How to turn time-off data into actionable insights

For many small businesses, paid time off (PTO) data is like that drawer in your kitchen, you know the one: full of potential, but largely ignored, until something goes wrong. Often enough, information about leave balances, accruals, and requests is scattered far and wide across emails, spreadsheets, and sticky notes. Without a reliable single source of accuracy, it's no wonder managers end up guessing who's available, scrambling to cover shifts, or wondering why certain employees seem to vanish at the same time every year. 

Now imagine rewriting the story: your time-off data isn't just sitting there, it's actually working for you. A clear, accurate, and comprehensive view of employee leave patterns can guide smarter staffing decisions, help prevent burnout, and keep your team running like a beautifully well-oiled machine.  

PurelyHR makes this scenario possible by consolidating all that PTO information into one place (unity!) and offering reporting tools that turn numbers into insights you can act on. Make no mistake: the benefits of actionable insight aren't just theoretical. When you have time-off data at your fingertips, you get to reduce scheduling conflicts, avoid overburdening your top performers, and even make your workplace more attractive to talent, because nothing says "we value work-life balance" like knowing exactly when people need a break. 

 

 

What counts as time off data? 

Time off data isn't just a list of who's out of the office this week. It's a detailed snapshot of your organization's leave landscape, including but not limited to: 

• Allowances and accruals for each time-off type 
• Current and projected PTO balance 
• Types of leave requested (vacation, sick, personal, or anything else your policy allows) 
• Request dates and durations 
• Department, location, and team info 
• Status of requests (approved, pending, or rejected) 

Tracking this information matters because it directly impacts employee wellbeing, productivity, and compliance with labour laws. And let's be honest: managing this manually is a serious headache. Spreadsheets get messy, emails slip through the cracks, and one day you find yourself calculating PTO balances like it's tax season. PurelyHR simplifies all this by centralizing your leave data and providing reports that actually make sense, so you can take action rather than just record information. 

Think of it this way: time-off data is your secret superpower, your X-ray vision. It can show you where your team is strong, where stress may be building up, and where gaps could affect business operations. All without any need to dig through reams of paper. 

Key time-off reports and tools within PurelyHR 

PurelyHR's time-off module comes with 28 reports (yes, 28!), some of them accessible to managers, and others reserved for administrators. These reports help you track leave trends, spot patterns, and make data-driven decisions. The most useful of these include: 

• Time-off summary: a full picture of allowances, balances, approved, pending, rejected, and canceled requests, including carryover and banked time. Bonus: You can print an audit trail if needed.
  
  
• Time-off totals: summarizes all approved and pending leave over a date range, filterable by user or leave type.
  
  
• Time-off details: granular info on requests, with grouping options by date, department, user, or time off type.
  
  
• Balance/Allowance: shows PTO balances, including usable balance, projected year-end balance, and adjustments for pending or approved requests.
  
  
• Allowance settings report: details leave policies and allowances assigned to each user.
  
  
• Estimated year-end balance report: forecasts future PTO balances based on accruals and scheduled leave.
  
  
• Bradford Factor Report: measures absenteeism by assigning more "weight" to frequent short absences than to fewer long ones, helping you spot patterns that could signal attendance or engagement issues. 

All of the reports can be exported for further analysis, offering you the freedom to utilize your time-off data however you please, spotting trends, comparing departments, or just showing your team that you're on top of things. For small businesses, this level of visibility can be transformative, turning what used to feel like guesswork into well-informed decisions. 

Example use cases of PurelyHR report data. 

Let's make this real, shall we? How can these reports actually help you? Below, we unpack this while examining two key reports. 

1. Time-Off Details report 

This report is a veritable goldmine when it comes to spotting patterns: 

• Most used time-off types: across your team, vacation, medical, and sick leave are likely the most frequently used categories. Knowing this helps you tailor effective policies, prepare for coverage, and support your employees' wellness needs.
  
  
• High-season patterns: track leave by date or month to spot peak periods. If your data shows clusters of vacation in July and March, and recurring medical and sick leaves in January, February, and May, spotting these trends early ensures coverage without last-minute panicking.
  
  
• Burnout and absenteeism risks: repeated or extended leave, like multiple consecutive vacation or medical days, might signal stress, workload pressures, or engagement challenges. Early detection gives you a chance to check in and provide support before small issues become big problems.
  
  
• Planning for next year: insights from this report let you plan blackout periods, staffing adjustments, or temporary help in advance. For example, if July consistently sees spikes in PTO requests, you might schedule projects around that or prepare backup staffing. Similarly, patterns in sick leave within certain departments can reveal workload pressures that need attention. 

 2. Bradford Factor Report 

If the Time Off Details report is a microscope of sorts, the Bradford Factor is a wide-angle lens. In calculating 'weighted' absence, it helps you: 

• Spot employees with repeated short-term absences 
• Identify patterns in specific teams or departments 
• Evaluate the effectiveness of current leave policies 
• Take preventive actions, like introducing wellness programs or adjusting workloads 

Harnessing both of the above reports together turns your time-off data from a dusty log into actionable intelligence. You can identify trends in PTO balance usage, prevent burnout, and even make fairer policy decisions that match how your team actually takes leave. 

How PurelyHR data can help refine your time-off policy 

Leave policies shouldn't live in a drawer, kitchen, or otherwise; they should evolve based on actual patterns and business needs. PurelyHR's reporting tools help you review average leave usage across teams, trends by department, role, or time-off type, and projected balances and accrual bottlenecks...to name just a few. 

The end of the year is the perfect time to tweak policies. Maybe you need to adjust accruals, update blackout periods, or introduce more flexible leave options.  

Best practices include: 

• Aligning leave allowances with business cycles 
• Supporting employee wellness while maintaining productivity 
• Keeping policies fair, clear, and compliant 
• Communicating changes to employees in a way that actually sticks 

And here's a little secret: policies that evolve based on real patterns show employees that you're paying attention, building trust, and encouraging responsible leave usage. 

Bottom line: time-off data is one of those hidden treasures many SMBs overlook. But when tracked, analyzed, and acted upon, it can improve staffing decisions, support employee wellbeing, and boost organizational efficiency. With PurelyHR, you get a single source of truth and reporting tools that turn PTO reports and PTO balances into actionable insights. Whether it's identifying trends, preventing burnout, refining policies based on real data, or shaping a culture of transparency, PurelyHR helps you manage time off with style and strategy. 

Curious how your time-off data could work harder for you? Book a demo to get a personalized tour, or connect with support if you're already part of the PurelyHR family.