But here’s the thing. Admin is quietly taking over the day. We recently analysed data from a group of UK SMEs using Twikkie, and the numbers tell a clear story. Managers and HR leads are spending over eight hours a week on repetitive, manual HR tasks.

That’s a full working day. Gone. Every week.

And it’s not just frustrating. It’s expensive. Time lost to admin means less time for growth, customers, or strategy.

Where the time actually goes

From the businesses we studied, mostly teams of 10 to 50, the biggest time drains were:

• Approving time-off requests: on average, there were five touchpoints per employee per request
• Chasing missing documents during onboarding: this caused up to three days of delay before a new hire could get started
• Updating employee records manually: especially for payroll and data changes
• Managing absence spreadsheets: these were often shared across teams, prone to errors, and difficult to keep up to date

One company told us they had no idea how many people were actually on leave in a given week until they centralised their approvals.

It’s not a lack of discipline, it’s a lack of tools

Most SMEs genuinely want to do things properly. But between emails, spreadsheets, and standalone apps, things slip through the cracks.

That’s why we built Twikkie, a people and productivity platform made for growing teams. It brings leave requests, document storage, employee data, and approvals into one workflow. It keeps the business moving without constant oversight.

Three small changes that make a big difference

If you’re not ready to overhaul your systems yet, here are some practical steps that can help right away:

• Write down who signs off on what: even a simple process document makes approvals clearer
• Move employee records to a shared online folder: it’s not perfect, but it helps avoid delays when someone’s away
• Set expiry dates for key documents: that way, no one gets caught off guard by missing IDs or outdated contracts

These small changes save time, reduce stress, and give you more control.

The bigger picture

SMEs are the engine of the UK economy. But too many are still running HR like it’s 2002.

Our mission at Twikkie is to help businesses reclaim time, reduce errors, and stay compliant without hiring extra hands or juggling five different tools. Whether you’re a five-person team or managing hundred, better workflows give you the freedom to focus on what matters most.

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