PTO Policies: How Yours Has a Massive Effect on Employee Sentiment
Did you know that according to BrandonGaille.com, “Over 10 million Americans right now average more than 60 hours of work per week”? It’s an astounding number and one that might simply have to do with the PTO policy your company offers its employees. Few things can have such an impact on employee sentiment and morale than the time-off policy your company chooses.
Most companies fall into two broad categories when it comes to PTO policies: the “loosey-goosey” approach and those that take a more careful, measured approach to tracking PTO. Of the two approaches, it almost goes without saying that we recommend the careful, measured approach. But why? What advantages does this provide, and what are some factors you should consider when establishing your company’s policy?
Workaholics-Anonymous, Unite!
Here’s another mind-blowing statistic: “The average American worker receives 13 vacation days every year, but 34% of workers don’t take a single day of that vacation in any given 12 month period.” But let’s get down to how doing something as simple as tracking PTO can force the much-appreciated workaholic into taking more vacation days.
“A workaholic might seem to be every CEO’s dream: an employee who comes in early, stays late, doesn’t take vacations, and takes on mountains of work. But those very qualities may make the workaholic a poor candidate for employee of the month because they often have more work than they can handle effectively, they don’t delegate, aren’t team players, and are often more disorganized than their less compulsive colleagues,” says Bryan E. Robinson, PhD, for WebMD.
Unfortunately, missing vacation days is not restricted solely to workaholics. It’s estimated that as much as 66 percent of employees fail to use all their vacation time, according to Philadelphia-based career management consulting firm Right Management.
Carefully tracking PTO helps you identify employees who are workaholics and make sure they take the necessary time off, both for their quality of life and also their quality of work. What system are you currently using to track PTO? A web-based, simple to use system that shows accruals at the click of the button will improve your business processes all the way around.
It’s a Bull’s Market
Another significant advantage to properly tracking PTO is the advantage it gives you when recruiting new employees, as well as keeping existing ones. Knowing exactly how your current employees are using, or not using, their vacation time helps you know what adjustments to make.
When evaluating this data, look for trends. How much time are new employees taking? What about your key personnel, your “heavy hitters?” How much time are they taking? Is there a correlation between productivity and PTO?
Being able to evaluate how your PTO is impacting your bottom line may open the possibility of increasing vacation time, giving you a significant advantage over competitors.
A Little More Disorganized
Another significant factor when establishing your PTO policy is whether to divide it into different categories: vacation, sick leave, etc. or to simply make it all-inclusive for your employees. There are proponents for both arguments, but in today’s economy, an all-inclusive policy makes more sense. The exception, of course, is military and civic duties, such as jury duty, which are best kept separate.
An all-inclusive policy is becoming so much more popular that according to the BBC, “About 52% of companies now offer such plans, according to a study released earlier in June by the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2013 Employee Benefits Report. That is up from 42% five years ago,” said Evren Esen, Survey Research Center manager for SHRM.
It’s important to remember that we live in the era of the “knowledge worker.” More and more jobs are requiring a much higher level of knowledge and specialization than in previous decades. This makes capable–let alone excellent–employees a valuable resource. Treating them as such can be a major factor in keeping them.
This is where an inclusive PTO policy, where vacation and sick days are lumped together, can be a nice perk. Why penalize people who rarely get sick by not making it easy for them to take full advantage of PTO? Why treat a capable adult like a child who has to submit a doctor’s note to use their PTO?
Many companies have found that by treating employees with respect and giving them control over their own PTO, the result is a happier, more productive workforce. Keeping these factors in mind when establishing your company’s PTO policy may make all the difference in the world when it comes to hiring (and keeping) those skilled employees.
About the Author: Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx. Journyx strives to be relentlessly creative and to build tools that help you spend your time on things that matter. After all, time is all we have. Founded in 1996, Journyx offers customers two solutions to reach the highest levels of profitability: Journyx – project, time and expense tracking software – and Journyx PX – resource management software that provides work and financial forecasting for a complete picture of project and budget status, employee time and availability. Connect with Curt on Google+.
Category: Retention & Engagement
Tags: Vistage International