AbsenceSoft FMLA Leave Management

Context

The Challenge

AbsenceSoft provides absence management software to HR teams at enterprises across the US. Managing FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) compliance is notoriously complex—regulations vary by state, company size, and employee tenure.

HR professionals were spending excessive time on training and frequently making errors due to the complexity of the existing interface. The business needed to simplify workflows while maintaining full regulatory compliance.

Discovery

Understanding the Users

I conducted extensive research with HR professionals, benefits administrators, and compliance officers to understand their workflows and pain points.

Key Findings

• 68% of users confused by FMLA terminology — Terms like "intermittent leave" weren't clear
• Cognitive overload: Forms showed all 15+ fields at once regardless of leave type
• No status visibility: Users couldn't see where requests were in the approval workflow
• Training burden: New HR staff needed 5 days of training before handling cases independently

Solution

Progressive Disclosure Wizard

I designed a step-by-step wizard that guides users through leave requests, showing only relevant fields based on previous answers. This reduced cognitive load and prevented errors.

Tools & Technologies

Results

Measurable Impact

Reflection

What I Learned

• Compliance doesn't have to mean complexity. Even heavily regulated workflows can be simplified with progressive disclosure.
• Language matters enormously. Replacing legal jargon with plain language reduced user confusion by 68%.
• Wizard patterns work for complex forms. Step-by-step guidance outperformed "show everything" approaches in testing.