Software used by employees to clock in was once used only to pay people for the hours they had worked. Technology has come a long way since then. The same software can now be used to also keep a track of employee leaves, publish reports on compliance, and match staffing requirements. Moreover, important human resource applications like leave management have become automated these days.

These advances have helped reduce human error, improve payroll processing, and alleviate the headaches it used to give employers. With automation, managers will find it easier to handle leaves, process applications, view leave history, and ensure adherence to company policy. With everything a click away, it would bring in a lot of transparency to the system as well.

To elucidate, here’s a list of reasons why automating leave management will be the solution to all your problems:

1. Information accuracy

A major perk of automating leave services is that it gives HR personnel easy access to relevant employee data. From their leave balance to absence trends, everything is available at the click of a button. What’s more is that this data is available in the cloud and can be accessed on the move.

No more having to flip through thick registers to get the information you need. Additionally, automating the process also eliminates fraudulent entries and time clock abuse. With biometric clocking in systems, employees will find it difficult to go AWOL.

2. Adherence to company policy and laws

The system can be used to convey leave policy information. Employees can access information like a number or permissible leaves, holiday calendar management as per location, long leave policies, and more. The software can be further modified to suit specific policies of the organization.

Further, each company also must comply with the labor and employment laws of the country it is based out of. These can vary from state to state as well. Failing to comply with them can result in penalties and damages for a firm. Automated tools can help avert any liability issues as they ensure these laws are complied with as well.

3. Better transparency

With all the information available to both managers and employees, automated leave management systems are more transparent. They both have access to the leave balance, leave history, and leave application status of an employee. This approval and rejection process has more visibility this way.

With this information available in the cloud, it makes it easy to access all this information even on mobile devices. The right HRMS tools can even be integrated with your HR management software, making it a one-stop solution for your firm. This way employees can download their pay slips and check tax and payroll data as well.

4. Employee availability

One of the biggest advantages an automated system has for managers is the ability to check employee availability. They can check who’s available when and build a work schedule keeping that and project deadlines in mind.

This allows them to assign and manage project related tasks as they keep a track of all the work shifts. This way companies can optimize the use of their budgets, workload, and workforce. Having an organized report in front of them will make it easier for them to decide on leave approvals and rejections too.

5. Cost saving

By eliminating error-prone time and attendance tracking systems, companies can save a lot of time and money. They’ll be able to save a lot of money on billable hours as this eliminates issues like overpaying, buddy punching, and unapproved leaves.

Personnel expenditures account for a major chunk of operational costs. Automated leave management will help drive down the costs. Integrating this with your payroll system will further ensure that your company saves on unnecessary expenditure and results in significant return on investments.

6. Managerial tasks simplified

Traditionally, clock-in information was available with the HR department. Managers would have a hard time keeping track of their employees due to a lack of proper access to such information and reports. With automated services, managers now have access to important attendance reports.

This information makes it easier for them to make management decisions and allocate resources accordingly. What’s more, they don’t need to wait until the end of the month for a compiled report to arrive from HR. They can now view real-time data and create reports and dashboards anywhere, anytime.

7. Implementing discipline

Automated leave tracking tools make for a transparent system. One that adheres to company policy and local labor laws. They ensure that employees and managers use the system without any shades of gray. It takes nepotism, for instance, out of the equation.

Being the manager’s favorite will no longer mean extra leaves. Nor can a manager deny an employee a leave on baseless grounds. Employee attendance can also be expected to improve as employees will be aware of the consequences of not adhering to the policy.

Conclusion

Owing to technological advancements, workforce management has become far simpler, more accurate, and more efficient. They’ve taken away the need for maintaining cumbersome and elaborate spreadsheets. Automated leave management systems have replaced them with easy-to-comprehend reports and visually appealing dashboards. All in all, an intelligent system will ensure companies save a lot of money and effort by doing away with everything cumbersome.