The 4 Biggest Challenges In Vacation Management

If you don't work in HR, you may be wondering: What challenges are employers facing when managing leave in 2024? Shouldn’t something like this have been automated by now?

That's a good question. Unfortunately, too many companies are still stuck in the past when it comes to vacation management. Maybe you were even one of those poor souls who had to fill out their winter vacation application via an Excel spreadsheet.

But no worry. You are not alone.

There are excellent tools to ensure you start the new decade on the right foot. 2020 will be the year your company overcomes the challenges of vacation management. We believe in you - and in your HR department!

The mantra of every HR manager is that employees are a company's most valuable asset. This becomes apparent when companies really see it that way. Companies that put their employees first offer good benefits and plenty of free time. They know that in order to do their best work, team members also need to take vacation time and have access to sick days and other types of leave.

However, tracking these different types of vacations can prove time-consuming and complicated. It is important for teams and employers to have a transparent and clear process to apply company policies in a fair and seamless manner.

Below are some of the key challenges HR departments face when managing leave. These challenges exist across industries. However, there is a simple, customizable solution. A solution suitable for both an aspiring start-up and a large company. There is a solution to each of these leave management challenges.

Transparent Vacation Policy

We can't discuss the challenges of vacation management without first talking about vacation policies. Before vacations or absences can be booked, a transparent vacation policy must be in place. Employees must be familiarized with this policy when they join the company. Employees must also always know which holidays are celebrated in your company. This may vary by country, region, religion, industry, etc. A clear and transparent policy must detail the allowance for each type of leave available to your team members.

A policy must ensure that everyone in a company is treated fairly. The policies must also comply with the laws of the region, province, country and/or territory.

Employee Confusion About Vacation Grants and Policies

Of course, a transparent vacation policy can solve some of the vacation management problems. However, it is not enough that the directive simply exists. It needs to be communicated and reiterated to your teams.

Ideally, your employees should have the opportunity to interact with information about their vacation policies.

To find out if your team is unclear about vacation entitlements and policies, you can ask the following questions:

Does the average employee know how many vacation days they have left?

Do your employees know whether their vacation days are counted or not?

Do they know how many total sick days they have or have left for the year?

And do they know what type of leave they can take for a bereavement or a celebratory life event such as the birth of a child or a wedding?

If team members are unable to answer these questions quickly, you have a vacation management challenge on your hands. Your HR team needs to keep employees updated on policies, accrued time, and remaining days off.

Keep Team Members Informed with IceHrm

Luckily, a solution is right within reach.

With IceHrm, any active user can see their leave status at any time.

Tracking Leave

Even once a proper policy is in place and properly communicated, there remain a couple more leave management challenges.

Firstly, simply tracking leave seems to be a challenge. Many organizations are still stuck in the past. It’s jarring how many organizations still track leave using Excel spreadsheets.

In an Excel spreadsheet, someone is updating the information manually. When information gets entered incorrectly, this incorrect information can impact the payroll. It can also affect the remaining vacation balances of employees.

A leave tracking system can prevent manual entry errors, while also keeping teams updated on upcoming leaves in the organization.

Payroll Errors and Reporting

The last and perhaps most relevant of the leave management challenges is reporting. Absences and leaves will affect payroll. Organizations have paid as well as unpaid leaves. Of course, company policies should indicate this.

However, with a proper automated HR solution, it should be easy to both accurately track, and export reports.

In summary, managing employee leave in 2024 poses challenges for many companies, from transparent policy communication to manual tracking errors. IceHrm provides a solution by offering a transparent and customizable leave management system. With features like real-time leave status tracking and automated approval processes, IceHrm addresses these challenges, promoting clarity, efficiency, and accuracy in managing employee time-off. As companies strive for smoother leave management, IceHrm emerges as a valuable tool for the new decade.