From Tips for Preparing Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns to Keeping Employees Engaged During the Holidays, we’re making sure your business is fully prepared for the upcoming festive season. This week we’re going to tackle the delicate subject of juggling the schedule around employee time off during the holidays.
Managing a team’s calendar during the holidays is a delicate task. Some people want to work more in a quiet office, while others want to take long breaks. The key to managing a holiday calendar is to treat employees with respect without compromising on the company’s goals in the bargain.
Plan in advance
Start asking early when employees are going to take time off during the holidays. By taking a proactive approach, you can schedule the work accordingly. Make sure to recognize and thank coworkers who willingly help fill work gaps when others are out of the office or away on vacation.
Have a process — and stick to it
Make sure your business has clearly stated policies in the employee handbook regarding time-off requests, the time-off approval process and the dates the office will be closed during the holiday season. Even if the policies are clearly stated in the employee handbook, managers should still remind their employees about time-off request deadlines. It’s also important that supervisors hold to those deadlines.
Encourage employees to take time off
During the holidays, employees have extra demands on their personal time, so maintaining work-life balance gets even more challenging. Some employees would prefer to grind it out for a few weeks to earn a long break, but others would rather take a day off here and there. Also keep in mind that not all employees celebrate the same holidays.
Taking time off at the holidays is good for morale and is manageable with proper planning. By working together to create a schedule that works for everyone, your employees can return to work refreshed and ready to tackle the new year.
West Press’ talented staff is here to help you each step of the way — from graphic design to printing to mailing services to large format to website development. Contact West Press or your Account Executive at 520-624-4939 today.