How to manage absences professionally as an IT admin
You manage Microsoft 365 every day, but absence data in Outlook and Teams rarely matches your Entra ID? Missing synchronization also takes time and delays approvals and capacity planning.
absentify provides the connection to your Entra ID and synchronizes selected users, groups, department assignments, and manager assignments with your absentify workspace, with no duplicate maintenance.
absentify connects your Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) to absence planning in Microsoft 365:
- User and group data is imported from selected Entra ID groups into absentify
- Approved absences appear in Outlook calendars and can update the Teams status
- Changes to selected groups flow automatically into user and department management
- Roles and approval permissions are configured in absentify to match your processes
Used by 30,000+ companies worldwide
Overview for Teams admins: absence management in Microsoft 365
As an IT admin in the Microsoft 365 admin center, you coordinate access rights, user accounts, and groups. For absences, you need central control that connects selected Entra ID data with absentify and sends approved absences to Outlook and Teams.
The absentify architecture at a glance:
- Entra ID as the source: Users and groups come from the groups you select for synchronization.
- Teams app: absentify runs in Teams; you configure absence management itself in the absentify settings.
- Outlook integration: absentify synchronizes approved absence information with calendars through Microsoft Graph.
- SharePoint and reporting: Embed absentify as a web part in SharePoint. The absentify dashboard and data exports support analysis; the Plus plan also includes a Power BI custom connector.
Why isolated absence-management solutions fail
A comparison with isolated solutions shows which manual tasks you can avoid and how the absentify sync keeps data consistent:
| Capability | Manual maintenance | absentify sync |
|---|---|---|
| User and group management | Repeat every user change in several systems | Synchronize selected Entra ID groups automatically |
| Absence calendars | Create entries separately in Outlook and Teams | Provide approved absences in Outlook and Teams |
| Approval permissions | Maintain permissions one by one | Set approvers and admin roles in absentify |
| Error rate | Higher risk of errors from manual work | Less duplicate maintenance through automatic synchronization |
Setup and integration in the Teams admin center
You can connect absence management with Microsoft 365 in a few steps.
Entra ID integration in absentify
With admin consent, absentify accesses the directory data it needs and synchronizes selected users and groups:
- In absentify, open Settings > Microsoft and start admin consent.
- A Microsoft 365 administrator grants
Directory.Read.All,Group.Read.All, andUser.Read.All. - Then open Settings > Integrations > Microsoft Entra ID/Teams Group Synchronization, select a group, and map it to an absentify department.
The permission dialog starts in absentify settings. You then control the synchronization scope through the selected groups.
Central rollout in Teams administration
You can deploy absentify centrally to the users who need it:
- Teams app rollout: Make absentify available in the Teams admin center and use app-centric management or the applicable policies to install it for selected users or groups.
- Outlook app rollout: Deploy the absentify app to selected users through the Microsoft 365 admin center so they can open absentify in Outlook.
This setup provides the foundation for the subsequent role and workflow configuration in absentify.
Your benefit at a glance:
| Step | Previous effort | With absentify |
|---|---|---|
| App rollout | Manual work for each user group | Central rollout for defined target groups |
| Outlook deployment | Several individual steps | Central deployment through Microsoft 365 |
User management for IT admins
In absentify, you keep an overview of synchronized users. Selected Entra ID groups are reconciled automatically, so you do not have to maintain accounts twice.
Importing and identifying inactive accounts
When Enable Auto-Creation of user accounts is enabled, users who do not already have an absentify account and join a synchronized group are initially created as inactive users and can then be activated. Removed members are archived only when they no longer belong to any other department, including manually assigned departments, and the archive option is enabled, after a short waiting period of about ten minutes.
Run synchronization automatically
absentify checks the selected groups automatically. You do not need to configure a custom synchronization interval.
Conflict management
Mapping selected groups to absentify departments creates a clear synchronization scope. Existing users are matched by their account details instead of being created as duplicates.
