5 Leave Management Tips for HR Managers

Leave management is one of the key responsibilities of HR managers. Though it is an everyday task, it is certainly not an easy feat to achieve. Yes, many HR personnel often find themselves in hot waters when it comes to absence/leave management.

Here are five best leave management tips for HR managers:

1. Get a leave management software to identify trends

In case of frequent unplanned leaves of employees, it becomes imperative for managers to track the absence trends. Here, having an automated leave management system would be of great assistance. An online leave tracking system can help HR managers to identify trends at the click of a button. In addition, some online leave management system can be seamlessly integrated with biometric time attendance system or device enabling the HR managers to keep a track of employee leaves on the go.

2. Be considerate when dealing with extended leaves

In several cases, state or national laws as well as your company policies could mandate the right to extended leaves. Thus, training the line managers in how do they respond to such requests and exhibit compassion becomes necessary. Always remember that the approval for a leave in case of any legitimate reasons such as medical or family urgency rests largely on the manager. A negative response from the manager can irk the employees thus, resulting in disconnect between employees and management.

3. Always set realistic return-to-work leave schedules

One of the biggest concerns. Here, the more you know what to expect, the better it would be for the team. This is why it is important for HR managers to set realistic return-to-work leave schedules for their employees. For instance, if an employee applies for a week long leave request for some medical purpose (surgery or therapy), then setting up a stringent return-to-work schedule is simply a turn-off.

4. Plan well-in-advance for employee vacation

The more your HR managers know up-front about who is going out, when and for how many days, the better it is. This is why HR managers ought to be proactive and thoughtful when dealing with vacation requests from employees. It would help them to prepare as well as ensure that productivity doesn’t go for a toss during peak vacation times.

5. Always be prompt when responding to leave requests

Last but not the least, HR managers should always respond to day-off requests in a prompt manner. Some mobile payroll app allows managers to receive and approve leave requests on the go. Thus, employees don’t have to wait for ages to get approval for their leaves. Yes, these gestures boost employee engagement and satisfaction levels greatly and arming your HR managers with the right tool to do this is a real win-win situation for everyone.

Together, these five tips for HR managers pave way for a positive and smoother employer-employee bond whilst ensuring optimum productivity even during long- and short-term leaves.