Ensuring Business Continuity During the Holidays

The holiday season often finds employers in a precarious schedule-balancing act: on the one hand, there is the desire to accommodate the employees’ holiday plans, on the other is the crucial requirement to remain sufficiently staffed. Employers can avoid the headache with some time-tested guidelines that can help keep employees happy and the office running smoothly.

A good way to start is by communicating the ground rules for using vacation time well before the holiday season. Write down a firm holiday policy, clearly spelling out holiday work requirements and scheduling practices, including time off approval procedures, amount of advanced notice required for time off requests, and company closings. The policy also should include the appropriate person to request time off from (supervisor, general manager, etc).

In the absence of a firm policy, employees may feel they are entitled to take their accrued time off whenever they want, especially if their company has a “use it or lose it” policy. Distribute the policy to employees, publish reminders every six months before peak vacation-request times, and make a schedule that shows who is taking what time off accessible to all employees.

Some conflicts are inevitable: if the number of employees requesting vacation exceeds the threshold for maintaining minimum coverage, it is important that you establish an equitable process for resolving such matters to avoid hurt feelings. First, your policy should provide basic information about the criteria used to determine which vacation requests are granted. Usually, those who request time off first are granted their request, with seniority being the determining factor if two or more individuals want to take time off simultaneously.

Let the employees try to work out conflicts among themselves using these guidelines. If that fails, managers may need to work directly with the employees to offer alternative opportunities for time off or to weigh the decision to allow employees to take the time despite the policy. If your business allows employees to roll over vacation time, you can avoid potential headaches by stipulating that only a limited amount of unused vacation time can be moved into the next year.

Specifying blackout dates can eliminate another common source of stress. The hard truth is that there are some businesses, particularly in the health care, safety, transportation, and retail sectors, whose employees have to work while others are home with their families. Conflict can usually be avoided by communicating such issues at the time of hiring and providing regular reminders.

Ground rules are important, but holiday scheduling is a balancing act, and some flexibility is required. There are no absolutes when dealing with people, so your time-off policy should allow for some manager discretion. Make sure managers understand your policy and their role in administering it effectively. For example, consider scheduling a compressed workweek that gives employees the option of working four 10-hour days rather than five 8-hour days. This will free up extra time for staff to enjoy the holidays.

If you can spare it, particularly if most of your clients tend to clear out at the end of the year, you may even want to consider closing for a week. Chances are your clients won’t miss you—but you should have someone on call just in case. And as a final note on flexibility, respect diversity. Although Christmas tends to get the most attention, most religions have some form of celebration near the end of the calendar year. Your vacation policies should accommodate diverse needs and beliefs during this period and throughout the year.

Above all, keep the scheduling process upbeat. It is important that you take a positive approach whenever you discuss the time-off policy with employees. Emphasize the consideration that went into establishing a system that is both fair and functional. Most employees will recognize and appreciate it, and your efforts will spare you many of the traditional holiday season headaches.