How can you manage leave requests for employees in high turnover industries?

For effective LM, it's critical to have clear, comprehensive policies in place. These policies should be in line with labor laws and detail the various types of leave (annual, sick, maternity/paternity, etc.), eligibility requirements, application processes, notice periods, and duration limits. To ensure clarity and transparency, make these policies readily accessible to all employees through employee handbooks. This strategy helps eliminate confusion and maintain fairness.

1 - Set clear leave policies 2 - Use a leave management system 3 - Plan ahead for peak periods 4 - Encourage a culture of communication and collaboration 5 - Monitor and evaluate your leave management performance 6 - Here’s what else to consider

It requires a combination of efficient processes, clear communication, and flexibility to manage the leave request. One of the way is to implement a reward system for good attendance to incentivize employees to minimize unplanned leave. This could include bonuses, extra PTO days, or other perks. Clear policies that outline the procedures for requesting time off, including how far in advance requests should be made and any blackout periods when leave requests may be restricted especially during peak periods or busy seasons. In high turnover industries where staffing shortages are common, it's essential to prioritize leave requests based on business needs. Determine the maximum number of employees who can be on leave at any given time.

Manual tracking of leave requests is akin to navigating a maze blindfolded, it's time consuming, prone to errors, and frankly, an unnecessary challenge in the digital age. By adopting a LMS, you automate the grunt work, freeing up your time to focus on more strategic HR initiatives. This technology acts as your GPS, providing a clear, efficient path through the complexities of leave management. I spearheaded the implementation of our own LMS in my company. You might not always have the resources or need to develop an in-house system. In such cases, I recommend considering established platforms like ZOHO or Workable.

It is always to use as HRMS tool for managing the leave management. This will help to track the following the metix which will help us have more clear picture. Daily leave status Resource availability Employee leave balance Leave type wise summary These reports which are available in Zoho people HRMS is very useful and help the HR to have over view of Manpower and available deployment at ( Preplanned leave, un approved leave/absence etc.)

We will need to have our skilled and productive employees at peak periods ensure that they support us during the holiday or festival seasons where the turnover rate is very high.

It is crucial to also monitor carryover leaves, since many companies don't allow transferring unused leave to the next year. Tracking this helps ensure policy adherence and identifies if employees are not taking enough time off, supporting a healthy work life balance and fair application of leave policies.

Building off of Maggie Ruvoldt's comment, the manager should schedule a meeting with the employee the morning of the employee's return to set expectations for the next few days. It will take time for re-entry and being clear about expectations reduces the stress.

When building leave policies, processes and communications, consider the return as a "re-onboarding" moment. If you turn access back on and resume their schedule without a return plan, you will have retention risks. People with a clear idea of what return will look like are more likely to return. Returning from leave is stressful. Employees may feel out of touch from changes and updates that happened at work while on leave. It may be a simple as a manager meeting with goals to bring the employee back up to speed or as complex as a return action plan.