Why We Offer Open Pto

When you think of a vacation policy, what comes to mind? Rules? Strict guidelines? Stress? Not enough time?

Integrity co-owner, Ed Morrissey, witnessed the tension that vacation policies created at his previous company. There would always be an employee who would approach him during his or her first month of work and say, “I know I haven’t earned my vacation time yet, but I have an opportunity to go on this big trip.” Inevitably, Ed would bend the rules for that employee, and it made him start to wonder why vacation policies even existed.

Shortly after Ed joined Integrity in 2009, he and John decided to get rid of the company’s vacation policy and offer “Open PTO.” Their goal was to remove any unnecessary tension between our team, our clients and our work.

So what are the benefits of Open PTO?

1. It allows people to manage themselves

Open PTO shifts the burden of management from a policy to an individual. This gives the employee a sense of freedom, and they feel trusted by the company to use their best judgement. It also removes the administrative overhead of tracking accrued PTO – something our operation team appreciates.

2. It removes any unnecessary stress that keeps us from delivering awesomeness

Everyone who has worked in the confines of a vacation policy has endured the stress that comes along with it. What if I get sick after I use all my vacation time? What if my car breaks down, and I had already slotted that PTO time for a future trip? Removing this stress helps us focus on what matters most: creating awesome website and web applications for our clients.

3. It encourages people to take advantage of awesome opportunities

The owners at Integrity believe the bigger picture is always the most important thing. There will always be work to do, but you don’t always get a chance to go to Spain. Being able to say yes to life’s big opportunities and adventures makes a huge impact on employee happiness, and the Integrity owners genuinely want their employees to be happy.

How can you get started with Open PTO at your company?

Hire the right people. That’s really it. The Integrity owners have found that if they need to create a policy for employees, it typically means they hired the wrong employees. If you have a culture of mature, awesome people, you can have awesome benefits. Simple as that. The right team of people doesn’t require as much policy. So the best thing you can do to start implementing awesome benefits is shift your focus from creating policy to perfecting your recruiting process.

Want to work for a company that offers awesome benefits like Open PTO? Send us a message.