Time Off (Dashboard)
Overview
- A Quick filters rail for Department, Leave Type, Status, Manager, and Year, with a single Reset filters button and a live record count in the header
- Four tiles carrying pending requests, approved this month, total days taken, and average approval time, each with a short line of plain-text context underneath
- A days-taken trend area chart of approved leave by month or quarter, which is the fastest read on when the busy periods land
- A twelve-month absence calendar heatmap shading every day by how many people are out, which is where coverage risk actually shows up
- A live request queue listing pending requests oldest first, each with the employee, the date range, the day count, and the approving manager
- An insight card stating in one sentence whether approved leave usage is running above or below the previous period, and by how much
- A sortable request table with colored status pills and search across employee, department, leave type, and manager, and everything recalculates together when a filter changes
Benefits
- Shows coverage gaps before they become a staffing problem, rather than after the team is short
- Puts pending approvals in front of managers with the oldest request at the top
- Makes the seasonal shape of leave visible, which is what capacity planning depends on
- Gives each manager a filtered view of their own team without anyone exporting the request list
- Turns a list the HR team already maintains into reporting, with no new system to buy or roll out
- Serves the HR lead and the line manager from one page, because the filters change who the page is for
- Opens in any browser and can be embedded directly into a SharePoint page
Details
- Build Method: Copilot Dashboard
- Chart Types: KPI card, Area chart, Heatmap, Table
Common Questions About the Time Off Dashboard
What is this time off dashboard built with?
It is built on a standard SharePoint list of PTO requests, with Microsoft 365 Copilot generating the dashboard page from that list. There is no third-party leave system and nothing to license beyond Microsoft 365. The charts, filters, request queue, and table all live on one page that can be embedded in a SharePoint site – the kind of clean, maintainable reporting Greg Zelfond builds for HR teams.
What is included on the time off dashboard?
Four tiles covering pending requests, approved this month, total days taken, and average approval time. Below them sit a days-taken trend with monthly and quarterly views, a twelve-month absence calendar heatmap, a live pending request queue, a trend insight card, and a sortable request table. Filters cover department, leave type, status, manager, and year.
Where does the dashboard data come from?
A single SharePoint list with fourteen columns – request ID, employee, department, manager, leave type, start and end dates, days requested, status, submitted date, approved by, days to approve, year, and balance remaining. Most HR teams already keep a version of this list.
Does the dashboard refresh automatically from the SharePoint list?
This example carries its data with it, so it opens instantly and works offline, and it is refreshed by regenerating the page from the current list. When a live-refreshing view is the requirement instead, the same numbers can be charted with the Quick Chart web part directly on a SharePoint page, or with Power BI when scheduled refresh is needed.
Should we use Copilot, the Quick Chart web part, or Power BI?
It depends on how much you need. The Quick Chart web part is the lightest option – one chart, pointed at a list, no setup. A Copilot-generated dashboard suits a full page with filters and several linked charts that move together. Power BI earns its place when data volumes are large, sources need joining, or row-level security and scheduled refresh matter.
Can Greg build this dashboard for our organization?
Yes – this is exactly the kind of work Greg Zelfond does. As an independent SharePoint consultant and Microsoft MVP, he sets up the underlying list, shapes the columns so the charts are worth drawing, and builds the dashboard around the questions your leadership actually asks rather than the ones the data happens to answer. Reach out through the contact page.
