How to Stay On Track When Employees Are On Vacation

It’s that time of the year when the sun is shining and your employees begin to yearn for their vacation time. According to an article in Forbes by Tanya Mohn, “Not taking vacation time is a bad idea, as it harms productivity and the economy.”

It’s helpful to have vacation time procedures established so both you and your employees will be prepared for their time off. Have employees request vacation time off at least a month in advance, this helps avoid last minute scrambling. It’s also important to manage vacation schedules so that you always have skilled staff available. Can you imagine how detrimental it would be if your entire accounting department was out at the same time?

Once time off is approved, develop a game plan. Assign one or two point people to take over your responsibilities while that employee is on vacation. This will help make sure time-sensitive tasks are completed. Make sure that the absent employee leaves behind detailed instructions for the employees that are picking up the work that needs to be done. Having those instructions helps ensure tasks are completed correctly.

Finally, before leaving on vacation, employees should update their mailboxes and out of office replies for their email with who to contact while they are out. This will help your customers/clients know that here needs are still being met.

If you take the time to plan ahead, you can avoid the stress of having employees out of the office. Communication is always important, but it is necessary to make sure that things go smoothly.