Washington Federal (WaFd) Bank is one of the largest banking institutions in the United States, with over 235 branches and more than 2,000 employees. Leave Management Specialist Elle Emerson is in charge of delivering a streamlined, supportive experience to employees going on leave. How does Emerson ensure a great experience with so many employee requests? By leveraging the automation, customization, and employee self-service capabilities in AbsenceSoft’s leave management software. When WaFd first signed on to implement AbsenceSoft, Emerson was a little concerned – other software implementations had been very challenging, and seemed to take forever. But Emerson was extremely relieved to find that the opposite was true for AbsenceSoft.
“AbsenceSoft should teach a class on implementation, your team is that good,” said Emerson. “The whole process was so clearly outlined and well-managed that we were able to launch a full month early.”
As AbsenceSoft got up and running, Emerson appreciated the ability to make numerous customizations inside of the system to get her process just right. “I really appreciate being able to make modifications on my own,” said Emerson. “I can make changes on the fly and don’t have to go to AbsenceSoft every time I want to personalize a communication to someone.”
As part of implementation, AbsenceSoft and WaFd’s ADP were integrated to automatically update employee data every day. This takes the burden of compliance off of Emerson, as it ensures that eligibility calculations in the system are accurate. Emerson also makes full use of AbsenceSoft’s text messaging functionality to confirm employees have received important information about their case, or to prompt them to send information in.
“People just don’t answer the phone anymore, because they think it’s spam,” said Emerson. “With text, they’re much more likely to respond, and they respond much faster. We usually hear back from employees in seconds now, compared to no response at all after multiple calls.”
In addition to text and customized communications, Emerson further personalizes the leave experience with AbsenceSoft’s employee self-service capabilities. WaFd employees can simply login on any device, at any time to request a leave.
“AbsenceSoft’s employee self-service is so simple and easy to use that most of our employees can request a leave without any instruction set,” said Emerson.
Emerson also appreciates the attention the AbsenceSoft support and success teams make sure she gets, as well as opportunities for ongoing education. She and her team regularly tune in to the quarterly Live with Legal webinars to stay on top of upcoming changes to federal and state laws. “Your team is so on top of things, always proactive, checking in and following up,” said Emerson. “There is never a time you just close out a ticket after a day because I couldn’t get back to your team in time.” To learn how AbsenceSoft can help you streamline and automate your leave program, schedule a demo today.
