Calendar & Announcements

Location: /Dashboard/Calendar/Default.aspx

Navigation: From the main navigation menu, click on "Calendar" in the dashboard section. The page is accessible from the dashboard sidebar or via direct URL path /calendar.

Overview

The Calendar & Announcements page serves as the company's centralized hub for scheduling, internal communication, and time-off management. It combines three essential workplace functions into a single, integrated interface: a visual monthly calendar for events and meetings, a company-wide announcement board for organizational communications, and an absence request submission system for managing employee time off.

This page acts as the organization's digital bulletin board and scheduling center, ensuring all team members have access to shared calendar events, important company news, and the ability to request time away from work. The design prioritizes daily visibility of key information while maintaining historical context for past announcements and absence requests.

The calendar displays events across multiple categories (company-wide, division-specific, and conference room bookings), allowing users to filter by event type. The announcement system supports targeted communication with options to broadcast to all employees or specific team members. The absence request form enables employees to submit PTO, unpaid leave, or work-from-home requests with automatic routing to designated approvers.

Business Value

Why Does This Matter to the Company?

1. Centralized Communication - Without a unified announcement system, important company information gets buried in email threads or lost across multiple communication channels. The announcements board creates a persistent, visible location where company news remains accessible until its designated expiration date.
2. Scheduling Coordination - Conference room double-bookings, missed company events, and scheduling conflicts create friction and waste time. A shared calendar with event categorization prevents these conflicts and ensures everyone knows about important organizational activities.
3. Streamlined Time-Off Administration - Manual time-off request processes involving email chains and spreadsheets are error-prone and create administrative burden. The integrated absence request form captures all required information upfront and routes requests to appropriate approvers automatically.
4. Workplace Transparency - Employees benefit from knowing who is out of the office, which conference rooms are available, and what company events are scheduled. This transparency supports better planning and collaboration across teams.
5. Reduced Email Overhead - Company announcements delivered via the announcement board reduce email volume while ensuring visibility. Users can choose to send email notifications selectively, reserving email for truly urgent communications.
6. Employee Autonomy - Self-service absence request submission empowers employees to manage their own time-off without waiting for HR availability, while maintaining appropriate approval controls.

Business Benefits

For All Employees

• Single Source of Truth: One location to check for company events, team announcements, and upcoming absences rather than searching through emails
• Visual Planning: Monthly calendar view shows events at a glance, making it easy to plan work around meetings and company activities
• Self-Service Time Off: Submit absence requests directly without drafting emails or filling out paper forms
• Request History: View history of previous absence requests with approval status to track patterns and plan future requests
• Backup Coverage: Designate a backup employee when submitting absence requests to ensure work continuity

For Team Leaders and Managers

• Team Visibility: See company-wide and team-specific announcements to stay informed about organizational matters
• Event Planning: Add events visible to all team members, ensuring important meetings and milestones are communicated
• Announcement Targeting: Create announcements visible to specific team members rather than broadcasting to everyone
• Approval Awareness: Absence requests trigger notifications to approvers, creating visibility into upcoming team absences

For HR and Administration

• Structured Requests: All absence requests follow a consistent format with required fields, eliminating incomplete submissions
• Automatic Notifications: Approvers receive email notifications of new requests without manual forwarding
• Agreement Tracking: Employees must acknowledge the PTO borrowing policy before submitting requests, creating audit documentation
• Centralized Records: All announcements and their targets are stored for historical reference and audit purposes

For Company Leadership

• Organization-Wide Communication: Announcements reach all employees regardless of department or location
• Event Categorization: Events can be tagged by type (company-wide, division-specific, conference room) for appropriate visibility
• Time-Off Patterns: Visibility into absence request history supports workforce planning and coverage decisions

Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Checking Daily Schedule

An employee starts their morning by navigating to the Calendar page. They see today's events highlighted, including a division meeting at 2:00 PM in the conference room and a company-wide training session at 4:00 PM. They also notice a new announcement (marked "NEW!" in red) about an office closure next week, allowing them to plan accordingly.

