Automating Complex Leave Rules Across 12 Locations with Vacation Tracker at Crossref

The Challenge: Manual Leave Tracking Across Multiple Locations

Crossref has nearly 50 employees across 12 global locations, each with its own set of leave rules and policies. Managing leave for a diverse, geographically dispersed team posed a significant challenge. Before Michelle Cancel joined Crossref as HR Manager in 2022, the company used a basic leave tracking software, but the solution was inadequate. To fill the gaps, Michelle's team had to rely on Excel spreadsheets for calculations and leave tracking.

This manual approach to leave management was time-consuming and prone to errors. Michelle recalls, “I had to stop everything I was doing when someone would ask me about their leave accrual because I had to manually calculate it.” This manual process created additional workload for HR, especially at the end of the year when large volumes of leave data needed to be reported and calculated for payroll.

Moreover, employees were dissatisfied with the existing system. They could submit leave requests, but there was no visibility into their leave balances. This lack of transparency led to frustration as employees had to repeatedly ask HR for updates on their leave balances.

The Search for a Better Solution

Frustrated by the inefficiencies and lack of visibility, Michelle decided to find a more efficient leave management solution. After some research, she came across Vacation Tracker through a Google search. Michelle was immediately impressed because Vacation Tracker ticked all the boxes: it was easy to use, provided the flexibility to handle different leave policies across locations, and integrated seamlessly with Slack—another must-have for their organization.

The Vacation Tracker Solution

Michelle quickly onboarded Vacation Tracker and set up the system. The platform provided everything her team needed to manage leave across multiple locations. She was able to:

• Set up leave policies for 12 locations with different leave balances and rules automatically applied.
• Configure accruals and seniority-based accruals, which was particularly important for Crossref.
• Create departments with different approvers, enabling the HR team to manage overlapping leave requests effectively.

With these settings in place, Michelle found that Vacation Tracker had truly revolutionized their leave management system. “Vacation Tracker is a lifesaver. I no longer have to manually calculate accruals or deal with spreadsheets. Everything is automated, and I can access all the information at the touch of a button.”

Employee Satisfaction and Transparency

The transition to Vacation Tracker also significantly improved the experience for Crossref employees. Employees now have full visibility into their leave balances at any time. They no longer need to ask HR for updates, as they can access real-time data on their leave balances directly from the platform. This transparency has improved overall satisfaction and efficiency.

Key Benefits: Reporting and Transparency

For Michelle, the two main benefits of Vacation Tracker are reporting and transparency. Vacation Tracker’s automated reporting feature allows Michelle and her team to generate accurate leave data for payroll at the end of the year, eliminating the manual calculations that used to take up so much of her time.

Moreover, the team uses the calendar integration, which displays all leave requests in a central location. This improves visibility and allows everyone to plan and coordinate leave more effectively.

Conclusion

Thanks to Vacation Tracker, Crossref has been able to automate leave tracking across its global workforce. The streamlined process has saved Michelle’s team countless hours and eliminated the errors associated with manual calculations. Employees enjoy better visibility into their leave balances, and HR has accurate data for payroll and reporting.

Michelle sums it up best: “Vacation Tracker has been a game changer for us.” It's made managing leave easy, accurate, and transparent—no more headaches or manual calculations.