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- brace yourself: summer vacations are coming...🏖️
brace yourself: summer vacations are coming...🏖️
holiday calendar tetris anyone?
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Happy Tuesday HR friends!👋
In today’s edition we’re pondering how we can plan and organize summer vacation policies to be fair for the whole team?🧠
And before we dive in to the content, a quick thanks to today’s sponsor, Hone. Tomorrow, they’re running a live launch event for their new product Hone AI which has been built to help you upskill your people in practical, real-world ways.
We’ll be there and hope to see some of you there too!
Have a great rest of the week team, and stay tuned for more HR inspiration for your inbox!
In Today’s Edition
🌊 Summer's Coming: Your Vacation Calendar Survival Guide
🛋️ The Break Room: Buy, Sell, or Save? Creative Ways Teams Are Handling Vacation Days
📚 Human Readsources: CEOs expect major AI investment growth ahead, Job automation risks while applications need simplification, AI pushes recruiting back toward human connections.
Because we can’t all work from the beach…
We feel you Walton….
Did you know that 73% of employees consider PTO policies a make-or-break factor in their decision to stay with a company? As summer approaches, this statistic becomes particularly relevant for businesses facing the annual challenge of managing vacation schedules while maintaining operational efficiency.
If we can master delicate balance of time-off requests, we can gain a significant competitive advantage in today's talent-driven market.
For HR superstars it's also a chance to demonstrate a real commitment to work-life balance and strengthen team trust.
Presented by
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If building high-performing teams is on your 2025 roadmap, this is a must-see.
👉 Reserve your spot now - before registration closes.
🌊 Summer's Coming: Your Vacation Calendar Survival Guide
The annual summer vacation rush is approaching, and if you're already feeling anxious about managing those overlapping PTO requests, you're not alone. As HR pros, we're caught between keeping operations running smoothly and ensuring everyone gets their well-deserved beach time. It's like playing calendar Tetris on expert mode!
Because you know we love a stat: companies that master summer vacation planning see 25% higher employee satisfaction scores! But it's not just about making people happy - it's about maintaining productivity while preventing burnout.
The key is finding that sweet spot between flexibility and structure, especially when everyone wants those prime July weeks.
Want a fresh approach? Consider implementing a PTO conversion program that lets employees buy or sell vacation days.
This trending benefit gives your people more control while helping you manage coverage gaps. Pro tip: Set clear guidelines (like maintaining a minimum number of PTO days) and communicate the policy early - ideally in the next couple of weeks.
Your team gets flexibility, you get predictability, and everyone wins at the summer scheduling game. Just remember to keep some buffer for those last-minute requests that inevitably pop up!
🔗 Relevant links
👀 TLDR
Dreading the summer vacation scheduling chaos? Get ahead of the game with a solid PTO plan that includes flexible options (like buying/selling days!) and clear guidelines.
⚡ Takeaway and Try
- 📊 Implement a "PTO Analytics Dashboard" that visualizes department-wide time-off patterns, peak periods, and potential coverage gaps. Connect this to business performance metrics to identify optimal staffing levels.
- 🔄 Develop a "Flexible PTO Exchange Program" allowing employees to trade up to 5 vacation days through a structured marketplace platform. This can start as a shared Google sheet for smaller companies. Establish clear guidelines including minimum retained days and trading windows. Monitor program adoption rate, employee satisfaction scores, and impact on overall PTO utilization.
- 👥 Create a "Critical Role Backup Matrix" identifying at least two trained alternates for each key position. Implement quarterly cross-training sessions and documentation reviews. Track backup readiness through skills assessments and successful coverage instances during absences.
- ⚡ Deploy an "Automated PTO Management System" with mobile accessibility and real-time approval workflows. Include dashboard analytics for managers and transparent calendar views for team planning. This is very likely built into your existing HR software so time to dig through those docs or contact your account manager if you need some help finding it!
☕ The Break Room: What's Your Take?
How do you feel about implementing a vacation day buying/selling program at your organization? |
📚 Human Readsources
🏢 CEOs Double AI Investment, Face Skills Gap Challenge (HR Dive) - CEOs plan major AI investment boost, focus on hiring and reskilling.
⚖️ Job Seekers Want 30-Minute Applications as AI Looms (HR Dive) - Job automation rises while application times and worker burnout increase.
📊 AI Pushes Recruiting Back to Human-Centered Roots (HR Brew) - AI in recruiting drives return to human-centered talent acquisition practices.
Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠
We know you’re super busy and really appreciate you letting us into your inbox a few times a week. 😀
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