{"id":68831,"date":"2020-11-12T15:41:22","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T13:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/?p=68831"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T13:49:50","slug":"spreadsheets-slowing-annual-leave-processes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/spreadsheets-slowing-annual-leave-processes\/","title":{"rendered":"Why spreadsheets take the \u2018human\u2019 out of HR \u2013 and what to do about it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tManaging people<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhy spreadsheets take the \u2018human\u2019 out of HR \u2013 and what to do about it\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tMarvin Opperman<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Managing annual leave can be a headache for employers and HR professionals. Even a small workforce is tricky to manage, particularly during holiday seasons when most people want to take leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Ipsos poll found that only 57% of South Africans somewhat or strongly agree that they will take at least a week off work in the next year, and 35% of respondents don\u2019t think they\u2019ll use up all their leave days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requesting and tracking annual leave should be a seamless process for you as an HR professional and your people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HR software offers a host of features and tools that reduce the challenges associated with annual leave \u2013 features you will never get from a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free Remote Working guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is annual leave?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Annual leave is a worker\u2019s paid holiday. Most employees are entitled to 21 consecutive days annual leave (or 15 working days). Public holidays don\u2019t necessarily have to be given as paid leave, and you can choose to include them as part of your annual leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agency workers, workers with irregular hours, and part-time workers are all entitled to annual leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why spreadsheets don\u2019t work for annual leave<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many aspects to consider when managing annual leave, even for a small workforce. Trying to keep everything on spreadsheets is challenging for various reasons, but mostly because it doesn\u2019t set a solid foundation for business growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manual tasks and reliance on enormous spreadsheets make teams reactive to people-related. With a decent HR infrastructure in place, you can improve efficiencies, instil a winning and rewarding culture, and provide meaningful and accurate HR data to help drive the business forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five time wasters linked to spreadsheets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  1. They are time-consuming<\/strong><\/h3>
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    One of the biggest disadvantages of using spreadsheets is how much admin time they require, which wastes countless hours each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Payroll and HR staff often have to capture the same information across multiple spreadsheets and scroll through entire sheets to get to the data they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When someone requests leave, HR staff have to go through the spreadsheets again to ensure no one else is off at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Lack of security <\/strong><\/h3>
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      Data sensitivity is more serious now than ever before, and spreadsheets don\u2019t have the up-to-date security measures that companies require to protect their employee information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      People are inclined to share spreadsheets back and forth via email and often do not bother password-protecting them. Email servers are a constant target for cybercriminals, which leaves any confidential information on spreadsheets at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. It\u2019s difficult to keep them current<\/strong><\/h3>
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        The data that HR and payroll practitioners work with changes all the time \u2013 new staff, staff leaving, holidays, and sick days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        As an organisation grows, tracking this kind of data in real-time becomes nearly impossible. Handling annual leave in this manner also compromises the accuracy and timeliness of your payroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        1. Workers can\u2019t track their leave balances<\/strong><\/h3>
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          HR and payroll staff are in charge of managing all employees\u2019 annual leave. Having this data on a spreadsheet makes the process laborious and inaccurate, meaning that delayed responses to queries are likely to result, which in turn affects employer-employee relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. Collaboration isn\u2019t supported<\/strong><\/h3>
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            Data protection laws such as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) prescribe who can access what employee information. If a request for an annual leave summary comes from a manager or senior-level employee regarding how many annual leave days their team has left, HR and payroll staff will need to redact information in order to share only what is appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This kind of straightforward request shouldn\u2019t take so much time and effort to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Download your free Remote Working guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

            HR software eliminates many challenges as it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n