With so many employees choosing to forgo holidays, the responsibility for making sure they get downtime falls on their managers.
Staying on top of your holiday policies can be crucial as these problems could far outweigh the benefits of having a workforce prepared to stay at their desk come rain or shine.
Here are five suggestions to inspire your staff to take a vacation:
Employees can worry about taking annual leave as tasks will get left and new tasks will continue to add up during their leave. Work with employees to find a suitable solution.
For example, encourage employees to wrap up as many tasks as possible and assign ongoing or important tasks to other colleagues. Enlisting a few colleagues rather than one will help manage the workload much more effectively. You can then feel confident that projects will stay on track and your staff will know that their work is being left in capable hands.
Handover notes, or sitting down in a meeting before the employee heads off can be a big help too. This is a good opportunity to have a final update on where projects stand, what needs to be done and where relevant files and folders are located. Don’t forget to remind employees to add an out-of-office to emails and voicemail, including the names and contact information of those covering the work.
Create a work environment in which employees feel secure taking their accrued holiday leave. This offers the opportunity to improve the mood and productivity of your workers. It can also help you better manage your workforce.
Avoid a glut on last-minute holiday requests by making it easy to apply for unused annual leave and responding to requests in a positive way. Don't sit back and allow staff to run themselves ragged or accidentally miss out on the holiday break they're due. Take a proactive stance and urge them to make the most of their holidays.
