edays vs. GoodShape: Best absence management software

Effectively managing employee absence and wellbeing is crucial for businesses and their People teams, and the right absence management software can make all the difference. But where to begin on choosing the right one for you and your business can often seem like a mammoth task. How can you ensure you get the tool that best suits your needs?

Two leading solutions in this space are edays and GoodShape. While both offer absence management capabilities, edays specialises in absence intelligence and automation, whereas GoodShape integrates broader wellbeing support. They are also notably different in that edays is employee self-service, and GoodShape focuses on reporting absences through a manned phone line. But overall, how do these platforms compare on features, ethos, and the organisations they support? Let’s explore edays vs GoodShape.

Feature comparison: edays vs GoodShape

The power of proactive leave and absence management

Effective absence management isn’t just about tracking leave—it’s about proactive planning. A structured system helps businesses:

Reduce unplanned absences – Organisations with proactive leave management see a 28% lower rate of sickness-related absences
Boost productivity – Companies optimising annual leave schedules experience a 40% increase in employee productivity
Enhance workforce planning – Forecasting employee absences allows managers to allocate resources more effectively, minimising disruptions

While GoodShape takes a wellbeing-first approach, edays delivers a data-driven, preventative model that enables organisations to plan ahead, optimise productivity, and reduce absenteeism.

Why annual leave matters for productivity

Annual leave isn’t just a benefit – it’s a strategic necessity. Employees who take their full leave entitlement:

Are 25% more engaged at work than those who don’t take regular breaks
Experience 23% lower stress levels, leading to fewer burnout-related absences
Contribute to an 18% improvement in team performance due to better energy management

While GoodShape focuses on sickness-related absence, edays ensures employees get the rest they need while preventing burnout and increasing productivity through smarter tracking and planning.

edays does this through the following:

Reducing admin time by 89%, freeing up employees and HR teams for other priorities
Reducing sickness rates by 25%, offering organisations actionable insights into their sickness trends so they can help to reduce them
Improving employee satisfaction to encourage productivity

Managing sickness: tracking vs. prevention

Sickness absence costs UK businesses over £29 billion annually. While tracking sickness is important, proactive prevention is even more valuable. But how do edays vs GoodShape compare for tracking and preventing?

GoodShape’s approach:

Emphasises return-to-work strategies and integrates with health services.
Primarily focuses on managing sickness absence reactively.
Provides a staffed phone line for employees to phone in and report absences.

edays’ approach:

Identifies absence trends early to prevent long-term issues.
Uses data-driven insights to reduce unplanned leave and encourage wellbeing.
Provides automated absence tracking and alerts to improve efficiency.
Offers an excellent employee experience with an empowering self-service platform.

By choosing edays, businesses gain more than just an absence tracker – they get a powerful system designed to reduce absenteeism and enhance workforce productivity.

Additional features

While both edays and GoodShape are specialist absence management solutions, they both provide some additional features with very different focuses.

GoodShape additional features:

GoodShapeHealth, which offers 24/7 clinical support
GoodShapeNavigator, which helps you to track employee treatment referrals

edays additional features:

Time tracking, which offers online timesheets, the ability to clock in and out, the option to track and accrue overtime, and the functionality to log time against various clients and/or projects.
Working locations, which offers the ability to track and manage different bases that employees work from, be it an office, a site, a factory, a client base or another address. This feature helps you to manage hybrid workers, comply with health and safety regulations, and better resource plan.
Workflow Builder, which offers the ability to create customised workflows that automate your processes, send alerts, and reduce admin time.
Document portal and employee directory, which offers slightly broader HR functionality and allows you to store company policies, employee handbooks, training documents, contracts and performance reviews.

Which solution is best for your business?

Choosing between edays vs GoodShape depends on your organisation’s priorities:

If you need an employee self-service absence management system that enables forward planning, tracks trends, and reduces unplanned absences, edays is the better choice.
If you are looking for a non-self-service option where employees report absences through a staffed phone line, GoodShape might be more suited to you.
If you require a comprehensive system for leave, absence, and time tracking, complete with a mobile app for clock-in/out, QR functionality, and a higher rating on Google Play, Apple Store, Capterra, and Software Advice, then edays is the better choice.
If your primary concern is managing sickness-related absence and supporting employee wellbeing reactively, GoodShape may be worth considering.

For businesses who want an in-depth absence and leave management tool with some broader HR and Time & Attendance functionality, edays is the superior option. edays provides the right balance of control, automation, and insight to optimise workforce efficiency while supporting employee wellbeing.