At Brightspot we believe technology should enable content-focused teams to work smarter, faster, and more seamlessly to move businesses forward. With decades of experience in publishing and media, we help companies transform their business content and digital experiences by creating enterprise applications at scale with astonishing speed.
.svg)
Earlier this year, Brightspot migrated to new project management and time tracking software that did not provide a sufficient leave management tool for our company. As a result, we needed to find a separate software to fill this void.
Our previous leave management tool left much to be desired and through this transition, we hoped to create a more efficient requesting/approval process, transparent accrual, and improved reporting.
I started my search for a new leave management platform on Google and after watching several settled on two options.
Prior to starting this search, I had defined 10 requirements for the system. Some were must-haves and others were nice-to-haves. These requirements included accrual rates based on work anniversaries, automated carryover, approval notifications, requesting rules, integrations, and more.
Calamari checked off every single requirement and, in most cases, went beyond what we were looking for. Every other tool we looked at fell short in some way. Calamari was the only one that did everything we needed. Employees got used to it immediately! It was such an improvement from our previous tool that everybody was quick to embrace it.
The response for Calamari has been overwhelmingly positive. Employees better understand their balances and appreciate the transparency and ease of requesting time off.
Previously, requests would linger unapproved for weeks and weeks. Through the email and Slack notifications, requests are more promptly reviewed by managers. Managers love the ease of approving time off requests through the Slack integration. They can quickly approve/reject requests and have all of the information they need (length of the request, the balance of time off, etc.) in one place without having to worry about logging into another platform. We have so many tools and software that we’re juggling on a daily basis, so being able to do all this through Slack simply makes life easier.
Additionally, our previous platform did not offer any sort of reporting. This lack of visibility often resulted in managers losing track of employee absences and staffing headaches. Through the use of Calamari’s custom email notifications, we have created team-specific notifications that have helped eliminate unnecessary fire drills. Senior leaders now have a tool that enables them to plan confidently and efficiently.
Accrual Rules. Previously at the end of the year, I had to set aside at least 20-40 hours to calculate employee balances manually. This painstaking process always resulted in a few errors that required even more time fixing. With our Calamari account set up correctly, these processes are now automatic. I got a week of my time back.
Support Team. The Calamari team has been amazing! They have gone above and beyond to make sure our implementation is set up perfectly. Every email is responded to and resolved within a day. They are awesome to work with and so incredibly helpful!
After a week on Calamari, a senior leader commented, „Calamari is worth the money for the year in a month.” We quickly extended the platform to include our contractors, as well as our full-time employees to improve this tracking.
