Tracking last minute PTO requests could be a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. Regardless of how you track your PTO, there’s a trick or two you could use to better prepare you and your HR team to manage requests and get back to what the holidays are all about.
So you’re using a spreadsheet
Gosh. We’re really sorry. Just because you’re on using a spreadsheet, though, doesn’t mean that you can’t get your paid time off requests completed! First, make sure you get formal requests via email. This will cut down on actual paperwork and allow you to organize your dataset.
After you’ve set up a way to manage your requests, you’ll need to make sure you have the right formulas in your spreadsheet to calculate the right amount of PTO for each employee. Have you discovered which spreadsheet template covers all of your policies?
So you’re using a Word document
Word, doc! You’re using a Word doc! If you work in an office setting and you’re looking for a formal request off process, you could create a time off request form for each employee to print out, fill out, and drop off at your desk. This might actually be a more difficult process to go through if you’re already attempting to process time off and approve each instance. Are you using a Word doc to literally track the late minute PTO requests for each employee?
The best way to track last minute PTO requests in a Word doc would be to hope your information is accurate and use the shortcut ctrl+F (Windows) or ⌘+F (on MacOS). This shortcut lets you find information quickly in your document, and depending on the number of employees your company has, this will become your best friend!
So you’re using email
Email can be amazing! Right? Anyone? Okay, so most of us don’t really like email, we just use it because that’s how most companies communicate. Some do it better than others, what do you think of your company’s use of email? Either way, Rome wasn’t built in a day so if you’re a white knight riding to abolish the use of email in your company, today is not the day. You’ve got a lot of last minute PTO requests to process and you’re in luck!
Ask your employees to use a specific email subject line like, “Your Company Time Off Request for Claire Underwood”. That way, you could create inbox rules to manage your last minute PTO requests in quick succession. If your teams uses Gmail or Google for Business, Google lays out an easy way to set up rules for your inbox. If you’re using Outlook check here.
Regardless of what email client you use, you’ll see an option for “Subject”, be sure to type in the agreed upon email subject line, “Your Company Time Off Request For” (without the employees’ name), and all of your last minute PTO requests will show up in this folder!
So you’re using Kin
We created Kin with the idea that you and your team can chat inside of each topic on the platform and this includes time off. While normally you can see PTO requests and approvals at the bottom of the time off tab, you can use the comment section to relay messages directly to your employees. Just like you, they will get an email notification with the details of your message and a link directly to the time off tab in Kin. This will help give your employees the idea that getting their last minute PTO in the system as early as possible is a good thing!
So you’re using Kin and your company is all about email
One of the best things you could do is to prepare a small amount of your time to go through last minute PTO requests that come in after you wish they wouldn’t, and separate your inbox to focus solely on the time off requests so that you can get back to your happy holidays.If your teams
Refer to the “So you’re using email” section to learn how to set up inbox rules. Because Kin sends you an email for each last minute PTO request, you can set up a rule to have all of the emails with the phrase “Kin time-off” placed in a special folder. When you open the menu to create the rule, look for the option for “has the words”, be sure to put “Kin time-off”, and in the last step create a folder where all of your kin PTO request notifications will show up.
Creating a separate folder for time-off requests helps you log in to manage the approvals for late-to-the-party employees and without being distracted from the other emails in your inbox. You don’t need to read the daily news headlines or see whether or not that item you made a bid for on eBay is yours (who shops for themselves during the holidays?).
Track your last minute PTO requests but breathe first
Whatever platform you’re using, if you plan a way to manage your company’s last minute PTO requests, you’ll be in better shape than if you hadn’t made a plan. You’ll most likely get last minute requests, even later requests, and some requests day-of. What’s important is making sure you understand your policies and put a plan together so that come December 26, you’ll have peace of mind.