Many people are eager to unplug from their work and take a well-deserved vacation. Managers play a crucial role in approving or declining leave requests for their team members – not only to ensure that operations run smoothly during these periods but also to avoid burnout and retention issues. To do this effectively, they need to have visibility into employees’ upcoming and current requests as well as their previous history.
Using an online vacation planner tool can help managers to get this insight in a user-friendly and centralized platform. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and filtering emails from employees to track their leave requests and provides a clear picture of an employee’s availability for time off. Additionally, the tool can provide managers with an overview of any conflicts between the requested vacation dates and public holidays or company events.
This is especially important for companies that operate around specific holidays or have seasonal peaks. By implementing an effective vacation planning strategy and absence management software, companies can improve their operational efficiency without having to sacrifice employees’ work-life balance.
A vacation planner can be either a human or an automated system designed to plan and manage vacation leave for employees. Human vacation planners typically have a background in the travel industry, with qualifications such as a bachelor’s degree in hospitality or a post-secondary certificate from a vocational school. Some may also have a background in sales or customer service.
Automated vacation planners are software programs that help employees to easily track their availability for vacation leave. These programs usually allow employees to choose from a pre-set list of holidays and can be configured to include specific dates, such as Christmas Eve or New Year’s Day. The program may also include other parameters, such as a maximum number of days to take off from work.
Some people make a living as work from home vacation planners and perform virtual travel agent duties. They usually earn a commission for booking travel for their clients. Some work for large organizations, such as cruise lines or theme parks, while others work independently developing unique itineraries on a freelance basis.
One example is the Vacation Planner from Tourism PEI, which offers an immersive on-the-job training program that lets people experience life on Prince Edward Island firsthand before taking over the job of a vacation planner at one of the province’s five visitor information centres. The positions are open to both residents and non-residents. Interested applicants can learn more about the opportunity here.