Time Off designed to fit your business

Accepting and requesting time off should be as easy as taking it. A Time Off software worth its salt lets you customize your policies, flow directly into payroll, and eliminate dual entry.

This guide will outline the challenges of managing time off requests, what employees want from time off, how Dominion can assist your time off processes, and much more.

Table of Contents:

1. The Challenges of Time Off Management

2. What Employees Want from Time Off

3. The Benefits of Using a Time Off Software

4. Features to Look for in a Time Off Software

5. How Dominion’s Time Off Will Benefit Your Business

It’s time to modernize your time off process. Even if you don’t think so, chances are your employees do. PTO policies consistently rank as one of the top benefits for employees, and they greatly impact your organization’s ability to recruit and retain talented people. Whether you offer a generous amount of PTO or something more traditional, your supervisors, managers, and HR department shouldn’t have to rely on paper slips or complicated spreadsheets to keep track of time off information. It’s easy to lose a vacation request under a stack of paperwork or forget that three members of a four person team requested the same week off. That’s where Time Off software steps in. 

An effective Time Off software allows for customizable policies, online requests, and approval delegation, all the while flowing into payroll. If handling time off requests has you spinning, Dominion has created this guide to Time Off software so you can field time off policies, requests, and more like an HR boss (Jimmy Buffet soundtrack optional).

Handling time off requests manually seems like a manageable task. For example, an employee fills out a paper form, you make a note to approve or deny the request, and move on with your day. A week goes by and the employee asks if she can take the requested time off. After a week, the employee’s request is lost in an ocean of sticky notes, coffee cups, and the onslaught of never-ceasing paperwork. You feel embarrassed about losing it and shuffle out a “Yes, of course!” All the while, you wish you had used a more organized process for handling the request. 

Such instances are all-too-common. Even with well-organized spreadsheets, supervisors and managers lose valuable time to repeated data entry and verification. Plus, requests can come in through email, in-person, text messages, Slack and Google Chat messages, and more. Such inefficiencies feed into a haphazard process and consequently, requests fall through the cracks. 

If these situations sound painfully familiar, it’s time to invest in an integrated and online Time Off management software.

As we mentioned above, Paid Time Off is consistently considered one of the most important benefits to employees. And while a PTO policy isn’t required by law, your organization will have a far better shot at recruiting and keeping talented employees if you offer it. Nearly 90% of organizations stated that a paid time off program is vital to growth and retention. Before we explore what employees want from a Time Off software, let’s dive into four common paid time off options.

Flexible

If you’re familiar with the term PTO, flexible PTO is likely what you’re thinking of. It gives employees an amount of paid days to use however they see fit, as long as management approves them. Whether that’s vacation, a day on the couch, or recovering from illness, any use is fair game.

Traditional

Traditional PTO breaks up paid time into categories. Typically, employees can submit time off for being sick, taking a personal day, or going on vacation. Traditional PTO is often based on tenure with a company, which can be an incentive to stay with a company. However, reporting on traditional PTO can be difficult if employees take paid time outside of the intended category. 

Earned

Earned, or accrued, time off is similar to traditional PTO in that paid time is awarded by how long an employee has worked for the company. As an employee racks up working days and hours each month, employers reward the time worked with an allotment of paid days or hours off. Like traditional PTO, earned paid time off may work as an incentive for employees to stay longer with an organization. If your policy includes earned or accrued time off, be sure to consider if you will pay out the unused time or if it will roll over at the end of each calendar year. 

Unlimited

Unlimited PTO is one of the hottest trends in HR currently, alongside workplace wellness and work-life balance. It’s relatively new and self-explanatory: employees are allowed to take as much paid time off as they request with manager approval. Unlimited PTO is quite the shiny, bright attraction for potential and current employees. Usually, employers avoid a payout for unused time in the event an employee leaves. It has the potential to create rifts among your employees, though, as some might abuse the policy and take too much time off, or create a culture of fear in which others are afraid they’re taking too much time off and consequently hardly take a day off. 

