Simplify Leave Management: Setting Up Holiday Types and Request Workflows

Managing employee leave can often be a complex and time-consuming process, but with Flowtly, you can streamline it significantly. This tutorial will guide you through setting up various holiday types, configuring their unique request and approval workflows, and ultimately achieving efficient management of all employee leave within your organization. By the end, you'll have a robust system in place to handle all your leave management needs.

Step 1: Access the Holiday Types Configuration

To begin, you need to navigate to the section where you can define and manage different types of leave.

• Log in to your Flowtly account.
• From the main navigation menu on the left side, click on Human Resources.
• Within the Human Resources section, locate and click on Holidays.
• On the Holidays page, you will usually find a sub-menu or tab for Holiday Types or Settings. Click on this to access the holiday type configuration page.

Tip: Access to these settings typically requires administrator or HR manager permissions. If you don't see these options, contact your Flowtly administrator.

Step 2: Create a New Holiday Type

Now that you're in the Holiday Types section, let's create a new type of leave, for example, "Annual Leave" or "Sick Leave".

• On the Holiday Types page, look for a button like + New Holiday Type or Add New. Click it to open the creation form.
• Name: Enter a clear and descriptive name for the holiday type, such as "Annual Leave," "Sick Leave," "Parental Leave," or "Public Holiday."
• Description: Provide a brief explanation of this holiday type. This can help employees understand what the leave is for (e.g., "Paid time off for personal leisure and relaxation," "Leave taken due to illness or injury").
• Color: Select a distinct color for this holiday type. This color will be used in calendars and reports, making it easy to visually distinguish different types of leave.
• Requires Approval: This is a crucial setting.
• If the leave requires approval (e.g., Annual Leave), check this box. This will enable the workflow settings in the next step.
• If the leave does not require approval (e.g., Public Holiday, bereavement leave that is automatically granted), uncheck this box.
• Balance Management: This determines how employee allowances for this leave type are tracked.
• Fixed: Choose this if employees are granted a set number of days/hours per period (e.g., 20 days of annual leave per year).
• Accrued: Select this if employees earn leave over time (e.g., X hours per pay period). If you select Accrued, you might need to configure accrual rules in a subsequent step or a related section (e.g., Work Schedules or People profiles).
• Unlimited: For leave types that don't have a specific limit (e.g., compassionate leave, some sick leave policies).
• No Balance: For leave types that are simply tracked but don't involve an allowance (e.g., public holidays).
• Paid/Unpaid: Indicate whether this leave type is generally paid or unpaid. This helps with payroll integration and reporting.
• Allow Half-Days: Check this box if employees are permitted to request half-days of this leave type.
• Attachment Required: If employees must upload a document (e.g., a medical certificate for sick leave), check this box. This will prompt them to attach files during the request process.
• Save: Once all details are entered, click Save or Create to add the new holiday type.

Tip: Start with your most common leave types, like Annual Leave and Sick Leave, and then add more specific ones as needed. Ensure the Requires Approval and Balance Management settings accurately reflect your company's policy for each type.

Step 3: Configure the Approval Workflow

For holiday types that require approval, you need to define who approves the requests. Flowtly offers flexible workflow options.

• After saving a holiday type that Requires Approval, you'll typically be redirected to or presented with options to configure its workflow. If not, click on the newly created holiday type in the list to edit it.
• Look for a section titled Approval Workflow, Approvers, or similar.
• Select Workflow Type: Flowtly often provides several models:
• Direct Manager Approval: The most common option. Requests are automatically routed to the employee's assigned direct manager. Ensure your People profiles correctly list managers.
• Specific Role Approval: Requests go to anyone assigned a particular role (e.g., "HR Manager," "Department Head").
• Specific Person Approval: Requests are always sent to a designated individual regardless of the employee's manager.
• Multiple Approvers / Sequential Approval: For more complex scenarios, you might need multiple approvals. For example, a direct manager approves first, then an HR manager. Configure the sequence here.
• Any of Many: Requests can be approved by any one of a group of designated individuals.
• Add Approvers: Based on your chosen workflow type, you will then specify the actual approvers:
• If "Direct Manager Approval" is selected, usually no further configuration is needed for who approves, as Flowtly links this automatically via employee profiles.
• If "Specific Role" or "Specific Person" is chosen, you will use a dropdown or search bar to select the relevant roles or individuals.
• Notifications: Ensure that email notifications are configured so that approvers are alerted when a new request is pending, and employees are notified of the status of their request. Flowtly usually handles standard notifications automatically, but you might be able to customize them in Emails & Notifications settings.
• Save Workflow: Confirm your approval workflow settings by saving them.

