1. Map the current routine
How is absence registered today? At a minimum, look at:
- which systems are used;
- where handover moments sit between colleagues and departments;
- who is responsible for what;
- which separate spreadsheets and mailboxes are involved.
2. Define the administrative scope
Record which data you need. Think of:
- the employee involved;
- the department or team;
- the start and end date of a notification;
- the administrative status;
- the person responsible for follow-up;
- outstanding administrative actions;
- a contact moment as a process event, without medical content.
3. Keep medical information out of the registration
Diagnoses, symptoms, treatments, medical notes and causes of illness do not belong in an employer's system. They belong with the occupational health service or company doctor. Set up the registration so that such information cannot slip in by accident either, for example through a free-text field or an email attachment.
4. Set up roles and access carefully
Decide in advance who may see and do what:
- who registers notifications;
- who may read data;
- who only sees their own team;
- who manages users;
- how access is revoked on role changes or departure.
5. Record responsibilities
Agree what each role covers:
- HR: central registration and keeping the process on track;
- the team lead: follow-up within their own team;
- the administrator: users, roles and access;
- management: overall figures, without individual details.
6. Check follow-up
A registration is only useful if the follow-up works. Check:
- whether outstanding actions are visible;
- whether every action has an owner;
- whether the status is current;
- whether reminders arrive on time;
- whether you can see afterwards what happened and when.
7. Prepare for the move to a system
If you are moving to an application such as Absentra, check these first:
- the quality of the current data;
- an up-to-date employee list;
- the division into departments;
- which users need access;
- which roles they get;
- a test environment or demo to practise with;
- a clear pilot goal.
8. Evaluate with clear questions
After a while, check whether the new way of working holds up:
- Does registration take less manual work?
- Are outstanding actions easier to spot?
- Do team leads find their way around the interface?
- Are responsibilities clear?
- Is anyone entering medical details after all?