Absence management is essential for businesses of any size: not only does it help automate leave time calculations, but also provides a clear view of your team members’ availability and allows to plan work ahead. Companies use various tools to track their employees’ leaves: spreadsheets, timesheets, HR tools, or special absence management software. So let’s take a look at the most used tools and see what advantages they offer to their users.
What are common practices for managing employee absence?
- Spreadsheets. Familiar to every office employee, they are often chosen as a leave tracking solution. However, spreadsheets require manual data entry, provide poor automation functionality and don’t always work well in a multiuser environment – so errors and significant time expenses are possible here.
- Timesheet software. With better automation functions and multiuser mode, it is still not quite the best solution for absence management: timesheets are intended for tracking work time for past dates, so they aren’t always helpful in planning absence ahead.
- HR tools. A frequently used solution that may offer such useful features as employees’ “self-service” and graphical charts – however, they usually contain a lot of data not related to leave time tracking, which can be confusing for users.
- Special absence management software. Yet another tool that the employees need to learn to use – and yet many companies still find it reasonable to use specialized solutions for leave time tracking. A tool that provides the necessary functionality and is easy to use reduces time expenses on absence management and helps avoid errors.
How to choose the right absence management system?
To be simple and powerful – these are the requirements for an absence management system in their most generalized form. But the key factors that you need to consider when selecting the right solution for your company are as follows:
- Functionality. Automation of leave management includes calculation of leave balances, streamlined leave processing and simple user management. Flexible and rich functionality helps configure the software to individual needs.
- Simplicity. It shouldn’t take too much effort to configure the software and to learn how to use it properly.
- Visualization. Charts of employees’ absence help assess the availability of resources for future dates and manage leave time more efficiently.
- Notifications. Employees need to stay informed on the status of their leave requests, so the solution should provide a way to update users on any changes in their requests.
- Traceability. The solution should allow users to review the history of their leave balances.
Why actiPLANS?
actiPLANS combines helpful leave management functionality and an intuitive user interface to make absence management simple and accurate.
- Automated calculations without any errors. actiPLANS helps automate accrual of paid time-off and sick days balances and speed up leave requests processing. This allows to avoid any errors in balance calculation.
- Flexibility. actiPLANS supports creating custom leave types and configuring them. It also allows users to set up both default and personal accrual rules.
- Clear information on employee absence. actiPLANS provides notifications on all actions related to leave requests and a clear visual representation of leaves requested and approved for future and past dates.
- Rich details. History of leave balances, information on requested leaves, and absence notes are available in actiPLANS.
- Mobile application. An efficient solution to keep your colleagues informed about your absence – the mobile app allows users to submit leave requests and absence notes on the go. This data is visible both in the desktop and mobile versions.
Selecting the right solution for tracking leave time in a company is crucial for successful team and work management. So make sure to carefully consider your specific requirements and choose the absence management software that suits your business’s needs best.
