Guide to Using A PTO Tracker During the Holidays

As people prepare to take time off for the holidays, it’s up to managers to have an effective, efficient PTO tracker in place. 

From making schedules to approving time-off requests, you need a vacation tracker that will help your company run more smoothly while also collecting the data you need to make smarter decisions down the line. 

5 features every PTO tracker should have

1. Time off requests

It seems obvious that any vacation tracker should allow employees to easily request time off through the system, but not all do. Some require an administrator to input verbal, written or emailed requests, which places an unnecessary burden on you.

Ensure that any PTO tracker you consider gives employees the ability to submit time off requests on their own, and that you can view those requests as you create the next schedule so you can easily see who’s available and when. 

A good vacation tracker will also allow you to:

• Set up time-off codes (sick, vacation, etc.) that can be used in perpetuity.
• Block any days or dates that employees or specific teams can’t take off.
• Easily approve or deny requests in seconds.

2. Visible benefit accrual

Employee benefits like PTO cost companies a lot of money, and one key function of a PTO tracker should be to market that value back to them. When employees use a system that clearly tracks and displays compounding benefits, they see how their hard work is paying off in terms of benefits, time off, etc. It also helps you avoid problems down the line by giving you a place to set up clear company policies and infrastructure around benefits and PTO. Make sure any vacation tracker you use incorporates visual benefit accrual in a real way. 

3. Mobile mentality

Desktops are not the way of the future. Any effective vacation tracker will allow employees to enter time from desktops, of course, but will place a priority on laptops, smartphones and tablets. People are on the move during the holidays, and a PTO tracker with a mobile-first mentality will allow them to track any work hours that may pop up unexpectedly — sales calls from the road, surprise report requests completed on a plane, etc. — easily and accurately. 

Bonus: Time Tracker can even be paired with voice-activated technologies like Alexa, so employees can start trackers with just their voice.

4. Flexibility

One big reason you need a time tracking system that includes a vacation tracker is to preserve flexibility. With so many workforces going remote, people expect — and enjoy — added flexibility, especially around PTO. In fact, 40% of people perceive a flexible schedule as the most significant benefit of working remotely. 

Make that easy for them by giving them a system that allows them to modify their own schedules as needed (within reason) so they can find a work-life balance that works for them. 

5. Reporting

Another area where many PTO trackers fall short is reporting. They track days worked versus days off, and to many people that appears to be enough. In reality, it’s a missed opportunity. When you need data to justify the size of a team or the salary of an employee, metrics from a vacation tracker can and should be there to support you. 

With Time Tracker, you can pull: 

• Billable versus non-billable hours
• How much time is spent on specific tasks
• How much PTO employees are taking
• Employee utilization rates

Those metrics can help you establish which employees are being underutilized or overworked, especially as it relates to use of benefits such as PTO. 

Try Time Tracker

Ready to get the best PTO tracker on the market in place before the holidays? Start your free,14-day trial today.