Tip: Carefully consider your organizational structure and approval matrix when setting up workflows. Clear, efficient workflows prevent bottlenecks and ensure timely processing of leave requests. For smaller teams, a direct manager approval might suffice; larger organizations might benefit from multi-level approvals.

Step 4: Manage Holiday Balances and Allowances

For holiday types with balance management (Fixed or Accrued), you need to ensure employees are allocated their correct allowance.

• Fixed Allowances:
• Go to Human Resources > People.
• Select an individual employee.
• In their Employee Profile or a dedicated Leave or Benefits tab, you should find a section to assign holiday allowances.
• For each relevant holiday type (e.g., Annual Leave), enter the number of days or hours allocated for the current year.
• Repeat this for all employees, or look for a bulk update option if available.
• Accrued Allowances:
• If you chose "Accrued" for a holiday type, you typically set up accrual rules in Human Resources > Work Schedules or in a general Settings > Leave Policies area.
• Define how many hours/days are accrued per pay period, per month, or annually.
• Link these accrual rules to specific employee groups or individual work schedules.
• Flowtly will then automatically calculate and update employee balances based on these rules.
• Carry-over Rules: If your company allows unused leave to be carried over to the next year, configure these rules (e.g., maximum carry-over days, expiry dates for carried-over leave). This is often found in the Holiday Type settings or a general Leave Policy section.

Tip: Regularly audit employee leave balances to ensure accuracy, especially at the start of a new leave year. Communicate clear policies to employees regarding balance accrual, usage, and carry-over.

Step 5: Employees Request Holiday

Once holiday types and workflows are set up, employees can easily request leave.

• Employees log in to Flowtly.
• They navigate to Human Resources > Holidays or a dedicated My Leave section.
• They click on Request Holiday or Submit Leave Request.
• They select the desired Holiday Type, enter Start Date and End Date, and optionally add a Reason or Notes.
• If attachments are required, they will upload the necessary documents.
• They review their request and click Submit. The request will then be routed according to the configured approval workflow.

Step 6: Approving/Rejecting Holiday Requests

Approvers play a critical role in the leave management process. Requests pending their review will appear in the Action Center.

• Approvers log in to Flowtly.
• They access the Action Center from the main dashboard or navigation menu.
• Within the Action Center, they will see a list of pending tasks, including holiday requests awaiting their approval.
• Click on a specific holiday request to view its details: employee name, holiday type, dates, remaining balance, and any notes or attachments.
• Based on the details and company policy, the approver can choose to:
• Approve: Grant the leave request.
• Reject: Deny the leave request, often requiring a reason for the rejection.
• Request More Information: If clarification is needed, sending it back to the employee for more details.
• Once an action is taken, the employee will receive an automated notification about the status update.

Tip: Encourage approvers to check their Action Center regularly to ensure requests are handled promptly. Delays in approval can disrupt employee planning and satisfaction. Clearly communicate the criteria for approval or rejection to all approvers.

Summary and Next Steps

You've successfully configured holiday types, established approval workflows, and learned how to manage employee leave requests in Flowtly. This foundational setup allows for a more organized, transparent, and efficient leave management system, reducing administrative burden and improving employee satisfaction.

Your next steps might include:

• Communicating the new leave request process to your employees.
• Training managers and approvers on using the Action Center for requests.
• Reviewing your company's leave policies to ensure they align with the Flowtly configuration.
• Exploring Reports within the Human Resources section to gain insights into leave patterns and trends.

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Learn more

• Holidays
• Holiday Types
• Action Center
• People
• Emails & Notifications