Is your business ready for Summer vacations? Summer vacations can be a very profitable time for many businesses! One aspect many busy business owners don’t always consider during the summer is their staff, and themselves, taking summer vacations as well. Any level staff member taking summer vacations can cause some hiccups for your business. Here are some tips to make sure you are prepared.
Hire additional staff
It’s likely your staff is going to be overworked during this busy season so hiring extra staff is already a great idea, but when you factor all of the time off requests, you will NEED extra employees to pick up the slack.
Train somebody to do your job
Nothing is worse than the feeling that everything will fall apart if you aren’t there. This feeling alone keeps many small business owners and managers from feeling like they’re able to take vacations, especially in the busy summer months. Train somebody to fill in for you so you can take your much needed vacation. Address things that are likely to happen in your absence AND things that aren’t. Preparing your part time replacement for anything that could go wrong will lessen the chance your vacation will be interrupted. These things include but aren’t limited to:
-An employee calls out
-Power outage
-Systems go down
-There’s a natural disaster
-There’s a break in
Make sure the person you’ve selected to fill in for you is somebody that is reliable and can follow instructions well so you can truly be worry free on vacation.
Set boundaries for employees
An employee should be aware that they will not get every summer holiday off. They should also know that they cannot take 3 weeks off in the middle of a peak season. Have your employees request their days off far enough in advance so that all employees are given the opportunity to have a vacation or summer holiday off if they wish to.
Leave work at work
It can be so hard as a boss to leave work behind when you go on vacation. Since you’ve already chosen somebody responsible to take your place while you’re away, there is no need to check in on your business from your smartphone while you’re on vacation. Leave a number you can be reached at IN EMERGENCIES ONLY. If it is absolutely vital that you speak to your employees throughout your vacation, schedule check-ins in advance.
Prepare your clients
Whether you have restaurant regulars, weekly calls, or monthly meetings it is always best to let your customers know they will not be seeing or hearing from key employees when they take a vacation. Let them know who will be filling in for them and provide them with contact information where it’s appropriate. Some clients may be offended to find out about a vacation via auto response or voicemail.
Enjoy yourself!
The entire point of a vacation is to put your life on hold and have a good time! You have covered all of your bases and yours staff is ready to take things on with less help. Go have fun and enjoy yourself and encourage your employees to do the same.
