There are many challenges that a manager has when it comes to managing a team, but perhaps the most challenging is the holiday schedule. Your employees are entitled and deserve to have time off from work, but it can be challenging to manage when people want time off at the same time and around the holiday periods. So, how can you master the art of a holiday schedule so that your business can easily manage while keeping employees happy? It is a difficult balance to achieve, but it is possible when you know the key steps that you need to take. Read on to find out more.
Open Up Dialogue
Perhaps the most important step is to open up a dialogue with your workforce. This will make it much easier to create a schedule that will keep people happy as well as create a sense of togetherness as opposed to ruling with an iron fist. You should discuss which holidays are most significant for people if anyone is willing to work on certain holidays and any days where you need all hands on deck.
Set Early Deadlines for Vacation Requests
Difficulties can arise when you do not have early deadlines for vacation requests as it gives you very little time to manage. Instead, if you have early deadlines so that you have a long period to work out how you will manage while staff have time off, it can reduce stress and also ensure that there are no dips in productivity.
Train Staff So That Responsibilities Can Be Shared
Much like a sports team needs to be able to perform to a high standard when a player goes down injured, a business needs to be able to remain productive when employees take time off. This means that you need to use staff training so that you always have someone that can manage a few responsibilities for someone when they are off and spread the load amongst the workforce so that it is not just one person effectively doing two people’s work.
Use Advanced HR Software
The best HR software from experts like peoplexcd.com will allow you to easily manage all aspects of employee relationships, including holiday scheduling. This software can help you to stay on top of vacation requests and create the best possible schedule as well as learn from data and reporting to spot patterns and trends. Software systems like this can often reduce admin time and cut down on errors, ensuring that everyone is kept happy and that you can create the best possible schedule.
Use Incentives for Non-Desirable Periods
When it comes to periods like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter, you will find that everyone will want time off in addition to any time where the business is closed. This creates a problem, which is why it is worth incentivizing people to work on these days – this could include paid holiday work, additional time off, or rewards.
Hopefully, this will help you to master the art of holiday scheduling and help you to keep staff happy while also keeping the business productive throughout the year.
