Leave Management does not get simpler than this!
Friday, 4:00 pm, Workstation
I am typing away furiously. Two e-mails to be sent and one presentation that needs sprucing up. My flight is in exactly five hours. I pause for a minute to contemplate if I should wrap up and work on the presentation later. The picture in my head is far from encouraging.
Nope. I’d rather choose a glass of wine and a good movie on-board instead.
7:30 pm, Airport Lounge
I am buried in a Murakami bestseller. The sudden chain of beeps from a phone nearby brings me back to reality. I realize I am forgetting something.
My leave application!
A year ago if I were to leave on a holiday, the scenario would have been completely different. One thing was getting my manager to nod yes to my holiday, but applying for it was a stressful affair unto itself. So complicated a process, 34,56,789 drop downs and windows, that the only option on most occasions was to abandon it half way. Needless to say locking horns with the HR business partner had become a routine affair.
I got introduced to Slack exactly a year ago when I joined my current firm. With AttendanceBot, the leave tracking and attendance management system for Slack, the entire process has become a breeze!
1. Superfast and Simple: Previously taking a leave not only included completing your deliverables before you take off, but also getting a zillion boxes ticked before you actually apply for the same on the intranet. Stating the type of leave, calculating the leave balance, cross verifying with one’s leave history, and such. With AttendanceBot, the whole process is fast and simple. The user only has to type the respective key word (type of leave) and click on submit. No dialogues boxes and numerous windows to be surpassed. The only prerequisites being the right terminology that needs to be used. For ease of use, all the common types of leave such as Sick Leave, Work from Home, Parental Leave, Unpaid Leave, Vacation, Travel etc is already in-built in the application. In this manner the entire leave application and management process becomes easier for the manager and the team as a whole.
2. Transparent: In my prior organization, I was a part of a twenty member global team. We worked across time zones and used multiple activity trackers to keep up with the work that was being circulated. There were separate excel records maintained for leave, remote working hours, work from home, etc. One had to request access to these records to view leave summary and team status. Now, with AttendanceBot, one can bid farewell to cumbersome processes and approvals. The Bot announces the current day’s leaves, the following day’s or week’s leaves depending on the number of channels created. The type of leave is never disclosed to protect privacy of the individual. Now in a single click every member is able to view the entire team’s availability. Thus making the task of managing deliverables across time zones far simpler.
3. Everything one place: Earlier maintaining records, time sheets, viewing leave summary, modifying and deleting leaves, changing managers required different applications and platforms. AttendanceBot helps bring all of this under one roof. All the key functionalities are embedded in one single application. When there are multiple platforms doing different functions, downtime in one affects the accuracy of the report being generated or the task being done. With everything in one place, 100 percent accuracy is no longer a myth.
4. Customer Support : AttendanceBot is fast and extremely user-friendly. For the uninitiated and those requiring emergency assistance, the user just needs to type dialm for support and get all queries clarified immediately from a human operator.
5. Easy Access: Last but definitely not the least, accessibility as a feature is a game changer. Earlier one had to be logged in to the office intranet to be able to apply for leave and many a time the intranet may be slow or not functional during maintenance hours. Now with Slack fast gaining popularity coupled with the availability of the application on multiple platforms (such as tablets, PCs and mobile phones) AttendanceBot is inevitably becoming the easiest way to manage leaves and attendance.
The boarding announcement is underway. My mobile beeps and it is Bot informing me that my leave has been approved. I cannot stop smiling. I rise to my feet, grab my bag and make my way to the gate. My holiday is off to a great start indeed. Thanks AttendanceBot.
PS: If you thought this was it, I will have to tell you about my other favorite bot ExpenseTron as well, but maybe later.