Scenario 2: Scheduling a Team Event

A manager needs to add a project kickoff meeting to the shared calendar. They click "Add New Event" and enter the event details: date, time (10:00 AM), event title ("Q2 Campaign Kickoff"), description, and select "deZinnia" as the event type since it's a company-specific meeting. They check "Send email to team" to notify all team members about the new event.

Scenario 3: Announcing Planned Time Off

An employee plans to take a week of vacation in two months. They scroll to the Announcements section and click "Add announcement." They select "PTO" as the announcement type, enter a title ("Out of Office - Sarah"), provide dates in the body, set an expiration date after their return, and leave "Show to all members" checked since the entire team should know about their absence.

Scenario 4: Requesting PTO Approval

The same employee needs formal approval for their vacation. They use the Absence Request form on the right side of the page, entering the first and last days of absence, selecting "Paid/PTO Accrued/Available," choosing a backup employee from the dropdown, adding notes about pending work, and checking the policy agreement box before submitting. The system automatically notifies their managers.

Scenario 5: Announcing Work From Home Day

An employee needs to work from home for a plumber visit. They create a quick announcement selecting "WFH" type, noting the date and that they will be available via email. The WFH type automatically ensures relevant team members are notified while not requiring the policy acknowledgment needed for PTO requests.

Scenario 6: Conference Room Booking

An account manager needs to reserve the conference room for a client presentation. They add an event and select "Conf Room" as the event type. Other users can filter the calendar to show only conference room events, making it easy to check availability before requesting the space.

Scenario 7: Targeted Announcement to Specific Team Members

HR needs to communicate a benefit enrollment deadline to new employees hired within the past year. They uncheck "Show to all members" and select only the relevant employees from the list. The announcement will only appear for selected recipients, reducing noise for other team members.

Scenario 8: Editing an Existing Announcement

A manager realizes their announcement contained an incorrect date. They find the announcement in the list, click the edit (pencil) icon, correct the information, and choose whether to resend the email notification to alert recipients to the change.

Scenario 9: Reviewing Absence Request History

An employee wants to check how much PTO they've taken this year. They scroll to "Previous Absences" in the absence request panel, which shows their request history with dates and approval status from both HR and Q (quality/operations) approvers.

Scenario 10: Filtering Calendar by Event Type

A user only wants to see conference room bookings. They use the radio buttons at the top of the calendar to filter events: "All events," "deZinnia," "Pilney," or "Conf Room." Selecting "Conf Room" hides company and division events, showing only room reservations.

Industry Context

How Similar Functionality is Used Across Industries

Shared Calendar Systems

Shared organizational calendars are fundamental in professional workplaces:

1. Corporate Environments: Companies use Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, or internal systems to share meeting schedules, conference room availability, and company events across the organization
2. Creative Agencies: Production schedules, client review meetings, and creative brainstorms are tracked on shared calendars to coordinate work across project teams
3. Professional Services: Consulting firms, law offices, and accounting practices maintain calendars for client meetings, internal reviews, and professional development events
4. Healthcare Organizations: Staff scheduling, department meetings, and facility reservations require visible, shared calendars for coordination
5. Educational Institutions: Academic calendars, faculty meetings, and room reservations follow similar patterns of shared visibility and categorized events

Announcement and Communication Systems

Internal announcement boards serve critical functions:

1. Company Intranets: Corporate intranets universally feature announcement sections for HR updates, company news, and policy communications
2. Team Communication Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, and similar tools include announcement channels for important communications that shouldn't get lost in chat
3. Digital Signage: Physical offices often display announcements on screens, serving the same purpose for on-site staff
4. HR Information Systems: Workday, BambooHR, and similar platforms include announcement features for benefits updates and policy changes

Time-Off Request Workflows

Absence request systems follow established patterns:

1. Self-Service Portals: Modern HR systems universally offer employee self-service for time-off requests rather than paper forms or email
2. Approval Routing: Requests automatically route to designated approvers (direct manager, HR, operations) based on organizational hierarchy
3. Backup Designation: Many industries require employees to identify coverage before taking leave, especially in client-facing or operational roles
4. Policy Acknowledgment: Recording employee agreement to time-off policies (like the PTO borrowing policy here) is a standard compliance practice

