Leave management in the remote work era: a solution

Vacations play an essential role in the lives of working people. It ensures that employees can replenish their empty energy tanks. During the time off, the body and mind recover from the stresses and strains of working life. Employee satisfaction increases and zest for life returns. It is not without reason that employees who return to the company fresh from holiday are characterised by a pronounced level of commitment and increased productivity.

In fact, however, it has been shown time and again that companies deal with the topic of "holiday planning" in a poorly manner. There is no regulated system for requesting holiday, and the absence is not planned in advance. As a result, not only the company's profitability is affected, but also employee satisfaction. In the following article, we will introduce you to the effects of inferior holiday planning and explain how it works properly.

Challenges of leave management

The importance of effective leave management is not yet clear to every company. However, without a clear system and overarching rules, there are major disadvantages for day-to-day business:

The planning

Small and medium-sized companies in particular rely on concrete holiday planning. If the absences of several colleagues overlap, this can lead to an acute shortage of staff. Accordingly, it is important for HR managers to be informed about employees' holiday planning at an early stage in order to make any necessary adjustments. These modifications can affect the budget and shift planning, but also extend to the distribution of tasks.

Accounting

If there is ambiguity in leave management, it can impact accounting. While some companies pay employees for their absences, others temporarily suspend their salaries.

Transparency

However, leave management does not only take place within the ranks of HR staff. Employees should also understand the way in which leave planning is regulated within the company. If there are no uniform rules, misunderstandings and problems can arise.

Guide to absence planning without affecting team performance

For 21st century companies, it's time to actively address Leave Management. The following approach ensures harmony within the company:

Absence Management Software

Papershift has made it its mission to simplify this vexed topic and actively assist companies. Thanks to Papershift's powerful software, a large part of the work is taken off the HR team's hands.

The program offers the possibility to record the absences of employees in one place. The software can be operated using a mobile device and can therefore be accessed from anywhere. It can avoid employees in remote having to come to the office to sign in to a manual list.

Managers are informed about the employee's absence request and can reject or approve the request. As absences are listed in the app's digital calendar, employees and the employer have the possibility to get an overview of the available staff at any time. 

Clear leave policies

Regardless of whether the company relies on software-based leave management or an alternative form, it is important that the rules are communicated clearly and unambiguously.

The employer should write a guideline that explains how the following points are handled in the company

• On which holidays are the staff given time off
• How holiday days are accrued
• How many holiday days are approved per year
• How the holiday application process works
• How do you call in sick?
• What happens to unused holiday days?
• What other types of leave are offered?
• How are absences covered by staff?
• Are the absences paid?

Care should also be taken to ensure that employees know where to find the policies. After all, there's no point in having a copy of the policies rotting in the file cabinet. The information should be in an easily accessible location that any employee can access at any time. This is also a major issue, especially for employees in the home office. Accordingly, the documents should not only be available in the company, but also online.