Vacation time is important, but as an employer, it can be a headache. You want to encourage vacation, but it can be difficult with everyone taking time off at the same time. As a manager, you also want to take personal time for yourself without having to worry about your business.
This is why it’s crucial that you have plans and policies implemented to avoid the extra headache and to be able to leave on vacation feeling relaxed.
Plan Ahead
Managing your employee’s vacation time is easier when you know when you are taking time off from work. At the start of the year, plan your vacation time ahead, so when employees come to you with their requests, you’ll know whether or not you’ll be in that day and be able to manage your supervising staff appropriately.
Display a Public Calendar
Display the vacation calendar for everyone in the workplace to see. This makes your job easier, so everyone can make sure their vacation time appears on the calendar and they can schedule their time according to what their coworkers are taking off. You can have a physical calendar posted somewhere in the office space or even have an electronic calendar to share with your staff.
Set Deadlines
Depending on your industry, you want to set a deadline for your employees to submit their vacation requests in a timely manner. Whether it’s submitting requests two weeks prior to the time off or requests several months prior, you want to make sure you allot enough time for you to plan any additional coverage in their absence.
Offer Holiday Incentive
During the holidays, it may be nearly impossible to maintain a full staff when everyone is requesting time off for the big holidays (i.e. the December holidays, Fourth of July, etc.) Depending on the type of industry you work in, it may be crucial to maintain staff during those holidays. For this, you should give your employees an incentive for working during those shifts, such as time and a half pay for working during the holidays. You can also give more vacation days to individuals that work certain vacations.
Stagger Schedules for the Holidays
Sometimes you don’t have the option in your industry to close your workplace early or reduce the level of service you provide. Instead, stagger your employees’ schedules so you still maintain coverage and give employees time off during the holidays. For instance, someone can work in the morning and another can work in the afternoon or one employee can work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while the other works Tuesday and Thursday.
Bring Reinforcements
Sometimes, you just need the added help during the heavy vacation seasons. Temporary employees can help maintain the workload. From data entry to answering calls and general labor to quality control, at d. Diversified Services, we offer temporary workers to help you maintain your workplaces, while your permanent employees refresh on vacation or temporary leave. Just give us a call 248-633-0033 for more information.