Top 3 absence pains (and solutions) for mid-market organisations

According to a survey, the biggest challenges that growing mid-market organisations face are:

• Finding, retaining, and growing top talent
• Maintaining a healthy, accountable culture
• Scaling operational processes

However, what will probably surprise you is that employee absence is more closely linked to these challenges than you think…

We’ve spoken to thousands of growing mid-market organisations throughout the years that share common challenges when it comes to employee absence. So we’ve compiled our top 3 absence pains based on real-world discussions, with actionable absence solutions.

1. Decentralised absence systems creating admin burden

The pain

The task HR leaders have when it comes to managing different types of absence is painful. What’s more, using decentralised systems such as spreadsheets and paper forms, they’re loaded with compliance nightmares waiting to happen and create a build-up of unavoidable admin. A detriment to productivity and operational processes.

When operating across multiple countries and locations the burden of maintaining compliance and keeping on top of absence cases starts to grow as the business scales. Quite often, those different operations around the world have their own disconnected systems of managing absence which makes centralised resource planning almost impossible.

The solution

An effective absence management system should automate the day-to-day tasks such as logging and recording leave while providing simple accessibility to employees. Giving time back to everybody while centralising your systems is critical for sustaining the growth of your business.

“edays has made the job of managing absence easier. It’s removed error-prone spreadsheets, dramatically reduced time spent processing absence requests, and reduced the number of emails having to be sent to approve holidays.” Resourcing Manager at Vaillant Boilers. Read the full success story here.

2. Strapped reporting on absence hindering decision making

The pain

Having zero or basic access to absence data limits the impact your people are having on your business.  Having limited visibility of teams is one thing, but not being able to understand absence shuts the door to making informed business decisions. This in turn impacts the wider areas of your growth strategy from recruitment through to talent retention and engagement – everything a growing business needs to thrive.

The solution

Take a smarter approach to absence. Harnessing absence data helps improve the understanding of absence across the business, which supports talent retention and improves productivity across the business. Furthermore, accessible absence reporting for managers and HR gives employees the support they need, quicker.

“Implementing edays is one of the best things we’ve done for our people. The in-depth absence reporting it provides has helped us get a handle on both unplanned and planned absence to proactively identify and address wellbeing issues.” Managing Director at Wirtgen Group. Read the full success story here.

3. Absence is creating a negative employee experience

The pain

The experience of absence in the workplace can be negatively perceived and to some degree seen as another measure of control to “keep an eye on employees”. But what goes under the radar is that well-rested employees lead to a happier, more productive workplace. Without a better experience of absence in the workplace, cases of unplanned absences linked to burnout and stress start to rise. This then leads to poor engagement, a high turnover of people, and a negative impact on your employer brand.

What’s more, with poor systems, booking time off becomes a chore and a long-winded process riddled with approval barriers just to get a day off work. This contributes to creating a negative employee experience. Your employees aren’t happy, which then puts you at risk of losing talented people.

The solution

Getting access to time off shouldn’t be a challenge. Business leaders must encourage their employees to rest to create a better experience of absence. Taking time off helps to better engage employees, better care for their wellbeing, and support them through the moments that matter in their lives.

“At a certain point, any organisation outgrows manual processes for holiday booking. edays facilitated the transition to online holiday booking for London Luton Airport, giving our employees and administrators the best experience possible when booking and approving holiday.” Resourcing Manager at London Luton Airport. Read the full success story here.

Look for an absence solution? Click here to book a personalised demo of edays