Leave intake is the front door to the leave process. It kicks off the leave experience, providing the first of many interactions between employer and employee that will shape trust and impact retention.
The intake process has never been more important. Employees are asking for leave more than ever before, according to data from AbsenceSoft. In fact, 53% of employers saw leave requests grow by 21% or more.
As leave cases grow in number, they also grow in complexity. AbsenceSoft data revealed that the top reasons employees take leave are:
- to recover from injury and illness
- to manage mental health challenges
- to care for an aging parent
- to take parental leave
This data shows that employees are taking leave to manage the health and well-being of themselves and their loved ones. As they navigate stressful personal circumstances, they need clear and supportive processes from the moment they ask for leave.
In this blog, we offer the best practices that lead to a leave intake process that’s clear, compliant, and compassionate.
Manual Intake Leaves HR Overwhelmed and Vulnerable
As caseloads grow, HR teams are under mounting pressure to manage increasingly complex leave requests — while ensuring compliance with federal laws, state statutes, and internal policies.
Manual intake processes aren’t helping. When employers lack a streamlined intake process, HR receives leave requests in every way, shape, and form. Some people call. Others email. A few employees may send a message on Teams or Slack.
The process that follows may be just as disparate. A manual approach often involves spreadsheets and folders, and lots of back and forth with the employee to get the right details. Some teams may even still use sticky notes to track the approval process.
This approach is a risky one. Disjointed leave processes leave hardworking HR teams vulnerable to mistakes and slipups. Too often, details fall through the cracks. Even when HR is doing its best, the team may miss a deadline, forget a request, or lose track of important or confidential information.
Complicating this already complex process is the nature of today’s leave requests. Employees are asking for mental health leave. They’re requesting intermittent leave and reduced schedules.
These requests are far from straightforward. They require delicate management and ongoing support. HR must treat them with nuance and care, which manual processes can’t provide at scale.
That’s why HR needs to root its intake process in technology. With the right leave platform, HR ensures every request is dealt with consistently, efficiently, and compassionately — and initiates a leave process that’s smooth and compliant.
Employees Expect a Modern Experience
Manual processes also limit HR in the experience it can provide employees. Today’s workforce expects a seamless, digital experience in nearly all aspects of work, from hiring and onboarding to compensation and benefits.
This expectation extends to leave. When employees need to request leave, they want to do so in a way that’s easy and convenient — akin to making a purchase on Amazon.
An employer’s ability to deliver on this expectation creates consequences that impact the greater business. Among employees with poor leave experiences, 57% reported feeling less loyal to their company and 42% reported feeling less motivated, according to recent AbsenceSoft data. Thirty-six percent said the experience made them decide to start looking for a new job.
Hear from survey respondents who described a lackluster intake experience in their own words:
- “I wish the request process could be clearer and easier to apply.”
- “I would have liked a more streamlined process for submitting and tracking leave requests.”
- “I think the leave process would be easier if I could apply from anywhere. Then you could get your leave status more easily with mobile notifications.”
A positive leave experience creates the opposite effect. More than half of employees who had a positive leave experience said they felt more motivated and more productive when they returned to work. And forty-seven percent said they felt increased loyalty to their workplace.
A positive leave experience begins with a positive intake experience. With a self-service portal, employers can guarantee employees begin the leave process with a fast, consistent process that’s both convenient and discreet.
AbsenceSoft’s self-service portal allows employees to create leave requests from any device at any time. Employees are guided through entering pertinent details in a few easy steps. Once the request is submitted, HR can immediately see the case in the platform.
Survey respondents weighed in on how it felt to request leave with this type of platform:
- “It was simple and worry-free. I was also able to submit all the documentation and observe my leave progress for the duration online.”
- “It couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Once I put in the request, everything was handled within an hour, and I felt respected and valued.”
Best Practices for Leave Intake
Modern leave technology positions employers to provide the leave experience employees desire. With the right leave platform, employers can easily execute key intake best practices, including:
- Centralized Self-Service: A self-service portal gives employees one place to request leave. Instead of calling HR or emailing their manager, they get clear instructions and a consistent experience, every time and from any device.
- Clear Instructions and Communications: Technology helps HR teams standardize intake by embedding plain-language guidance into the process. Employees understand what to do, what forms are needed, and where to go next. This cuts down on confusion and back-and-forth.
- Mobile-Friendly Documentation Uploads: Employees can submit documentation the way they actually operate: by taking a photo on their phone and texting it in. AbsenceSoft automatically stores the image to the right case with a timestamp, so there’s no risk of lost paperwork or compliance gaps.
- Instant Eligibility Calculation: The AbsenceSoft Compliance Engine™ (ACE) calculates eligibility based on federal, state, and company policies. HR teams get fast, accurate results without doing the math by hand or referencing multiple laws.
- Automated Notifications: Leave platforms ensure all stakeholders are informed at all times. Managers, in particular, benefit from automated reminders that support planning and return-to-work transitions.
Benefits of Self-Service in Leave Intake
When employers optimize the leave intake process with a self-service portal and other technologies, multiple groups benefit. Employees can make leave requests with privacy, transparency, and control. HR eliminates the need for manual intaking tasks, transferring its focus from paperwork to employee support.
The organization benefits, too. Positive leave experiences strengthen loyalty, boost retention, and accelerate productivity. Because a high-quality leave platform like AbsenceSoft documents dates, calculates eligibility, and automates required notifications, compliance is strengthened, too.
Leander Independent School District (ISD), a large and fast-growing district in Texas, streamlined its leave intake process when it partnered with AbsenceSoft. Before making the switch, the small HR team manually processed up to 40 new leave requests each week from more than 6,000 employees across 44 campuses.
The team had to calculate eligibility by hand for 30 different employee calendars. It was tedious, time-consuming, and introduced real risk for errors and compliance issues. Each request required manual data entry, template selection, and document uploads. This slowed the team down and created room for mistakes.
With AbsenceSoft, the team can now open a case in seconds. Eligibility and entitlement are calculated automatically. All employee data is available immediately. When a request comes in through the self-service portal, it appears right away in the team’s dashboard.
The entire process, from intake to communication, is now automated. Each document is automatically attached to the case. Customizable templates make it easy to tailor communications by campus. Instead of juggling 44 Word templates, the team selects one and personalizes it as needed.
AbsenceSoft’s self-service features have also improved the experience for employees and managers. Employees can upload documents, check their case status, and get updates without contacting the leave team. Supervisors can log in to see who is out and for how long, which helps them plan coverage more effectively.
What HR Can Do Next
Your team can improve its leave intake process with a few simple steps:
- Audit your current process: Ask yourselves, is your process clear, trackable, and employee-friendly?
- Train managers: Managers and supervisors should direct employees to correct intake channels to avoid confusion and compliance issues.
- Monitor employee feedback: Employees can show you how you can improve your process.
- Explore self-service portals: If your organization lacks a self-service portal and accompanying leave platform, consider partnering with an organization like AbsenceSoft to optimize your process.
The leave intake process is an employee’s first introduction to the leave experience. Straightforward, convenient request procedures make way for leave process that’s quick, compliant, and compassionate.
Discover how your organization can optimize the intake experience with AbsenceSoft. Book a demo today.