Applying for paid leave? This company makes it a one-step process

Employees know they are entitled to certain kinds of leave, but the process of understanding and gaining access to it can be intimidating at best. Automation could change that. 

Today, 57% of employees have no access to any kind of short-term disability leave — including parental leave, medical leave or caregiving leave. Currently, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the only nation-wide regulation for leave, and while it has done much to establish job security for those who need it, there's still confusion around how much time and compensation are covered. 

"Leave claims are still at all-time highs," says Deborah Hanus, co-founder and CEO of Sparrow, a leave management solution. "Almost any employee who's taken leave will tell you it's not a pleasant experience because there are so many different things you need to be thinking about and there's nothing to make the process go smoothly, even when HR departments have the best intentions."

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As a result, three in 10 leave takers say it was difficult for them to learn about what leave benefits, if any, were available to them when they needed to take time off from work for parental, family or medical reasons, according to data from the Pew Research Center. This is where Sparrow steps in. 

"We think of our platform almost like TurboTax for leave paperwork," Hanus says. "We integrate with a company's HR system to make sure that we understand the company's policies, and then we make sure that everyone who has filed for leave is getting all the correct notifications and everything is getting filed at the right time."

A third-party solution not only ensures that employees get paid during their leave if they are entitled to it, but it's also a critical safeguard for organizations, who often have to make up for that sum of money in the aftermath, according to Hanus. Since 2018, Sparrow has saved organizations $100 million in lost wages, without even taking into account the cost of reducing turnover rates. 

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"If you want to retain employees and make sure they feel supported, simply approving 16 weeks off isn't going to cut it — not if they're going to spend that time worried that they've made a mistake that will cost them," Hanus says. "Managing and supporting employees throughout the entire process end-to-end is what's going to keep them."

Even if a company can't provide large amounts of time off or competitive wages during leave due to size, scope or budget, granting employees' peace of mind throughout the process is invaluable, and worth the investment. 

"Employees want to work at companies where they feel like their employer is aligned with their values, " she says. "Providing support for the leave process lets the employee know that the company has really thought through these situations and they're trying to support them through whatever happens in their lives."