We’ve established that employees value paid time off and covered a few of the most popular policies. But a policy is only as good as the process working behind it. Even if you’re one of the cool kids on the block offering unlimited PTO, it won’t matter if managers constantly lose paper vacation requests or forget to log the time in a complicated spreadsheet. 

Employees want a streamlined and efficient time Off process because it eliminates the hassles of traditional time off requests. Imagine the frustration of filling out a paper vacation request, planning a long weekend getaway, and at the last minute told you can’t go because the request was never received and the boss needs you that Thursday and Friday. A Time Off software gives employees a breakdown of approved and pending requests, as well as their leftover balance. 

A Time Off management software reduces the complexity of multiple spreadsheets, eliminates paper requests, and integrates seamlessly into payroll. With Dominion’s Time Off software, employees can request time off online and see whether requests are approved or denied through an employee self service portal. Once time off requests are submitted, they’re instantly emailed to the appropriate supervisor, where they can deny or approve the request. If your Time Off software is accessible from a mobile device, like Dominion Mobile, employees can apply for PTO anywhere with an internet connection.

Additionally, Dominion’s Time Off has a robust reporting feature. Administrators can quickly pull up a complete history of leave and benefit requests. This allows you and your employees to easily know how much time they’ve taken off and how much is left, all from one simple report. 

Most Time Off software will have a group scheduling feature. This allows for a quick snapshot of who is working and when. If an employee calls in sick for an important shift, the supervisor can use the group scheduling feature to quickly see who is already working, what time, and who is available to cover the dropped shift. By utilizing this feature, you can achieve better coordination within your organization and stop stressing out over people calling in sick.

But that’s not all! Dominion’s Time Off allows you to delegate time off approvals to specific managers and supervisors. Gone are the days of one HR person being overrun with vacation and sick time requests. Regardless of the size of your business, automating and delegating these processes eliminates unnecessary paperwork and makes requesting time off efficient for both employee and manager.

If you’re seeking an efficient and integrated Time Off solution, make sure the Time Off software you chose has the following features. 

• Displays your organization’s time off policy: A robust Time Off software should easily display your organization’s policy in an accessible format, such as within an employee’s self service portal.

• Automates requests and approvals: Online time off management removes manual processes like paper requests and spreadsheets wherever possible and automatically sends requested time off to the appropriate supervisor.

• Track time off: Run reports and get a complete history of leave and benefit requests. Employees and supervisors alike will know how much time has been used and how much remains.

• Group Scheduling: If an employee drops a shift, quickly see who is working and who is available to cover for the employee. 

• Request time off from anywhere: A modern Time Off software should allow employees to request time off from anywhere with an internet connection. 

• Integration with other HR processes: All time off information will flow directly into payroll, eliminating dual entry and the risk of human error.

The time off management process becomes more transparent and efficient with these features. An integrated Time Off software puts paper requests in the past, ensures legal compliance, and vastly reduces the chance of human error. By automating and synching Time Off with the rest of your HR processes, requesting time off will feel almost like taking it.

Dominion’s Time Off software has the ability to benefit your business through transparency, efficiency, and integration. With Dominion’s Time Off, HR and payroll administrators don’t have to constantly field questions from employees like, “How much PTO do I have left?” or “How many days have I accrued?” Employees can access their PTO through an online service portal, giving them a sense of ownership and eliminating confusion. Due to a renewed sense of ownership, employees have enough time to adequately plan their vacations and give supervisors ample notice before they’re gone. And while unexpected absences still occur, anyone abusing the system can be flagged and monitored in the software.

Dominion’s Time Off allows for the delegation of approvals to specific managers so no one HR professional is overrun with vacation, sick, and personal day requests. Not only does this simplify the process, it ensures the request gets in the right hands as soon as possible.

Dominion has the ability to automatically calculate time off accruals. This reduces the amount of manual work for payroll administrators and ensures employees are earning the paid time off they deserve. In the same vein, Dominion’s Time Off software is highly customizable, so you can create policies perfectly suited to your business. 

Finally, any approved time off requests sync automatically with payroll. No more dual entry, no more complicated spreadsheets, and vastly reduced human error. Let Dominion simplify time off so you can focus on more important tasks, like taking your own vacation!