With Christmas a distant memory, staff members are now beginning to book annual leave to bypass the January blues. This can be an exciting time for staff, less so for employers!

Many small businesses in the UK are still using excel spreadsheets and yearly wall calendars to track and manage staff absence, and whilst it may seem like the simple option, it can be time-consuming, expensive and difficult to manage. This is where an online absence management system can help. Here are just some of the benefits:

Automate leave tasks

Administrators spend a lot of time manually completing leave tasks, whether that’s increasing a staff member’s leave allowance, carrying over unused leave for an employee or updating working patterns and rotas. With an absence management system, these tasks are all automated. You can even add customised settings so your leave tasks are automatically adjusted as and when you specify, saving valuable time.

Clear real-time reports

In an easy-to-view calendar, an absence management system will show absence events across the board, allowing you to see who is taking off time when and for how long.

It’s simple enough for administrators to create and download attendance reports. HR departments can even create custom reports with the details that they feel are crucial to daily operations.

Automate leave requests

It’s very common for SMEs to request leave by printing out a physical holiday form and leaving it on a decision maker’s desk. Amongst other important documents, it can easily be missed.

With a leave planner tool, employees can request leave by the click of a button and have it approved electronically. It’s a much quicker process, is better for the environment and gives you a history of approved absence requests.

Track and manage all types of leave

Has an employee used more leave than they’re allocated? An absence software will constantly monitor absence and will highlight any trends or anomalies that need attending to before they become an issue.

Administrators are also able to add customised leave types, whether that’s maternity, time off in lieu or training days.

Reduce absence

Believe it or not, but an absence management system can actually reduce absence in the workplace. Employees that are consciously aware that their employer is tracking their daily attendance will make them think twice about taking off another sick day.

Is your organisation considering an absence management system? LeavePlanner is one of the UK’s longest established software providers, with prices starting from just 58p per employee per month. Click here to start your free trial or give Steve a call on 01252 636 070.