Manage changes deliberately
You manage group membership in Entra ID and control activation, department mapping, and archive behavior in absentify.
| Function | Manual process | absentify |
|---|---|---|
| Add new users | Create accounts manually | Create missing accounts as inactive when auto-creation is enabled |
| Archive accounts | Check each account separately | Optionally archive after removal when no other department remains |
| Update groups | Maintain data in several places | Automatically reconcile selected groups with departments |
| Status reporting | Compile data manually | Use overviews and exports in absentify |
Roles and permissions for Teams administrators
As an IT admin, you define who receives which access rights in absentify. Roles and approval paths are configured in absentify and are not copied one-to-one from Entra ID.
Use standard roles deliberately
absentify distinguishes between administrators, department managers, and users, among other access levels. These roles have defined permissions; additional access and billing permissions are managed in absentify settings.
Derive department managers automatically
Optionally, absentify can synchronize owners of selected Entra ID groups as department managers. The owner must already be a member of the absentify workspace.
Approvals with up to five levels
For a user, you can configure up to five approval levels along the directory-manager hierarchy. In department settings, you configure linear or parallel flows for department managers. Multiple approvers are included in the Essentials and Plus plans; legacy Manager add-ons may also enable the feature.
Track changes
Administrative changes and requests are managed in absentify. Microsoft 365 audit logs record Microsoft-side admin activity, but they are not an absentify role-change log.
| Access level | Permission scope | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Workspace settings | Setup, integrations, and global configuration |
| Department manager | Own department | Approvals and team overview |
| User | Own requests and data | Submit requests and view personal absences |
Configure approval workflows in absentify
With absentify, you create approval workflows for employee requests. Leave types determine whether approval is required. Employees and approvers use the workflows through absentify on the web, in Teams, or in Outlook.
Create leave types
First define the leave types in absentify settings and whether they require approval:
- Vacation with a defined annual allowance
- Sick leave with rules that fit your organization
- Remote work with optional approval
Define workflow steps
Assign approvers for users and configure the appropriate approval process for departments:
- Employees submit a request in absentify.
- Assigned approvers review and approve or decline it.
- With multiple levels, the request proceeds in a linear or parallel flow.
Assign substitutes
Assign an alternative approver or use the parallel One must agree process so the primary approver's absence does not block a request.
Configure notifications in absentify
In absentify, you define which email and Teams notifications are sent for requests and decisions.
These steps create clear processes and help ensure that absence requests are handled quickly.
Notifications and reporting for Microsoft 365
absentify sends status notifications and provides reporting in its own dashboard and through exports and integrations.
Automatic notifications
- Request confirmation: Employees and approvers can receive an email or Teams message when a request is submitted.
- Decision status: Approvers see pending requests in absentify.
- Status update: After approval or rejection, absentify informs participants according to notification settings and updates connected calendars.
Dashboard and Power BI connector
- Dashboard: Shows absences and request status in absentify.
- Power BI connector: The Plus plan lets you connect absentify to Power BI with a custom connector (
.mez). Refresh is manual; scheduled refresh requires a direct API integration. - Export options: Export available data for further processing in other tools.
These functions give you visibility into requests and approvals without maintaining data in several lists.
Best practices for IT administrators
Established practices keep absence management stable and maintainable.
Separate test tenant
Where possible, test major integration and workflow changes with a limited user group before rolling them out company-wide.
Configuration versioning
Document every change to roles, workflows, and app rollout settings so decisions remain traceable.
Regular monitoring
Check synchronization in absentify integration settings and Microsoft 365 service health to identify issues early.
Training for approvers
Run short workshops for department managers so they can process requests quickly in absentify.
Standardized tags and notes
Use consistent names for departments and absence reasons so filters and exports produce consistent results.
These best practices help avoid unexpected interruptions and keep your absence management running smoothly.
Teams admin center — frequently asked questions
Answers for rolling out and managing absentify in Microsoft 365.