Startup Idea: Automated Out of Office Compilation Software

Startup idea to develop a software that scans the email system for out of office notifications and compiles them into an organized, department specific excel sheet. This will automate the workload of secretaries, record employees' vacation and planned days off and help facilitate better communication within teams.

I am an electrical engineer at a consulting firm in the utility industry.

The software that I am suggesting is not specifically for my industry, but something that could help alleviate the workload of secretaries and promote communication.

An out of office excel spreadsheet is sent out to all employees every morning. There is a file control person that receives out of office emails from employees and he/she compiles them every morning and sends them out.

The ideal solution would be a software that would scan the email system for out of office emails and compile them into an excel sheet. It would also separate the spreadsheet by department and send them to the individuals in the group. The project teams could see if their teammates are in the office or if they are leaving early, etc. The software could send out of office for the next couple days/weeks and keep record of vacation and planned days off of the employees.

I believe our company would pay for a software of this nature. Email systems like lotus notes and outlook have shared calendars, but it kind of falls short of the out of office spreadsheet in terms of convenience and detail.