Scheduling vacations over Christmas, New years and July 4th, a bonanza for everyone.

Its always a problem, especially if you are running a lean organization, and not overstaffed. Each person should be playing an important role and the organization will thus feel the loss of an employee every time one goes on vacation.  If you have a half dozen to a dozen employees this could cause major interruptions in the work flow for many weeks during the year. It becomes a built in excuse for additional low productivity if someone key to a function is absent for a week. its an allowable excuse for low productivity.

Additionally you have the annoying scheduling competition thus requiring controls regarding who can take what week off, and in what order of priority to prevent interrupting the work process and to recognize longevity, seniority or whatever measuring stick you use to allocate priority between the workers.

The cost of vacations are far more then the payroll, its the lost productivity that’s devastating, and bad habits and low objectives become the standards, so even when in full force a bad practice has been allowed to develop.

How can this bundle of horrors be controlled?

Here is a plan that has worked very well and I highly recommend it:

One more observation that’s very relevant, low productivity occurs naturally different times of the year and results in very inefficient operations, probably not worth the expense, and possibly damaging to your development.

For example the Friday after Thanksgiving, is a silly day to work. Depending on what days Christmas and New Years fall, the days before and after are typically another waste, in fact the entire Christmas week until New Years day are two weeks during which very little happens, unless you are a retail store or a restaurant. Productivity is universally at a near standstill, yet we maintain a full force effort, accomplishing very little indeed.

The July 4, weekend can easily be elongated and based on the natural low productivity around this day, there should be a serious reconsideration regarding even attempting to implement any reasonably productive plan during this week. The entire business world takes time off.

So I say, lets solve two problems with one strategy, as follows:

Acknowledge there are two or three time periods that will yield a very low productivity because of the time slot and holiday event.

Acknowledge that staggered vacation scheduling is destructive to the productivity of the business.

CLOSE ALL OPERATIONS during these three or four weeks and give everyone extended holiday time and solve the vacation scheduling issues and the low productivity around holidays. Everyone will be on vacation at the same time during these low productivity time slots and both the business and the employee base will benefit and are much happier for it.

This plan is a net gain anyway you evaluate it.

While this may appear to be very generous, and it may be, it is my belief that you gain far more at allot lower cost, well worth the implementation.

This plan can be adjusted to meet your personal desires and needs, its merely  one way to resolve these common issues.

Additionally there may always be a need or a benefit to staff the office with a skeleton staff performing limited and basic activities.

This is also a wonderful time for special projects, of any sort, be it overhauling equipment, cleaning, building repairing, whatever it may be, these time slots could be allocated to a few people doing special projects that begin and end during the time period.

So shut the door and send them all home some combination of the following times:
the July 4 week, Christmas through New Years a 2 week period.

Its a win for everyone, you will not regret it.

Everyone is scheduled at once and the business is either totally shut or partially closed and thus there are no additional interfering vacation interruptions to contend with during the year.

Everyone gets the best time slots and possibly far more vacation then normal because of our acknowledgement that there are naturally slow time periods that are grossly under-productive. You can afford to be generous and give everyone the maximum 4 weeks scheduled for the lowest productivity times during the year and thus probably not worth opening for at all.

Think about it, then do it. Call me if you need some help 413-549-2966.