Key Industry Patterns Implemented

• Multi-Category Events: Separating company-wide, division, and resource (conference room) events follows standard calendar categorization practices
• Expiring Announcements: Time-limited visibility ensures old news doesn't clutter the board while keeping relevant information accessible
• Targeted Communications: Ability to send announcements to specific groups rather than always broadcasting to everyone reduces information overload
• Dual Approval Workflows: Having multiple approvers (HR and operations) for absence requests is common in organizations where coverage affects both administrative and operational functions
• Request-Announcement Integration: Combining time-off requests with team announcements (PTO/WFH announcement types) creates automatic visibility of upcoming absences

Business Logic Details

Event Categories

The calendar supports three event categories, each representing different organizational scopes:

Users can filter to view all events or any single category using the radio button controls at the top of the calendar.

Announcement Types and Behavior

Announcements have three types that affect default behaviors:

The type selection automatically adjusts checkbox defaults to match typical usage patterns while allowing users to override these defaults.

Announcement Visibility Rules

Announcements appear to employees based on several criteria:

1. Expiration Check: Only announcements with expiration dates in the future display in the active list
2. Target Audience: If "Show to all members" is unchecked, only selected target employees see the announcement
3. Admin Override: Administrators can see all announcements regardless of target settings
4. Author Visibility: The announcement author always sees their own announcements

Expired announcements are automatically hidden from the display but remain in the system for historical reference.

"NEW!" Announcement Highlighting

Announcements posted within the past 48 hours display with a red "NEW!" label to draw attention to recent communications. This visual indicator helps users quickly identify announcements they may not have seen yet.

Absence Request Types

The absence request form supports three leave types:

WFH requests do not require the policy acknowledgment checkbox since they don't affect PTO balance or payroll.

Hours Calculation

When total hours are left blank on an absence request, the system automatically calculates:

Total Hours = (End Date - Start Date + 1) * 8 hours

This assumes standard 8-hour workdays. Users can override this by entering a specific hour value for partial-day absences or non-standard schedules.

Dual Approval Workflow

Absence requests require two approvals:

1. HR Approval: Validates the request against PTO balance and company policies
2. Q (Operations) Approval: Confirms operational coverage and work impact are addressed

Both approvals must be granted for the request to be fully approved. Either approver can deny the request with notes explaining the reason.

Notification Flow

When events or announcements are created:

1. Event Creation: If "Send email to team" is checked, an email notification is sent to the company distribution list with event details
2. Announcement Creation: If "Send mail" is checked, email goes to:
   • All employees (if "Show to all members" is checked)
   • Only selected target employees (if targeted)
3. Absence Request: Automatic notification to:
   • The requesting employee (confirmation)
   • HR and operations managers
   • The designated backup employee (if specified)

Cache Management

Announcements are cached for performance. When announcements are added, edited, or archived, the system:

1. Invalidates the announcement cache
2. Triggers a refresh that propagates to all active sessions
3. Ensures the Dashboard announcement widget updates with the new information

This event-driven cache invalidation ensures announcement changes appear immediately across the application.

Key Features

Calendar Grid

Add Event Page

Announcement Board

Add Announcement Form

Absence Request Form

Functional Components

Calendar Navigation

The calendar provides intuitive month-to-month navigation:

• Previous Month: Click month name on the left to navigate backward
• Next Month: Click month name on the right to navigate forward
• URL Parameters: Month and year are stored in the URL (?month=3&year=2025) for bookmarking and sharing specific month views

Event Type Filtering

The radio button filter controls event visibility:

• All Events: Default view showing all event types together
• Single Type: Selecting a specific type hides events of other types
• Persistent Selection: Filter choice persists during calendar navigation within the same session

Announcement Accordion

The "Add announcement" section uses an expandable accordion:

• Collapsed by Default: Form is hidden to reduce visual clutter
• Click to Expand: Opens the full announcement creation form
• Auto-Collapse: Closes after successful submission
• Hidden During Edit: Accordion hides when editing an existing announcement

