FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
Leave and Absence Management
[YourCompany.com] · HR Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is your day-to-day operating guide for the automated Leave and Absence Management process. It tells you what the system does at each step, where your team's attention is needed, how to handle anything that goes wrong, and who to contact if a problem sits outside your team's control. FullSpec builds and maintains the automation. Your team's only ongoing responsibility in the live workflow is the manager approval decision, which is deliberately kept human. Everything else runs without manual intervention.
01Process overview
The Leave and Absence Management automation handles every step from an employee's form submission through to payroll and calendar updates. When an employee submits a leave request, three automated agents take over: one checks the leave balance and team coverage, one routes the approval to the line manager via Slack, and one pushes all confirmed records into BambooHR, Gusto, and Google Calendar the moment the manager responds. HR no longer touches a keyboard between submission and confirmation. The only human action in the live process is the manager's approve or decline decision, which arrives as a one-click Slack message and is logged automatically for audit purposes.
Process name
Leave and Absence Management
Trigger
Employee submits a standardised leave request form
Final output
Leave recorded in BambooHR, payroll updated in Gusto, calendar event created, and employee and team notified via Slack
Agents running
Leave Intake and Balance Agent, Approval Routing Agent, Post-Approval Sync Agent
Tools involved
BambooHR, Gusto, Google Calendar, Slack, Gmail
Weekly volume
Approximately 10 requests per week (40 per month)
Human checkpoint
Line manager approves or declines via Slack button
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02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: Your team has one action in this entire process. The line manager receives a Slack message from the approval bot and clicks either Approve or Decline. That single click triggers all downstream updates automatically. No emails to compose, no spreadsheets to update, no calendar entries to create.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
The employee completes a standardised leave request form, entering their name, leave type, start date, end date, and any relevant notes. The completed form is submitted and immediately triggers the automation.
Employee
Human
2
The Leave Intake and Balance Agent queries BambooHR via its API to retrieve the employee's current leave balance and confirm whether sufficient entitlement exists for the requested period. If the balance is insufficient, the request is automatically declined at this point and the employee is notified by Gmail.
Automation
Automated
3
The same agent scans the shared team Google Calendar for any approved absences that overlap with the requested dates. If a coverage conflict is detected and exceeds the configured concurrent absence limit, the request is flagged and the employee is notified with the reason.
Automation
Automated
4
If the balance is sufficient and no blocking conflict exists, the Approval Routing Agent sends a structured Slack message to the line manager. The message includes the employee name, leave type, dates, remaining balance after the request, and any calendar notes. Two buttons are presented: Approve and Decline.
Automation
Automated
5
The line manager reviews the Slack message and clicks Approve or Decline. This is the only human step in the automated process. The manager's identity, decision, and timestamp are captured automatically and stored for the audit log.
Line Manager
Human
6
The Approval Routing Agent receives the manager's response and routes the outcome back into the workflow. If the decision is Decline, the agent sends the employee a Gmail notification with the outcome and the manager's identity. The workflow ends here for declined requests.
Automation
Automated
7
On an approved decision, the Post-Approval Sync Agent deducts the approved days from the employee's leave balance in BambooHR, keeping the system of record accurate without any HR input.
Automation
Automated
8
The Post-Approval Sync Agent creates a dated absence event in the shared Google Calendar, labelled with the employee name and leave type, so all colleagues have immediate visibility of the upcoming absence.
Automation
Automated
9
The Post-Approval Sync Agent logs the approved leave in Gusto so any required payroll deductions or accruals are captured before the next pay run closes. No manual Gusto entry is needed.
Automation
Automated
10
The Post-Approval Sync Agent sends the employee a direct Slack message confirming the approved dates and updated leave balance. A separate message is posted to the relevant team Slack channel so colleagues are informed without HR composing a separate notification.
Automation
Automated
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03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
Employee submits a form with missing or incomplete information (for example, no leave type selected or end date earlier than start date)
The automation detects the missing or invalid field at intake and immediately sends the employee a Gmail message listing exactly what is missing and asking them to resubmit. The incomplete request is not forwarded to the manager.
No action required unless the employee contacts HR directly. If they do, direct them to resubmit the form with the missing details. The system will process the corrected submission automatically.
Employee submits a duplicate request for dates already approved or currently pending
The Leave Intake and Balance Agent checks BambooHR for existing approved or pending leave covering the same period. If a duplicate is detected, the submission is rejected and the employee receives a Gmail notification explaining that a request for those dates already exists.
No action required. If the employee believes the rejection is an error, ask them to confirm their dates and check their existing leave record in BambooHR before submitting again.
Employee's leave balance is insufficient for the requested period
The agent calculates the shortfall and automatically sends the employee a Gmail notification stating how many days are available versus how many were requested. The request is not forwarded to the manager.
No action required unless the employee wants to discuss a partial leave arrangement or an unpaid leave exception. If the business allows unpaid leave, contact the FullSpec team at support@gofullspec.com to configure that as an additional approval path.
