Key Points:
- Handling time off requests during the holiday season the wrong way can lead to unforeseen staffing shortages.
- Setting a date range for when employees may submit their time off requests is one great way to manage holiday time off requests.
- Negotiating holiday time off with your employees will show them that you are trying to grant their requests and work with them to come to a happy medium.
As fun and joyful as the holiday season can be, employers may not have that same outlook. Dealing with tons of time off requests can be overwhelming, and it is important to understand the best way to manage them. Managing employee time off requests the wrong way can result in unforeseen staffing shortages. In this blog post, we go over the most useful steps to managing time off requests during the holiday season.
Steps to Managing Time Off Requests
1. Time Off Policy
Creating a clear time off policy specifically around holidays will help guide your employees when making these requests. This policy must spell out how requests during the holiday time differ from time off requested throughout the year. Consider covering the following topics:
- How many consecutive days can employees take off for the holiday season?
Highlight any limit for the number of consecutive days off and clarify what may affect this rule.
- Who is eligible for paid time off benefits during the holiday season?
The amount of paid time off an employee receives for the holiday season is affected by whether that employee is part-time or full-time.
- Will the organization close for any time during the season? If so, what days would those be?
Clarify whether these closing days will affect the number of consecutive days off your employees are allowed.
2. Maintain a Deadline for Time Off Requests
Set a date range for when employees may submit their time off requests. Be sure to highlight a start and end date to make it fair for all employees. With this rule, no employee is able to submit a request too early in advance, and everyone has a cut-off date for when they are no longer allowed to request off. This will help you promptly manage the amount of time off requests during the holiday season!
3. Prioritize Requests
There are a few ways you can go about prioritizing time off requests during the holiday season, but the simplest way is practicing the “First Come, First Served” rule. Go down your list of who submitted their requests first and who submitted their requests last. If you are unable to grant all of your requests, this is an easier way to handle it.
4. Be Flexible
It is important to work with your employees when it comes to the holiday season in order to establish employee satisfaction. If you can’t grant their full request, try to grant part of it. For example, if an employee requests the 3 days before Christmas off, try to give them at least one day before Christmas, and then try offering them the day after. Negotiating with your employees will show them that you are trying to grant their requests and work with them to come to a happy medium.
5. Offer Rewards
This is another way to show your employees that you care, and that you want to be able to help them during the holiday season. For those employees who were unable to have their time off requests granted, offer them a reward. This can be anything from time and a half pay to a special benefit for working through the holiday season.
The holiday season is a stressful time for everyone, and managing employee time off may feel impossible. Use these 5 tips to work with your employees and do your best to make everyone happy! SentricHR provides one complete solution for employee scheduling, time tracking, and more. To learn more about our scheduling software and prepare yourself for the holiday season, check out our time tracking software!
