HOLIDAY TIME IN THE COMPANY - HOW TO SURVIVE IT

HOLIDAY TIME IN THE COMPANY - HOW TO SURVIVE IT

Everyone is waiting for a vacation and as soon as it comes, they drop everything, turn off the computer, turn off the phone, close the office and... go out to conquer the world, often to places with no reception???? leaving a functioning company, customers, and sometimes deadlines...

Most well-organized companies cope very well with the summer break, I really like the model of some Western companies that holidays are always planned in August, when the entire company, including production, shuts down, and customers are informed about this fact for several months! Before.

But it also happens that someone simply disappears from one day to the next, even a colleague from behind the desk... and it is useless to look for him, call him or write him.

Here are some simple (the simplest is the most obvious, but also the most often overlooked) rules to ensure normal functioning of the company during the holidays:

1. If you don't have one yet, make sure you have a vacation plan at the beginning of the year. It will help us find out when the most critical period awaits our company and coordinate holidays to ensure the continuity of the company's operation.
2. A very interesting practice, originating from overseas: employees going on vacation a week before mark their workplace, e.g. with a flag with palm trees or Hawaiian flowers, hanging it on the computer or above their desk. This way, others know that: 1. If they have something to do with this person, they do it immediately. 2. We do not add additional tasks to such an employee before the leave
3. An employee going on vacation creates the so-called handover card. This is a practice I encountered at my first employer, which turned out to be the best organized structure in which I had the pleasure to work. The handover sheet consists of listing the topics the employee is currently working on (offers, tenders, contracts, projects, etc.), for whom, including the client's contact details, if necessary, and the deadlines. Additionally, he entrusts one person with the password to the computer and the path to files that may be helpful in case of emergency, or simply sends these files to one person, or stores them on the server only during his absence. The handover card is prepared 3 days before the holiday in order to discuss it and hand it over to the deputies. Never on the day of departure, and certainly not on Friday afternoon when the offices are empty and we are wrapping things up. An additional advantage of such a card is the summary of topics, which allows you to find out what else can be done before your vacation.
4. Make sure to leave your desk tidy and leave information about where important documents are located if necessary.
5. Set up an autoresponder in your e-mail and possibly on your phone, and be sure to specify who will replace you during your vacation. I have come across the practice of companies that do not want to set up an autoresponder (in my opinion, it misinforms the customer who may wait too long for a response), but if we decide on such a practice, we should at least take care of redirecting the e-mails to another person.
6. A vacation is a vacation - a time of rest, and it is worth remembering about it, not calling the vacationer, or establishing a communication path in really urgent matters.
7. Returning from vacation - let's not bombard the person freshly gone with questions about ongoing projects, let's not post new topics, at least for the first day. Otherwise, the effects of rest will disappear like a soap bubble.