Manager does not respond to the Slack approval request within the configured reminder window (default: 24 business hours)
The Approval Routing Agent sends a follow-up Slack reminder to the manager. If there is still no response after a second reminder at 48 business hours, the agent sends an alert to the HR Manager via Slack and Gmail so the matter can be escalated manually.
Contact the line manager directly to prompt a decision. If the manager is unavailable, escalate to their cover or department head using your standard authority matrix. Once a decision is made verbally, log it by responding to the original Slack message or contact FullSpec support to trigger the correct path manually.
A coverage conflict exists on the team calendar but HR wants to override it for a specific request
The system flags the conflict and notifies both the employee and HR. It does not automatically approve or decline on a conflict flag alone; the approval Slack message is still sent to the manager with the conflict noted.
The line manager can still click Approve despite the flagged conflict. The approval is logged with the conflict notation. If your policy requires HR sign-off on conflict overrides, confirm this with the FullSpec team so the routing logic can be adjusted.
BambooHR, Gusto, or Google Calendar is temporarily unavailable (API timeout or service outage)
The automation platform retries the failed API call up to three times with a short delay between attempts. If all retries fail, the workflow pauses and sends an alert to the HR Manager via Gmail and Slack, identifying which tool is unavailable and what step was interrupted.
Do not attempt to update BambooHR, Gusto, or Google Calendar manually while the automation is paused, as this risks duplicate records. Wait for the service to recover, then notify support@gofullspec.com. The FullSpec team will confirm whether the paused workflow can be resumed automatically or needs a manual trigger to complete.
04Who to contact and when
Fill in the rows below once your team is confirmed. The FullSpec rows are fixed and do not need to be changed. Keep this table somewhere your HR team and line managers can access it quickly, as it covers every escalation scenario the exceptions section above refers to.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (HR Manager)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
Operations lead / secondary approver
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
IT or systems administrator (for BambooHR and Gusto access issues)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
FullSpec builder (build questions, logic changes, new leave types)
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support (live errors, failed syncs, paused workflows)
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
For urgent issues where a leave approval is stuck and a pay run is closing within 24 hours, email support@gofullspec.com with the subject line URGENT: Leave Sync Blocked. The FullSpec team prioritises payroll-impacting issues and will respond within two business hours during standard operating times.
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05Ongoing maintenance
The automation runs without daily HR involvement, but a small amount of routine maintenance keeps it accurate as your team and policies evolve. The table below sets out every maintenance task, how often it should happen, and who is responsible.
Whenever a leave policy changes (entitlements, blackout dates, notice rules, new leave types)
Email support@gofullspec.com with the updated policy details before the change takes effect. The FullSpec team will update the conflict detection rules, balance logic, and any form fields that need to reflect the new policy. Do not change BambooHR entitlement settings and assume the automation will pick them up automatically; the workflow logic may also need updating.
HR Manager + FullSpec
Whenever a new manager joins, leaves, or changes team
Update the approval routing configuration so Slack approval messages go to the correct manager for each team. Contact support@gofullspec.com with the new manager's name, Slack handle, and the team or employees they cover. Changes to BambooHR reporting lines alone do not automatically update the Slack routing.
HR Manager + FullSpec
Monthly: spot-check of live requests
Review five to ten recent leave requests end-to-end. Confirm the BambooHR balance, Google Calendar event, and Gusto record all match the approved request. Flag any discrepancy to support@gofullspec.com immediately. This check takes around 20 minutes and catches data drift early.
HR Manager
Monthly: error log review
The automation platform logs every failed step and retry. FullSpec will send a monthly summary to the HR Manager's email. Review it for any recurring errors (the same tool failing repeatedly is a sign of an API permission issue or an account plan change). Reply to the summary email if anything needs investigation.
HR Manager + FullSpec
Quarterly: volume review
Compare actual monthly request volumes against the 40 per month baseline used to configure the automation. If volume has grown significantly (for example, beyond 80 requests per month), review whether the workflow automation tool's monthly plan still covers the run count without triggering overage charges. Contact support@gofullspec.com to adjust if needed.
HR Manager + FullSpec
Annually or on contract renewal: tool access and API credentials review
Confirm that BambooHR and Gusto API access is still active on your current account plans, that Slack bot permissions have not been revoked, and that any OAuth tokens in use have not expired. FullSpec will prompt this review at your annual check-in, but if you change HRIS plans or Gusto packages at any time during the year, notify support@gofullspec.com immediately.
HR Manager + FullSpec
The single most common maintenance issue for this process is a manager change that is not reflected in the Slack approval routing. When a team lead moves on or a new manager takes over a team, the Slack approval message continues going to the previous manager until the routing is updated. This causes silent delays because the old manager may not think to act on a request that is no longer their responsibility. Always notify support@gofullspec.com at the same time you update BambooHR reporting lines.
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