Resources for teams managing leave in-house
Try our free leave tracking template—and explore other tools we offer for in-house teams.
Try our free leave tracking template—and explore other tools we offer for in-house teams.
Whether you manage leaves of absence internally or outsource them; use spreadsheets, third-party reps, or software—the most important thing is that you have some sort of system in place that works for People Ops and leave-takers. We think the best approach automates the tough stuff—like pay calculations and ever-changing leave laws—while still giving People teams and leave-takers visibility and control (which we know is biased, because this is Cocoon’s approach). However, we know that not every team and company might be ready to bring in a software solution, and that’s okay. That’s why we’ve created a dynamic leave tracking spreadsheet template for you, along with some of our best free tools and guides to ensure that no matter how you manage leaves, you’re doing the best you can.
There are various approaches to administering a leave. Some teams choose to outsource it completely to a third-party provider, which means all decisions and paperwork generally stay between an employee and their assigned rep. Other teams work with leave management solution partners like Cocoon that provide software, tools, and automation to simplify and streamline so employers can focus on their employees. Others choose to manage it in-house, with a designated “expert” or multiple teammates handling the different parts of leave.
Managing leave internally is often seen as a cost savings measure—especially for smaller companies that might not have many leaves to manage. Doing things in-house without support can also be easier if your company doesn’t operate in multiple states (or states with mandatory leave laws) which cuts down on compliance complexity. It also gives People Ops teams the opportunity to tailor their approach, ensuring they can control the process for an employee experience that aligns with their company culture.
Regardless of whether you insource or outsource, there are still many responsibilities employers need to stay on top of and the perceived cost-savings of managing it in-house can go out the window as People teams try to:
Though the challenges above can be tough, People Ops teams can implement these best practices to meet challenges head-on and be proactive:
While it’s easy to write this list, it’s much harder to carry it out effectively—but that’s why Cocoon was founded in the first place, and why we like to give employers and employees as many tools as they can to plan and manage leave to the best of their abilities. Many of them are linked above (and on one page here), while below you can get a more in-depth explanation of how to use the tracking template.
Here’s how in-house teams can better track leaves with our dynamic and customizable tool:
A caveat here is that this tracker is only one step of the process. For example, it won’t calculate pay for you. The full Cocoon experience goes beyond basic calculations to automate the most complex parts of a leave like compliance, payroll, claims, reporting, and more.
If things are going swimmingly between your own processes and our free dynamic planning and tracking tools, excellent. But there are a few indicators that might mean you should start the search for a more robust leave management solution sooner rather than later:
Though there are stellar People Ops teams who are proactive, knowledgeable, and supportive when it comes to managing leaves, there are many more who are struggling to simply get through it. For some teams, our free tools will be a huge step up, but our larger vision is to evolve how technology is leveraged to automate, calculate, and plan the most complex parts of leave—which go far beyond mere spreadsheets. Ultimately, that’s what will give leave-takers the peace of mind they need to put their focus on the reason for their leave, while giving employers the opportunity to better support them with less effort and risk. So whether you’re just handling your first leave or are looking to really scale up and shape up your approach, Cocoon is excited to be your dedicated partner.