The beginning of a new year brings an influx of decisions—planning, strategizing and
setting new goals. For organizations, especially their HR professionals and managers,
this period can be particularly challenging, as the impact of these decisions often
extends beyond individual roles to influence the entire organization.
Studies show that decision fatigue grows as the day progresses, eroding clarity and
focus as decisions mount. This can be particularly problematic for HR professionals and
managers, who are responsible for making numerous decisions—like approving time-off
requests—while also maintaining productivity and avoiding burnout.
So, how can HR teams and managers avoid the burden of decision fatigue while
fulfilling their responsibility to create the best possible work environment for their staff?
The answer is to eliminate some of these decisions and simplify employees’ lives by
adopting tools such as Paycom’s GONE®.
What Is Paycom GONE?
GONE, which was named a 2024 Top HR Product from Human Resource Executive
magazine, automates decisioning for employee time-off requests –With customizable
rules around time-off approval, the tool can save managers the headache of deciding
whose time off to approve while also giving employees a faster response time on their
requests.
To demonstrate its efficacy, Paycom commissioned Forrester Consulting to complete a
Total Economic Impact™ study. This study aggregated interviews from Paycom clients
into one composite organization with 400 employees, 30 managers and a revenue of
about $300 million annually to see the overarching effect of Time-Off Requests featuring
GONE.
Let’s explore how GONE addresses decision fatigue.
Reduced Decision Fatigue for Managers
Paycom’s Time-Off Requests with GONE streamlines the entire request and approval
process, automating manual tasks that burden managers. By eliminating the need to
navigate disconnected systems, manually check time-off balances, assess staffing
levels and make final decisions on requests, individual managers save nearly one work
week of unproductive hours annually.
A Paycom client serving as the director of human resources for a retail company with
120 managers highlighted that “handling time-off requests and approvals created
notable interruptions and required significant manual effort.” Managers responsible for
ensuring adequate staffing at retail locations and within shipping or delivery teams often
faced challenges balancing these requests. The interviewee estimated that each
request could take a manager as much as 15 minutes due to the detailed evaluation
necessary to reach a decision.
Due to their myriad responsibilities, managers often deprioritize and delay addressing
time-off requests. This can affect employees awaiting approval and hinder the finance
and HR teams, who rely on accurate time-off records maintained by managers to
perform their roles efficiently.
The composite organization recognizes upwards of $75,000 present value labor savings
on these tasks alone over a three-year reporting period.
Improving the Employee Experience
Paycom’s Time-Off Requests with GONE significantly enhances the employee
experience by providing clear and consistent guidelines for submitting time-off requests
and delivering instant decisions upon submission.
Before GONE, employees often faced delays of several days before learning if their
requests had been approved. Now, the approval process is instantaneous, improving
the employees’ experience and preventing any disputes among the employees and their
managers over the delays.
Another Paycom client and office manager at a manufacturing company shared, “GONE
is a time saver for the supervisors and is extremely convenient for employees.”
You can read the full study about GONE’s impact on businesses and their employees at
paycom.com.