First published on Monday, September 9, 2024
Last updated on Monday, September 9, 2024
With only three months left in the year, you can expect an influx of vacation requests on the way. According to BrightHR data from our vacation tracker and planning system, December is the third busiest time for employee vacations.
Now might be the perfect time to invest in a system that streamlines your employee vacation management. Plus, it’s vital for compliance with employment standards and maintaining employee satisfaction!
With a range of vacation tracking software available, you may find yourself wondering what’s the best choice for your business. To help you make your choice, we’re providing essential guidance and outlining the key features you should look out for.
But first…
Why should you track employee vacations?
Integrating vacation tracking software into your business can make a big difference to how organized and efficient your operations are. It’ll enable you to better monitor vacation allocations, ensuring that your workers maintain a healthy work-life balance, which positively affects employee satisfaction and productivity.
With a better view of who’ll be working and when, you’ll find it easier to plan workloads, identify the need for temporary support, and keep your business running as usual.
Here are some other benefits of employee vacation tracking:
- Improved fairness and equity when allocating time off
- Easier identification of absenteeism
- Greater accuracy of payroll processing
- Better monitoring of compliance with company vacation policies
Considerations for an employee vacation tracker
Statutory holidays, vacation entitlements and provincial leave variations should be considered when selecting a suitable employee vacation tracker. Whatever system you choose should make it easy to calculate and automate employees statutory holiday payments. It should also enable you to keep track of who will be taking time off for popular leave periods like Christmas, Canada Day, and Thanksgiving.
The vacation tracking system should also enable you to monitor the accrual and allocation of all types of paid time off (PTO) and non-paid leave, which will depend on the employee’s pay level and length of service to your company.
Key features to look for in an employee vacation tracker
Implementing vacation tracking software should free up time that would otherwise have been spent planning staff vacations. With automatic vacation monitoring and regular updates, you should have the peace of mind and freedom to focus on what you do best.
Your vacation tracking system will ideally have these features:
- A single view of your entire team’s scheduled vacation time
- Automatic notifications of vacation requests and clashes
- Auto-refresher feature at the start of each vacation period/year
It also helps to have a system that allows you to customize vacation policies in line with relevant regulations for your jurisdiction.
User-friendly interface and accessibility
User-friendliness should also be a priority when choosing a vacation tracking software. Your employees should be able to easily log in and submit a vacation request through a clear and user-friendly dashboard.
Easy mobile accessibility can also lend itself to making vacation tracking software more beneficial for your business. With a platform accessible 24/7, everything from checking vacation balances to tracking approvals will be a breeze
Integration with HR Systems
Rather than being a stand-alone, your vacation tracking system should seamlessly fit in with your other HR systems. Syncing with your payroll system, calendar software, and communication programs, it should optimize your workflow and allow for more efficient employee monitoring.
When there’s a seamless flow of information between these systems, it reduces the risk of potentially quite costly errors. So, you won’t have to worry about the impacts of inconsistent record-keeping or potentially breaching any laws.
Compliance and security
If you want to ensure employee buy-in and regular use, then you should select a vacation tracking software designed for data security. It must also ensure compliance with Canadian privacy laws and regulations.
Go for software that allows you to maintain compliance with a complete audit trail, allowing you to easily record annual vacation entitlements and employee arrangements. Security is also assured, with two-factor authentication and monitoring of changes to admin accounts.
Cost-Effectiveness and scalability
Affordability will be another key factor in your choice of vacation tracking software. Switching from manual organization to an automated system should significantly reduce admin costs and boost your efficiency.
Ideally, your vacation tracking system should have a good return on investment, scaling according to your business’s evolving needs. You’ll need to account for the initial costs of implementation plus ongoing fees that might have to be paid on a monthly or annual basis.
Get BrightHR for effortless employee vacation tracking
Vacation tracking is vital for employers, employees, and the general success of every Canadian business. You should have an effective system for monitoring and allocating paid vacation, statutory holidays, PTO and unpaid leave.
Failure to integrate such a system could leave you with a range of staffing issues, leading to disruptions in your business operations or worse—facing legal consequences. Vacation scheduling mistakes could also reduce employee satisfaction and commitment to your business.
That’s why you can’t afford to make the wrong choice when selecting a vacation tracking software.
With BrightHR’s easy-to-use staff vacation tracker and planner, you’ll have more time to spend on your business. From the automatic calculation of vacation periods to the immediate flagging of request clashes, it’s the complete vacation tracking solution for happy staff and compliance.
Enjoy peace of mind, ensure your business maintains productivity, and reduce scheduling conflicts. Get a FREE vacation policy today!
