Proving the ROI of absence management software in summary:
Absence management software helps organisations reduce the cost and complexity of managing employee absence. By centralising absence reporting, automating workflows and improving visibility across teams, HR can cut time-consuming admin and reduce errors. Managers gain instant access to absence data, return-to-work notes, Bradford Factor scores and holiday information, making it easier to make fair, consistent decisions. With better data comes better planning: organisations can identify absence patterns, address wellbeing issues early and prevent staffing shortages.
Even modest improvements in attendance deliver significant savings, making the ROI fast and measurable. For HR teams looking to improve compliance, reduce manual work and support managers more effectively, absence management software provides a clear, evidence-based business case.
If there’s one thing guaranteed to give HR teams a headache, it’s employee absences.
Not genuine sickness absences, of course – after all, we’re all human – but all that time and effort lost to admin: chasing fit notes, reconciling missing timesheets, debating Bradford Factor scores and trying to explain (again) why someone can’t just “carry over all their holiday into next year because they forgot to book it”…
Absence management is messy. It’s expensive. It’s time-consuming. And, for many HR teams, it’s trapped in email inboxes and spreadsheets last updated sometime around the 2012 Olympics. However, if all that sounds like just another day in your business, enter absence management software: the unsung hero quietly transforming chaos into clarity.
Now, it’s no secret it’s been making the business of managing a heck of a lot easier and transparent for everyone – we’ve seen enough success stories over the years to know that’s a fact! But, as every HR leader knows, buying any new form of HR tech means one inevitable question from the board: “What’s the ROI going to be?” And that’s where things can potentially get tricky.
Luckily, for absence management software, this is where things get fun, because it has one of the clearest, easiest-to-prove business cases in the entire HR tech stack…
The true cost of absence is more than a few duvet days
Most organisations vastly underestimate the cost of employee absence. It’s not just wages: it’s the potential overtime bill for cover, the lost productivity, the hit to customer experience, the spiralling admin time and the low-level chaos caused whenever Derek from Sales disappears for three days without telling anyone. In short: monetary-based loss is just the tip of the iceberg.
A few hard facts for context:
- The average UK employee takes around 7–8 days of sickness per year, according to ONS figures.
- But, CIPD finds that absence levels are rising, especially around mental health and stress.
- And, when absence isn’t logged properly – or is logged too diligently in someone’s personal spreadsheet – businesses simply can’t see these trends early enough to act.
This is where and HRIS with integrated absence management software starts to prove its worth. By tracking & centralising data, and making it visible, organisations can finally quantify the real cost of absence. And once you can measure something, you can make more accurate decisions on how to improve upon it… before it’s too late.
“The accuracy we now have in both our data and reporting has made a massive difference. We’re now able to easily see patterns and trends in our data, which is great as it helps us to shape where we’re going from an HR point of view. I can see where our turnover is, I can see where our absence spikes are… it’s all really helped.”
Reducing admin time (and HR’s collective blood pressure)
Let’s be honest: most HR teams spend far too long tracking who’s off, when they’re returning and whether anyone has bothered to upload the right documentation.
A good absence management tool automates the entire slog, so:
- No need to chase line managers.
- No re-typing dates from emails into spreadsheets.
- No last-minute panic when someone asks for an absence report before a board meeting.
This alone delivers clear ROI: if your HR team is spending 4–6 hours per week managing absence manually, that’s easily £3k–£10k per year in reclaimed time (depending on team size). And that’s before you count reduced errors or improved compliance.
But the bigger win? HR teams finally get to stop playing “absence detectives”. That has its own priceless value.
“I remember one time being sat on my living room floor at 9pm on a Friday night, surrounded by about 150 holiday forms, trying to book them all manually. It got to a point where staff started petitioning us because they wanted to enter their own holidays. They didn’t want to have to call us every time they wanted to book some time off, or to find out how much holiday they had remaining for the year.”
Cutting absence rates with earlier intervention
Absence patterns are incredibly hard to spot when your data is scattered across calendars, notebooks and spreadsheets last touched by a colleague who left seven months ago.
However, absence software – with the right features – changes that.
Real-time reporting makes it obvious when someone is hitting repeated short-term absences or when a team’s absence levels are spiking. HR and managers can intervene earlier, offering support rather than disciplinary surprises. This typically leads to:
- Fewer short-term absences
- Faster returns from long-term sickness
- Better wellbeing outcomes
- Stronger manager confidence in handling absence conversations
Even modest reductions deliver enormous ROI. For example, cutting sickness levels by just half a day per employee in a 500-person organisation saves over 250 working days a year. That’s a full employee’s workload. And the best part? It costs nothing more than acting on good data.
“I can go into Cezanne and within minutes, I can get a greater understanding of what’s going on with a person. This means I can have better conversations with them and can help them create better solutions: helping them feel better about what might be going on and how we can help.”
Improving compliance and reducing risk
Regulators and lawyers love nothing more than a messy spreadsheet. Unfortunately, accidental inconsistencies, missing medical notes and half-completed return-to-work forms are exactly the kind of thing that get organisations into trouble.
