Because the holiday season is right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you can best manage staff holiday vacation request. It’s not always easy to accommodate everyone, but with a little forethought and planning, you can keep things running smoothly.

No matter what industry you’re in, there’s no doubt that many of your employees will ask for the same days off during the holiday season. If these types of situations are mishandled, it could leave you stressed out and short-handed.

By taking the time to establish some ground rules with your employees, you can help to alleviate any potential issues ahead of time. Below are five simple tips from Quickbooks for best managing holiday time-off requests.

Communicate your vacation policy

Make sure that employees know what to expect ahead of time.

Give a deadline for vacation requests

If you establish a time limit for requests you will allow for plenty of time to work things out.

Ask employees to work together to figure out holiday coverage

By having employees compromise and work together to solve coverage issues, you will allow everyone the chance to feel like a team player.

Create a fair and balanced schedule

At the end of the day, you don’t want anyone to feel slighted. Design a balanced schedule, whether it’s based on time of the request, seniority or an incentive to meet sales goals.

Post the schedule as soon as possible

If you post the schedule as early as you can, you’ll allow employees ample time to make plans around their holiday work hours.

 

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