Ah Summer

Let’s prepare for summer vacations and beyond.

Summer is a popular time for employees to take vacations to enjoy the nice weather and have time off with family. As a manager, it's important to prepare for some of the issues that may arise with summer vacations and have a plan to address them.

Coverage issues. With multiple employees potentially off at the same time, we need to make sure all critical roles and responsibilities are covered. Cross-train employees where possible and identify backups and overflow support in case of gaps. Provide clear documentation for any processes or tasks that vacationing employees are responsible for.

PRO TIP: This is a great time to update (or create) Standard Operating Procedure documentations and make them available to all relevant staff. We are big fans of using AI like Chat GPT and Bard to help with this task.

Communication issues. Employees who are out of the office for an extended time can sometimes feel out of the loop when they return. Schedule catch-up meetings for employees when they come back from vacation. Also, specify communication expectations, like checking email periodically, to avoid missing important messages.

PRO TIP: If executives plan off-grid trips like camping or African safari, consider providing them with a satellite phone. It might seem excessive, but think of how useful it would be for them to have the ability to check in and make high-level decision.

Workload issues. The absence of vacationing employees can potentially impact the workloads of others. Make sure to redistribute tasks and projects as needed to avoid overloading certain team members. You may also need to re-prioritize or rebalance workloads for employees after they return from time off.

Time-off requests. With many employees requesting vacation, it can lead to conflicts over dates or too many people off at once. Develop a time-off request policy and calendar to keep track of requests on a first-come, first-served basis. You may need to limit approved time-off requests during the summer months.

Reach out to us to tell us what other issues have you experienced. We’d love to hear from you.