Absence management software standardises the process. Everyone follows the same workflow. Documentation is stored consistently. Managers complete the right steps at the right time. This reduces:
- The risk of grievances
- Payroll errors
- Inconsistent application of policy
- Risk exposure under disability, health and safety or equality legislation
If your organisation has ever lost sleep over an employment tribunal (or the threat of one), this alone can make the software pay for itself.
Better planning, fewer surprises!
One of the underrated benefits of absence tracking software is the simple magic of visibility. When managers can instantly see who is off, upcoming annual leave and team capacity, they make better decisions. No more approving five holidays in the same week by accident. No more realising too late that your busiest period is also your emptiest.
From forecasting sickness trends to planning seasonal staffing, good absence data means fewer operational shocks. And fewer operational shocks usually means lower costs.
“Cezanne has resolved all the issues we had previously with a lack of oversight and no ability to track absences across the company. The software is excellent, and it’s made all our HR processes a lot smoother. Having everything in one place is great, especially when spread across multiple sites.”
Empowering managers and reducing HR firefighting
HR shouldn’t be the gatekeeper of every absence question. Yet that’s exactly what happens without proper tools. Managers don’t know where to find policies, how to record absence or whether something is considered unauthorised.
By giving managers self-service access to absence reporting, real-time dashboards and workflows, absence software takes HR out of the middle. Managers get more autonomy and empowerment. HR gets fewer interruptions. And employees get a consistent, fair experience.
This shift in workload is one of the trickiest values to quantify, but for most HR departments it’s a game-changer.
“The Absence module has transformed how we manage absence in the business. Our employees needed an easy – online – way to see their holiday balances, and to log and request their time off in lieu (TOIL). Now, it’s all there in the Absence module, making it much easier for staff to view leave, and to query it if they have any concerns.”
Spotting wellbeing issues early
Absence data is one of the most powerful wellbeing indicators an organisation has, but only if it’s captured properly. Patterns around stress, burnout, work–life balance and team culture show up fast – if you’ve got the right reporting tools.
Absence management software gives HR:
- Heatmaps and trend reports
- Department-level comparisons
- Early signals for mental health support
- Insight into patterns like Monday-only absences or spikes after peak workload periods
This enables proactive wellbeing strategies that reduce sickness in the long term. And wellbeing interventions almost always outperform their investment. One Deloitte study found that for every £1 spent on mental health support, businesses saw up to £5–£6 in returns in reduced absence and productivity gains.
Proving ROI with clear, simple data
One of the best things about absence management software is how easy it becomes to demonstrate return on investment. Here’s what organisations typically track:
Hard savings
- Reduced absence hours
- Fewer admin hours
- Lower cost of cover or overtime
- Reduced payroll errors
Soft savings
- Higher productivity
- Better employee experience
- Enhanced manager capability
- Improved wellbeing outcomes
But, the real secret? Pair your baseline absence data (pre-software) with the first six to twelve months of automated reporting. Improvements become obvious – and not to mention very compelling – especially for finance teams who like their numbers clean.
Why absence management software beats spreadsheets every time
Spreadsheets are wonderful for many things: personal budgets, shopping lists, fantasy football leagues. They are not wonderful for effective absence management.
They lack automation. They break easily. They rely on the one person who knows how the formulas work. And, they do nothing to help employees or managers actually follow the process.
Absence software isn’t just a tidier database. It fundamentally changes how absence is handled across the organisation. You get better data, better consistency and fewer panicked emails on a Monday morning. Plus, no one has ever said “our spreadsheet has amazing ROI”, have they?
Making the business case: what to show your CFO
To build a persuasive case for absence management software, HR teams usually highlight:
- The cost of current absence (use your historical data or industry averages)
- Admin hours wasted on manual processes
- Compliance risks from inconsistent documentation
- Impact on productivity and customer service
- Projected reductions in absence with better reporting and early intervention
Then, layer in real examples. Perhaps your customer service team struggled last winter because half the team was off. Or your factory floor repeatedly struggled with uneven staffing levels. Or your managers are crying out for clearer processes.
When framed correctly, the ROI becomes self-evident: better visibility, fewer surprises and significant cost savings.
Managing absences doesn’t have to be a headache
Absence will always be part of working life. People get sick, things happen, and occasionally someone really does need that day off after their team loses a mid-week match. But the chaos around absence? Well, that’s optional.
Absence management software doesn’t just tidy up your HR processes. It cuts costs, reduces risk, improves wellbeing and gives HR the data needed to make meaningful change. And when you look at the numbers, the return on investment isn’t just attractive – it really is undeniable.
Kim Holdroyd
HR & Wellbeing Manager
Kim Holdroyd has an MSc in HRM and is passionate about all things HR and people operations, specialising in the employee life cycle, company culture, and employee empowerment. Her career background has been spent with various industries, including technology start-ups, gaming software, and recruitment.
