Technology has become so pervasive in today's workplace, that it seems as if even the most menial of processes have been reinvented by the introduction of some piece of software. And don't get me wrong, I'm all for it-After all, I work for a technology company that sells a lot of the software that I'm referring to (that's my not so subtle disclosure)!
However, what I do find surprising is that despite all of our IT investments, the process of requesting vacation seems to have ignored-It's difficult to understand why so many businesses are still using paper vacation request forms to keep track of paid time off (PTO). Here are a two reasons why you might want to consider ditching the paper form and move to something a little more digital:
YOU'RE WASTING PAPER!
IT'S COSTING YOU LOST OF MONEY!
You're Wasting Paper
According to a 2009 Expedia.com study on vacation, American's are entitled to 13 days of vacation per year. Assuming an employee uses one piece of paper per vacation request, that would mean a company with 200 employees wastes 2,600 pieces of paper on vacation alone! For a company looking to go green, this seems like an easy place to start.
It's Costing You Lots of Money
No, I'm not referring to the actual cost of the paper-I'm talking about a more pressing financial issue, which stems from businesses that are unable to keep accurately keep track of employees vacation, sick leave, and other types of paid time off. Organizations relying on paper forms lack the level of traceability they need to ensure that all absence is accounted for, which costs businesses directly and indirectly:
Unreported Absence: This includes anything from the "oops, I forgot to bring the form down to HR" to the "I brought it down to HR and they lost it" and everything in between. According to a 2004 article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal:
"PTO liability in the United States is $1,700 per employee, with an average employee taking up to three days of unreported PTO annually. And that figure is likely to rise."
Lack of Data Integrity: Poor record keeping precludes businesses from a wealth of valuable information that can help them identify trends and patterns of absenteeism, which shed light on deeper organizational issues. A helium.com post on managing employee absence highlights this point:
“A rise in the frequency of unexpected absences can alert you to other possible problems in the workplace. A general dissatisfaction with the work or culture of the workplace can be as infectious as an illness and needs to be brought out into the open and resolved.”
With the exception of the wonderful people at Dunder-Mifflin, I think replacing paper vacation request forms for a digital system makes sense. And I'm not saying that to increase sales of our PTO solution; we developed the PTO tracking solution because we believe it's something that businesses could benefit greatly from. So what do you think-Is this an investment overlooked by your business? Saving paper and money at the same time? I'd love to hear about your thoughts on vacation, personal, and sick leave management in the workplace. Hope to hear from you soon!
