Best Way to Keep Track of Team’s Availability During Holiday Time
Published: 22/07/2024
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In this article, we will share advice on how not to lose visibility of your team’s availability in the heat of the holiday season. The focus of this article is digital tools that make holiday management easier.
If you’re determined to solve the struggle of managing your team during the holiday season once and for all, you’re at the right place. As we’ve discussed before, digitising holiday management is key to becoming efficient with resource management. Alas, things can get out of hand if you choose tools that are either unsuitable to your business or generally don’t cover the basic functionality requirements. It can be very frustrating, especially if you get tied into a costly long-term contract.
Although we can’t advise you on what is right for your organisation, we have a strong understanding of what a good leave management tool entails. In this article, we will be talking about the features you should prioritise when choosing the solution and how they help elevate your business in the long run.
There are multiple ways to track your team’s availability. One of the most common solutions is Excel spreadsheets, although even in the modern age some companies rely on physical calendars. The best way to keep track of staff leave, however, is a digital platform designated for holiday management specifically.
Not only does it fulfil the basic requirement of providing visibility, but also offers additional supporting features that help your business overall. But in today’s saturated market, it’s easy to choose a solution that isn’t the best fit for you.
Navigating the overpopulated marketplace of digital tools for holiday management is daunting and confusing unless you know what you’re looking for. If you’ve never used a designated solution to manage your team’s leave calendar, you may not know what are the basic requirements for one. But we are happy to share that knowledge with you.
The two key things you need out of a holiday management system are centralisation and accessibility. Having an overview of your team’s availability for weeks or months in advance allows you to plan better. Resource distribution is bound to be more effective when instead of forecasting you are certain of who you’ve got on hand. Naturally, circumstances may change as you go, but it’s less likely you will be caught off guard if they do. This in itself allows you to make the right decisions quicker, without interrupting your workflows or sacrificing the quality of services you provide.
Accessibility is crucial not for just you but also for your employees. Having a clear understanding of others’ availability is key to adjusting their individual workflows as well as planning out any collaboration-heavy tasks. The relevance only grows if your employees are often on the move. Given how reliant we are on mobile devices in both day-to-day and professional lives, it’s non-negotiable that the solution should be easily accessible across them. Not to mention, well synched across all devices so there are no data or user experience inconsistencies.
The key point of adopting a digital solution is the ability to automate tasks. While it may appear there isn’t much automation to apply when it comes to holiday management, there are several processes software can take off your hands. For example, the calculation of holiday accruals or the carryover of unused paid annual leave. These may not be difficult or time-consuming tasks to complete manually, but they eat up a lot of your time in the long run.
When it comes to customisation, many mistake it for a nice-to-have, whereas it’s actually a big player amongst the must-haves. And it takes many forms, not just the visuals. For example, in the context of holiday management, customisation may mean adding holidays that are only applicable to your company. Or, you may set specific requirements for workers when requesting time off, such as leaving a note about who will be taking over their tasks. The point is, that out-of-a-box solutions will fulfil the basic functionality requirements. But to make the tool truly efficient to your business, you need to customise it to meet your specific needs.
If your business model relies on different shifts, a tool capable of scheduling them in accordance with your team’s availability is a must. Similarly to a holiday management tool, it brings more benefits to the table than the name alone entails.
It’s very common for employers to believe they shouldn’t just be involved in scheduling, but take full ownership of it. Before the rise of SaaS technology and digital transformation, this was true. But with new tools in your arsenal, choosing a less efficient and more time-consuming option would be a shame. With automation at your disposal, you can entrust most of the processes to a digital shift scheduler, which requires minimal input from you. Namely an initial setup, occasional approvals and report analysis.
It also gives some autonomy to your workers, promoting a healthier work-life balance. For example, some solutions will let your team members swap shifts, take over when another worker is unavailable, and so on without having to contact you first. The software takes into consideration criteria such as hour caps, clashes, holidays and many more. Naturally, it depends on the software what the limitations are and whether they can be implemented. We advise starting the search for the right tool with a clear list of what you need it to do.
There is nothing wrong with getting a shift scheduler as a separate tool. In fact, if you’re going to be relying on it heavily, it’s advised to as you will need a more powerful tool. However, if you need the basic functionality, you can opt for different solutions that offer it as a module within. It will still cover your needs, cost less and save the setup time. Naturally, different vendors will offer different extents of services. If possible, try them out via a free trial or a demo.
Most of the time you can find a shift-scheduling feature within time tracking or team management solutions. They are also likely to contain a holiday management module, or at least integrate with a similar solution. Combining a team accessibility tool, time management and shift scheduling tools can help you create seamless automated workflows that are overall more time-efficient and reduce the risk of human error. Not to mention, they are accessible to all of your team members, increasing visibility across the company and requiring less of your involvement.
More isn’t always better. In terms of digital solutions, more can sometimes mean more hassle. This doesn't mean you shouldn’t add another tool to your setup, however. What it means is making sure it will work in tandem with your existing toolbox.
The crucial step in this all is to link your solutions and turn them into one well-oiled machine instead of a bunch of disjointed tools. When set to communicate with each other, not only does it make the process of data transfer seamless, but also unlocks new possibilities for automation. Having tools communicate with one another deepens the insights you collect, potentially revealing sides of your business you had no prior visibility of.
Although we’ve put this section at the end of the article, checking the list of available integrations is among the crucial steps when choosing the solution. It’s easier to find a tool that is compatible with your existing setup than it would be to try and work around the newest addition. It’s always a good idea to get in touch with the software provider of the tool you’re interested in. While the integration you’re after may not be listed or available immediately, it could be in the works. Additionally, some vendors are happy to create custom APIs. And if it all fails - the market is heavily saturated with options. The right tool is certainly out there.
A digital solution is necessary to ensure your workflows and quality are not affected by the holiday season. Namely, you need to ensure that even as you operate with fewer workers, you utilise them in a way that doesn't affect your business. For that, the solution of your choice must provide a centralised view of the team calendar and be accessible to everyone. It should also offer ample options for process automation, such as holiday accrual calculations. And finally, it should be customisable to ensure it meets your company’s specific needs.
Another software you may consider is a shift scheduling tool. It takes work off your hands when it comes to distributing work hours with whatever team availability you have. It also gives more autonomy for the workers to tailor their work week. Curiously, the more hands-off you are with scheduling, the more efficient it will be. Depending on how extensive your requirements are, you may not need a separate tool for it either. Often, scheduling is available as a feature within other solutions, such as digital timesheets.
Holidays should be all about relaxation. Don’t let it bring you stress. Talk to us today.