Target Employee Selection

When "Show to all members" is unchecked:

• A list of all active employees appears
• Administrators are pre-checked by default
• The current user is automatically excluded (they'll see their own announcement regardless)
• Multiple employees can be selected as targets
• Warning text indicates email will only go to selected recipients

Absence Request Validation

The form enforces data quality:

• Required Fields: Start date, end date must be provided
• Date Order: End date must be equal to or after start date
• Hours Range: If provided, total hours must be between 1 and 8000
• Agreement Required: PTO and Unpaid requests require policy acknowledgment
• Backup Optional: Backup employee is suggested but not required

Request Status Display

Previous absences show approval status for each approver:

Both HR and Q approval statuses display independently.

Relationship to Other System Components

Dashboard Integration

The Calendar page connects to the main Dashboard in several ways:

• Announcements Widget: New announcements appear in the Dashboard sidebar's announcement section
• PTO/News Widget: Employee time-off announcements feed into the "News and Notes" section showing who is out
• Navigation: Dashboard provides quick access to the Calendar page

Time Tracking System

Absence requests integrate with time tracking:

• PTO Hours: Approved absence requests correspond to PTO hours logged in timesheets
• Activity Codes: PTO time entries use specific activity codes that connect to absence records
• Balance Impact: Absence requests inform PTO balance calculations shown in the PTO Tracker

PTO Tracker

The absence request system provides data to PTO tracking:

• Approved PTO requests affect available PTO balance
• Request history supports balance reconciliation
• WFH requests are tracked separately from PTO for reporting purposes

Notification System

Multiple notification types flow from Calendar page actions:

• Event Notifications: New events trigger team emails via the company distribution list
• Announcement Notifications: Targeted or broadcast emails based on announcement settings
• Absence Request Notifications: Automated emails to requestor, approvers, and backup employee
• Approval Notifications: Completed approval decisions trigger notification to the requesting employee

Employee Management

The page integrates with employee data:

• Active Employee List: Target selection and backup dropdown show only active employees
• Current User Context: System knows the logged-in user for request attribution and visibility rules
• Manager Identification: Absence requests route to employees configured as HR or operations managers

Email System

Email communications flow through the notification infrastructure:

• Template-Based: Announcements and absence requests use configured email templates
• Distribution Lists: Event notifications use company-wide email distribution
• Individual Targeting: Targeted announcements send individual emails to selected recipients

Approval Workflow

Absence requests feed into the broader approval workflow:

• Request Queue: Pending requests appear in the Absence Requests management page for approvers
• Dual Approval: Both HR and operations managers can view and act on requests
• Status Tracking: Approval decisions update the request status visible to the employee

Summary

The Calendar & Announcements page consolidates three essential workplace communication and planning functions into a unified interface that serves daily operational needs across the organization:

As a Shared Calendar:

• Provides visual month-by-month event tracking with filtering by category
• Enables team-wide visibility of company events, division meetings, and conference room bookings
• Supports planning and coordination through shared scheduling information

As an Announcement Board:

• Creates a persistent, visible channel for company communications that doesn't get lost in email
• Supports both organization-wide broadcasts and targeted messaging to specific employees
• Automatically manages announcement lifecycle through expiration dates
• Highlights new announcements to ensure recent communications receive attention

As an Absence Request System:

• Empowers employees to submit time-off requests directly without manual paperwork
• Captures complete request information including dates, hours, type, and backup coverage
• Routes requests to appropriate approvers with automatic notifications
• Provides request history for employees to track their submissions and approvals

The integration of these functions reflects how modern workplaces operate: employees need to know about events, stay informed about company news, and manage their time away from work, often in the same planning session. By combining these capabilities with appropriate visibility controls, notification options, and approval workflows, the Calendar & Announcements page supports both individual employee needs and organizational communication goals.

The page exemplifies the balance between transparency (shared calendars, public announcements) and appropriate privacy (targeted announcements, individual absence history), ensuring information reaches the right people while respecting organizational boundaries. This balance, combined with automated notifications and approval routing, reduces administrative overhead while maintaining the controls necessary for effective workforce management.