Let’s face it. Managing employee leave isn’t the most glamorous aspect of HR or workforce management. But it’s certainly among the most challenging. The legal and regulatory backdrop to leave management is complex, and it varies based on factors that range from where you do business to the size of your company. You feel as if the rules are ever-changing. It’s like doing business in an amusement park fun house; it’s a challenge to keep your footing, hard to know if what you’re seeing is real, and difficult to get a firm hold on the rail to help lead you through the maze.
Are You Keeping Pace with Developments in Leave Management?
Is Collaboration Overrated?
This week’s post is brought to you by [Jim Bryant](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jim-bryant/8/454/893).
Collaboration is used extensively today in both the private and public sectors, with considerable focus on the lack of collaboration and the impact on many aspects of our family and work environments.
Archie Anderson at Lunch with DriveThruHR this Friday, Sept. 6
We are returning back from a relaxing Labor Day weekend and are very much looking forward to this week! Optis President, Archie Anderson will be a guest speaker on [DriveThruHR](http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drivethruhr/2013/09/06/archie-anderson-at-lunch-with-drivethruhr) this Friday, September 6 at 11:00 am MST / 12 pm CST, and will be speaking with co-hosts William Tincup, SPHR, Bryan Wempen and Nisha Raghavan. The entire speaker line up at DriveThruHR this week is awesome, to say the least.
What's Missing from Your FMLA Tracking?
FMLA court decisions are never-ending … and provide lessons for all companies and organizations (whether you’re in court or not).
Following the *Young vs. The Wackenhut Corporation* decision earlier this year, we’re reminded of the importance of individual notice. We know from the law that individual notice must be provided when an employee requests FMLA-related leave or when an employer acquires knowledge that an employee’s leave may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason (if you didn’t know that, consider it a free tip).
Managing Employee Absence? Do More with Less.
**“Do more with less.”**
This is a term you’ve probably heard at least once in the past few years. Most of us want to be more efficient. How many of us have read [The 4-Hour Workweek](http://www.fourhourworkweek.com) or implemented the [Pomodoro Technique](http://www.pomodorotechnique.com) to try and accomplish more in less time?
HR oversees and manages a lot. Whether its benefits administration, payroll, employee communication, recruiting & hiring, or employee leave management, HR’s time is valuable, and free time is hard to come by.
Top 10 Reasons to Track FMLA in the Cloud
10. [#Saynotospreadsheets](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23saynotospreadsheets&src=typd) and wave goodbye to sticky notes.
9. Gain insight into absence trends.
8. Manage accommodation requests & approvals.
7. Track eligibility and certification documentation online instead of in paper files.
6. Keep your data secure in the cloud instead of in a dusty file cabinet.
5. Show your manager and team you’re an HR Rock Star! Try before you buy and see which product edition works best for you.
4. Track leave remotely; login anywhere that has an internet connection.
3.
The Next Evolution in Leave Management is Coming …
We’ve got some big news to share.
We’re counting down the days until the [2013 SHRM Annual Conference & Expo in Chicago](http://annual.shrm.org), where we’ll be debuting the next evolution in leave and absence management.
What could it be, you ask? Well, we know that when certain things are missing, it’s pretty evident. You wouldn’t visit the Lincoln Memorial and expect to see an empty chair. In your office, you wouldn’t have an important conference without a table. And you wouldn’t expect your employees to be productive without much-needed information for their jobs.
All Together Now: Keeping Your Team on the Same Page with Absence Management
Managers, we’ve all been there; your people manage tasks differently and have different ways of working. You have your superstars who excel under your leadership and create processes that seemingly no one else can do.
But then, life happens. And your most valuable employees experience a life event that requires a leave of absence.
Suddenly, your workflows have changed. You have temporary workers and you’re managing people who are covering tasks that they don’t typically tackle. You’re entire system is a little off-kilter. It’s a lot to manage – on top of all that you usually oversee.
What Can HR Learn From March Madness?
It’s that time of year again … March Madness has arrived. While your employees are filling out their brackets and streaming games on their desktops, HR managers are thinking about one thing: lost productivity.
Notorious for disrupting the workplace, March Madness can be as big of an HR nightmare as managing FMLA. OK, it’s not that bad … but typically productive employees spend hours watching college hoops, discussing games with their co-workers, and checking their bracket standings. The result?
Leave Use Bottom Line — Save Money, Time and Productivity
This week we’re blogging about audits again. But we can assure you that it won’t be that painful. And we’ll provide you with guidance on how to save money, time and productivity.
One of the first steps to getting a handle on employee absence is investigating what leave types are most commonly used in your company. Why, you ask?