How I solved a PTO problem

PTO is a complicated part of running a business.

Feb 14, 2023

Everyone deserves the ability to ENABLE VACATION MODE.

PTO = Paid Time Off

PTO is a touchy subject for some.

Whether you run a small business with ten employees or a larger company with over 100, there always seems to be some friction when it comes to PTO.

Some small businesses aren’t transparent about their PTO policy partly because they aren’t quite sure what a good PTO policy is (real examples).

But regularly scheduled PTO is essential for your team to prevent burnout and encourage breaks from work.

But PTO tracking is a pain for businesses.

It doesn’t have to be.

There are two essential aspects of successful PTO policies:

Transparency of expectations from both employer and employee
Available tools to make it easy to maintain for both

Once employers have shared a policy - if you’re a small business and don’t have one written down, you should - it’s time to manage PTO.

ENTER: Monday.com

We had a problem where employees would text or email the owner of the company requesting PTO - which led to several issues:

The boss was interrupted
There was no tracking of hours being done
It wasn't easy to reference a calendar for approval of time off

So I knew one way we could utilize Monday’s board system was to tie in PTO requests from the outside while also creating a tracking system.

First, I created a board that had various elements, including name, dates, hours, the reason for PTO requests, etc.

This board was created with a straightforward approach of just simply logging requests.

This board was built while keeping in mind the form option from Monday to get integrated into our business.

The Form Option on Monday.com is a game-changer for allowing outside feedback, entries, and more into a board without giving full access.

Here’s how we used it for PTO Requests.

Made it simple with date selections (timeline column) along with the name, full days, or hours needed.

We then made it into a QR Code for the office for team members to request at any time with their phones.

After someone requests PTO, our admins are notified via automation on Monday and then can reference calendars and other PTO requests before approving.

With the email integration, admins automatically notify team members if their request has been approved or denied.

Then, I took it a step further with a mirror and connected boards on Monday to track the total time that team members have taken with the master Team Board.