Small businesses often reach a point where informal HR processes begin to hold them back. This was the case for a growing marketing agency with 30 employees, handling multiple client accounts simultaneously. Employees were often working flexible hours, splitting time across different projects, and occasionally working remotely. While this flexibility was essential to delivering high-quality client work, it created a headache for managers trying to track employee hours and manage leave.
The challenge: managing hours and leave across multiple projects
Before our involvement, the business relied on spreadsheets, emails, and even paper notes to track employee hours and leave. Each team member submitted weekly timesheets via email, listing hours per project. Managers then had to manually reconcile these with holiday requests and planned absences to ensure projects were adequately staffed.
This process created multiple challenges. Mistakes were common: hours were occasionally misrecorded, and leave balances were sometimes calculated incorrectly. Managers spent hours each week cross-checking spreadsheets, following up on missing or unclear timesheets, and resolving conflicts when multiple team members requested overlapping leave. It wasn’t just inefficient, it was stressful, and it diverted attention from client work and team leadership.
The lack of visibility also affected project planning. Managers struggled to know in advance whether enough hours were available for key projects. Delays in approving leave or reconciling hours sometimes led to rushed deadlines or overworked staff. Overall, HR administration had become a significant drain on both time and morale.
Our advice
We began by conducting a thorough review of the existing processes, mapping out exactly how hours and leave were being recorded, approved, and reconciled. Our goal was to eliminate repetitive manual work, reduce errors, and give managers real-time visibility without adding unnecessary complexity.
Our recommendations focused on three areas:
- Digital timesheets by project: Employees now log hours directly in a cloud-based system, assigning time to individual projects. This replaces emails and paper forms, creating a single source of truth for hours worked. The system automatically calculates total hours and flags any inconsistencies, which greatly reduces errors.
- Automated leave tracking and approval: Leave requests are submitted online and routed to the appropriate manager for approval. Remaining leave balances are calculated automatically, and potential conflicts are highlighted before approvals are granted. This eliminates manual calculations and reduces the need for back-and-forth emails.
- Integrated reporting for project planning: Managers can view team availability and allocated hours at a glance, making it easy to plan projects and distribute workloads fairly. The system provides alerts if too many team members request overlapping leave, helping to prevent staffing gaps before they occur.
We also worked closely with the team to define a consistent workflow, ensuring everyone understood how to log hours, submit leave, and check project allocations. This step was critical – technology alone isn’t enough if processes aren’t clear and consistently applied.
Why this worked
The combination of a centralised system and clear workflow guidance made a significant difference. Employees quickly adapted to logging hours digitally, and leave requests were easier to submit and track. Managers no longer had to spend hours reconciling spreadsheets or chasing missing timesheets.
The system also created transparency and accountability. Everyone could see how hours were being allocated across projects and which leave requests were pending, reducing confusion and disputes. Managers could plan ahead with confidence, ensuring client deadlines were met without overloading the team.
By tackling a single, high-impact challenge in detail, we were able to deliver measurable results without overwhelming the business with unnecessary technology or processes.
Key takeaways
This case demonstrates that even a single, well-defined HR challenge can be dramatically improved with targeted guidance and technology:
- Identify the bottleneck: Focus on the specific process causing the most time loss and stress. In this case it was multiple projects causing a specific challenge but in a different business it could be something else entirely.
- Implement clear workflows: Technology only works if employees and managers know exactly how to use it.
- Automate repetitive tasks: Systems that handle calculations and approvals save hours of manual work.
- Provide visibility: Centralised tracking gives managers confidence in planning and reduces the risk of errors.
Small businesses don’t need a full HR overhaul to see real improvements. By addressing the most pressing challenges strategically, they can save time, reduce stress, and create processes that scale with growth.
If you need further advice on automating your HR processes, do get in touch.