What is leave management reporting & why is it important?

Leave management reporting involves the process of tracking, analysing and reporting on employee leave data within an organisation. It generally monitors leaves such as annual leave, sick leave, personal/carer’s leave, long service leave, parental leave and community service leave.

Specific entitlements for each type of leave may vary based on factors such as the employment contract, industry and relevant legislation. Refer to the Fair Work Act 2009 and any applicable state or territory legislation for detailed information on leave entitlements.

The primary goal of leave management reporting is to provide insights into employee attendance, absences, overall leave patterns and to reduce leave liability within an organisation. This information can be valuable for both HR professionals and management in making informed decisions related to workforce planning, resource allocation and policy adjustments.

Key components of leave management reporting may include:

• Leave Balances: Tracking the leave balance of each employee, including accrued annual leave days, sick leave and other types of paid or unpaid time off.
• Usage Trends: Analysing patterns in leave usage over time to identify peak periods of absenteeism, seasonal variations or any recurring patterns.
• Compliance Monitoring: Ensuring that employee leaves are in compliance with company policies and legal regulations. This involves tracking the usage of different types of leaves and ensuring that employees are not exceeding allocated limits.
• Employee Productivity: Assessing the impact of employee leaves on overall productivity and workload management. This can help in resource planning and workload distribution.

Leave management reporting is often facilitated by HR management software or integrated modules within larger HR systems. These tools automate the tracking and reporting processes, making it easier for organisations to manage employee leaves efficiently and make data-driven decisions.

Leave management chart example

If you’re looking for a best practice leave management report, below is an example of what it looks like in org.manager.

This particular example highlights which departments and individuals have employees with excess or negative leave, as well as some department leave rollup statistics like average annual leave balance, number of employees with leave over 200 hours and annual, personal or sick leave taken this month.

Tip: This view can be customised based on your business requirements. Use visualisation rules to highlight key information that is important for analysis, or hide fields to reduce the amount of information shown on screen for a more focused view.

How leave management software will improve your business

Managers are expected to stay one step ahead by regularly staying on top of leave balance, but reporting on leave so it’s understood at a glance can be tricky. Cloud-based HR tools can help by tracking days off, providing accurate leave reports and by providing employees and leaders with self-serve access to relevant leave information.

Make your life a lot easier by visualising leave balances and KPIs in an org chart, so your entire organisation can access their own leave balance, plus you can highlight employees and departments with leave liability issues using automated conditional formatting. This enables your workforce to take the reigns and gives HR admins more time to focus on strategic initiatives.

Here are 5 ways that leave management reporting software will help to level up your business:

Workforce planning: Reporting on leave data helps organisations identify patterns in employee absences, such as peak holiday seasons or recurring sick leave trends. This information is important for effective workforce planning, allowing organisations to allocate resources more efficiently during periods of increased employee absence.

Resource allocation: By analysing leave trends, organisations can optimise staffing levels to ensure that workloads are always covered, even when employees are on leave. This prevents disruptions and avoids unnecessary overtime or temporary staffing costs.

Cost management: Leave management reporting provides insights into the financial impact of employee absences. Organisations can use this information to estimate costs related to paid time off, temporary replacements or overtime expenses. By understanding these costs, organisations can implement strategies to manage budgetary implications.

Employee engagement & satisfaction: Leave reports can highlight areas where leave policies may need adjustment to better align with employee needs and expectations. This can contribute to higher employee satisfaction and engagement, as employees feel that their work-life balance is being considered and supported.

Compliance & policy adherence: Leave reports help organisations monitor the effectiveness of their leave policies and ensure compliance with labour laws and regulations. Identifying trends in policy adherence allows for adjustments to policies that may be causing issues or are not aligned with organisational goals.