unpredictable HR functions your team is responsible for.
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.
