New tech tool aims to help employees navigate leave benefits

• What's at Stake: HR operational overload, compliance risk, and workforce retention could be materially affected.
• Expert Quote: Employees expect intuitive, frictionless leave experiences, says Kevin Curry, SVP, Alight.
• Supporting Data: 42% took leave in the past two years, per Alight survey.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Employees know they have access to short-term and long-term leave, but they don't necessarily know how to access it — and an innovative new tech tool is hoping to solve that problem. 

Forty-two percent of employees have taken a leave of absence in the last two years, according to a recent survey from benefits administration provider Alight. However, a majority of those employees are still struggling to navigate a complex system with unclear eligibility rules and a long manual process. In an effort to remove those obstacles for the organizations they work with, the provider launched the Alight Leave Planner, a digital solution meant to make leave administration a more accessible, straightforward process. 

"Leaves have always been a part of the benefit package," says Kevin Curry, Senior Vice President, Leader Leaves Solutions at Alight. "But over the years employees' expectations have shifted and they expect an intuitive, frictionless and easy kind of experience that is hard to deliver."

Read more: Why it's time to treat leaves as a strategic business benefit

Alight's Leave Planner is a digital tool employees can access through their benefits portal. Employees can use it to plan time off by entering expected dates and viewing how their pay and benefits would be affected under their employer's specific plan. It guides employees through a series of AI-supported questions to clarify their leave options, eligibility, and workplace policy requirements, and provides clear next steps. It also helps reduce errors and missing information by automating much of the intake using existing employee data, and it stores this information to make it easier to resubmit or update a leave request in the future without re-entering details.

"Employees don't just wake up one day and need to take a leave of absence," Curry says. "And while many employees only take one in their entire career, others will have to take many and they all want to feel supported and understand how they'll get paid and how their benefits are going to work."

Once an employee's plan is complete, they can save or print a PDF to discuss with their manager or simply initiate the leave process directly through a button, which officially starts the request.

Read more: Why workers with disabilities still fear taking leave

Making a complex process simple for everyone

Traditionally, taking a short- or long-term leave for reasons such as medical procedures, childbirth, bereavement, or caregiving can be confusing and time-consuming for employees. 

The process usually begins when an employee notifies HR or benefits staff of the need for time off and submits required documentation, such as medical certifications or accommodation requests. From there, the employer or benefits team must review the request, verify eligibility for applicable protections and benefits, and coordinate with any relevant insurance providers. 

A simplified process doesn't just minimize disruption and promote retention for employees overwhelmed by the process, Curry says, it also helps relieve benefit leaders of some of the responsibilities of handling it on their own. 

Read more: A leave solution ensured this new mom — and her work — were covered

"The leave planner should take that burden off of leaders and give employees all of the information they need," he says. "This really frees up HR and benefits leaders' time and keeps them from having to answer the same questions they get on a regular basis." 

Better, more progressive leave management tools and insights can also have a larger impact in the long-term, according to Curry. I could lead to more accurate predictions for employee needs and earlier intervention that could lead to better healthcare outcomes.

"We need these advanced tools and data," Curry says. "We need them to figure out how we can help employees stay healthy and stay at work."