What I Have Learned in My First Two Years of Absence Management

By Perry Pearsall

HR Analyst
Puget Sound Energy

As someone who is relatively new to absence management, two straightforward concepts have supported my work during these two years. I have found that it is extremely important to be clear and concise when speaking about a person’s leave and to provide contextualized examples to aid a person’s understanding. Similarly, it is essential to ensure that you have a data-tracking system that is efficient and easy to understand.

Clear Communication with Employees

Imagine describing your couch to someone who has never seen your house. It’s fairly easy as most people know what a couch is and can easily visualize it. Now imagine me describing a video game that I played over the weekend to someone whose last video game experience was in the 1990s. I might describe it as a rogue deck building game with minor RPG elements. As you read that description, you might have come away with the impression that this game involves cards, and that’s about it. With no context, this type of explanation generates more questions than it does answers.

Applying this scenario to absence management, some people have either never used a leave program, or used it so long ago, that they barely remember any relevant details. Even if you give them all the information that someone experienced in absence management uses to understand the ins and outs of a person’s options, not providing the proper context and language can lead to more questions and failures when it comes to adhering to the defined process down the road.

When speaking to employees, the use of industry jargon needs to be consciously curtailed and only used selectively. Do not assume that a person knows what the function of a leave or program is — even if it feels obvious to you. Describe the purpose of the particular leave when you are talking to an employee and keep it concise. For example: “The Family and Medical Leave Act (also known as the FMLA) offers you job-protected leave, but does not provide you with any pay during the leave. Short-term disability offers 80% of your base pay while you are medically unable to work, but does not provide job protection. Since short-term disability and FMLA leave run at the same time, your job will be protected under the FMLA, and you will be paid through short-term disability.” That type of explanation can go far in clarifying which programs someone needs to apply for and why.

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