How Better Leave Management Can Improve Workforce Productivity?
Piyush Sharma
There are many intricacies involved in the world of business. These are capable of driving better workforce productivity. Human resource management is a major factor that is essential when it comes to ensuring that a business is able to succeed.
Proper HR management helps to ensure that a business is well-staffed, that employees are well compensated and given adequate benefits and that their job scope is effectively designed/defined.
Having efficient and skillful professionals running the human resource department is one thing but upholding and practicing every facet of good HR is quite another.
Ignore good HR practices and you could find your organisation failing & losing the workforce productivity. Although the purpose of human resource management is to maximise an organisation’s productivity by optimising efficiency, there are many sensitive and sometimes sophisticated components involved in serving this seemingly simple purpose.
More than meets the eye
Take leave management for example. This seemingly simple but crucial HR activity is not concerned solely with keeping track of periods of employee absence, rather, it is about ensuring relevant staff members are always at hand and in suitable quantities.
It is about retaining employee satisfaction and about guaranteeing compliance with the law/internal policies. Understanding what the core purpose of a function within your HR arsenal is critical and it always helps to be more informed than you think you should be.
Also, with regards to leave management, enhancing your methodologies through the consultation of lawyers, employee committees and leaders can help you establish an all-inclusive and formal leave management structure.
Clearly documented leave procedures and policies should also be devise.
Don't be afraid to share
Supervisors and employees should be well versed in the policies of the company so that an action roadmap can be established. In this way, the gap between employees and employers can be better bridged with trust and clarity.
Supervisors should also be trained in how to discuss leave entitlements and requirements with their subordinates. They should be schooled in relevant terminology and taught about what to do and what not to do to improve workforce productivity.
For example, in the event that an employee is ill, it’s best to not ask any questions about the employee’s situation or illness, as many laws do not look kindly upon this. HR departments should not view themselves solely as gatekeepers but rather as purveyors of best practices throughout the organization.
Furthermore, supervisors must know how to assess the need for leave and to grant it equally amongst their subordinates, with respect to the particularities of an employee’s situation.
Often, the importance of documenting situations for reference becomes paramount. Similar to the practice of law, cases can differ and through a structured process of application and discovery, growth and improvement can also be achieved.
Appreciate complexity
Leave management is not just about transacting leaves; it’s a sophisticated process, so much so that some businesses opt to outsource their leave management or use a leave management system to improve workforce productivity.
In spite of this, remember that employees are not the responsibility of those that you outsource to. Rather, they are the responsibility of your organisation and those that manage it.
Once employees are able to see that their organisation is actively putting in the effort, time, concern and care for their wellbeing, they will tend to behave in a way that displays more commitment and loyalty towards the organisation.
By appreciating complexity, developing a well thought out leave management process becomes a core driver of employee retention with reports even showing that leave management has a role in boosting workforce productivity.
Be holistic
Granted, leave management is just one aspect of the vast spectrum of activities that have been entrusted to a HR department.
HR personnel should, therefore, develop the ability to look at their function in totality, not limiting their purpose to just one part or the other.
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