Vacation planning, of all things, is a source of conflict in many companies. Managers often struggle to meet employees' wishes, avoid overlaps and maintain an overview. That doesn't have to be the case! We will show you how vacation planning can run smoothly and what the perfect workflow for vacation requests looks like.
The focus is on the following topics:
Digital workflow
Timely planning
Ensuring substitution
Preparing a checklist
Clarify legal issues
The basis for smooth vacation planning is a flawless, preferably automatic workflow: employees apply for their desired vacations in a software program, line managers can approve or reject them directly and have an up-to-date overview in a calendar or dashboard.
Ideally, vacation planning is linked to time recording or is recorded directly in it. This means that employees' vacation entitlements are automatically calculated on the basis of the working time models and are visible to employees and managers at all times. Furthermore, no additional software needs to be purchased or interfaces developed.
Another advantage is that the available time periods are defined and made available in accordance with the working time regulations. This ensures that employees can only request vacation as full days and not by the hour.
We show the perfect workflow for a vacation request using a sample example of the time recording tools time.pro and timelook .
1. employees enter vacation requests digitally
In the first step, employees simply enter their vacation requests in the system, in this case online. Supervisors see the request in the system or receive it by e-mail and approve or reject it. Employees are also informed of the decision by e-mail.
Picture: Three steps to a vacation request: the digital workflow with time.pro
2 It's even easier: Enter and synchronize requests directly in the e-mail client
Employees who submit vacation requests directly in the Microsoft Outlook® calendar are even faster. The "add-in" timelook can be installed to activate the workflow and transfer the data directly to time recording. Employees can now enter their vacation requests directly in the calendar without having to open the time recording software at the same time. Of course, the same also works the other way round: requests in the time recording software, such as time.pro, are automatically synchronized with the Microsoft Outlook® calendar.
Image: Tedious double entries are a thing of the past: Vacation requests are simply entered in the Microsoft Outlook® calendar and synchronized with the time recording software.
3. supervisors receive the request by e-mail
Whether by e-mail or directly in the time recording system, line managers receive the request immediately by e-mail and approve or reject it in the system. Employees are also informed of the decision by e-mail.
Image: Workflow for request approval for supervisors in time.pro
4. overview at the click of a mouse
Supervisors see all requests and other information in an up-to-date overview that can be filtered according to various criteria.
Image: time.pro dashboard for supervisors with information on time balances, requests, absences and more.
Image: Calendar overview of all employees' absences and requests
In addition to the digital workflow, timely planning is important. It is best to discuss vacation planning with the team. Take the following points into account:
Take substitutions into account when planning vacations so that no conflicts or overlaps arise. Depending on how long the employee is absent, the handover may need to be very thorough or less detailed. It is generally recommended to meet with the deputy two weeks before the vacation to discuss the most important tasks.
A handover checklist with the most important information that the deputy needs to carry out the tasks is recommended here. It also makes sense to distribute the tasks to be carried out among several employees so that one person does not have to do double the work.
Before the long-awaited vacation can begin, there is a lot to do. Has the internal mail been forwarded? Has the answering machine been activated? Have the IT authorizations of the deputy been checked? All contact persons informed? Miss Moneypenny has put together a useful checklist to help you remember. A distinction is made between long-term, medium-term and short-term preparations. Click here for the checklist.
Disputes about vacations regularly occupy the Swiss courts. The focus is on legal issues such as the duration of vacations, illness or accidents during vacations, the statute of limitations and forfeiture of vacations and more. You can find answers to the most important legal questions in the HR Today article.
If you take the measures described to heart, your vacation planning will become a lot easier.
Instead of worrying about conflicts and lengthy processes, you will benefit from
and can enjoy your vacation to the fullest. With this in mind, we wish you a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation!
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