Planning is key to making ensure that your team is productive and efficient, that’s why it’s important to have a system for managing annual leaves. The task management system can help you to assign tasks, deadlines, and priorities.
The employees’ annual leave is not the end of the world
An appropriate management strategy and previously undertaken activities allow us to avoid the situation in which the company will end up without employees and the clients will not receive the goods, answer an e-mail, or will not be able to meet with a salesperson. For the word “annual leave” not to give us shivers on the back, all it takes is to abide by certain rules and, if it is necessary, use external help, e.g. temporary employees.
A leave plan – also called the leave calendar, is a chart drafted by the company at the beginning of a year that includes the employees’ leave periods written out for the entire calendar year. It is not practiced in every organization which is not good because thanks to it we can check and foresee when an absence in our company will be the largest and appropriately prepare for such state of matters. It is also a tool the employees can use as they see when their colleagues are absent, thanks to which they can plan their free days in such a way that it does not collide with the company’s operation. The employees who declare their free days from work first are in the best situation because they will have full freedom to determine their leave terms. The final decision is made by the employer anyway.
Delegation of tasks – this is one of the most important tools of every manager and employer, its skillful usage allows to delegate duties between employees, which facilitates the continuity of work, even if one of a few of their colleagues will be absent from work. The main advantage of delegating obligations is avoidance of experiments, meaning handing over tasks to people without appropriate competencies and skills. In addition, the employees shouldn’t be showered with too many tasks because not only will they not carry out the ordered work well, but they will also neglect their duties. Delegating may be a great remedy for the absence of employees. However, the tasks need to be scheduled skilfully. Delegating should include cyclic activities or such which are connected with large projects and have to be conducted even during the absence of people who coordinate them.
Diversification – a term that boils down to the diversification of production assortment or provided services, thanks to which we operate on many channels, and when employees of one of the channels cannot work, the other channels keep the entire business. Thanks to such activity we reduce the probability of loss, but we may also reduce the probability of the highest profit. An example might be an advertising agency the main direction of action of which is the production of video content, but it also provides services in the scope of online print as well as marketing training. During the annual leave period, even the suspension of operation of two channels may not hurt running the business, because the third channel will keep functioning. Everything here is largely simplified. The diversification needs to be varied enough for the second and consecutive branches of activity to be able to provide efficient operation of the enterprise.
Temporary employees – this is a solution which requires from us some financial expenditure. Unfortunately, not all organizations can afford such additional expenditure. The temporary-work agencies are very popular in production sectors and in places where excessive qualifications are not required. If our production requires continuity, sometimes it may seem a very good solution. It is also worth noting that an employment contract with a temporary employee may be terminated even within three days.
Task outsourcing – sometimes it may turn out that what will be better than the employment of temporary employees will be the outsourcing of tasks or the entire process. In reality, it is possible to outsource anything to the outside of the company. Starting with customer service and ending with packing parcels. Using this option gives us some sort of sense of safety because it is the company dealing with outsourcing that is responsible for keeping the continuity of ordered tasks, often under the pressure of penalties prescribed in the contract. In addition, it may turn out that, ultimately, this type of solution is more economical than the employment of employees in a given department.
Freelancers and trainees – both can save our company from the slowdown of work. During the holiday and leave periods, a lot of inquiries about practices and internships necessary to complete the year for many graduates come up at universities and on the Internet. It is worth thinking about them as people who can support our company in operation. Many of them will easily cope at various workstations and also in contact with the client. All it takes is to give them a chance. It is also worth remembering that it is good to pay for the work done during an internship, especially if the trainees do their best. Freelancers may often be the last resort when all goes wrong. The graphic designer goes on leave, their substitute breaks their leg and the computers in the company are flooded with water. Finding an appropriate person to close the order in this situation seems to be the best solution. Where to look for the magicians for such work? Groups on Facebook as well as web pages with orders are a good idea: this is where one can find some well-qualified people.
Vacation, winter holidays, long weekends, annual leaves on request…
“Annual leaves” is a word that means a break time from everyday professional obligations. This means resting, no e-mails and phone calls from work, and time spent with family or friends. Annual leave is the employee’s privilege, but at the same time, more often than not, it becomes the employer’s nightmare. During the holiday season, they have to manage the absence of subordinates and, at the same, time keep organizing the company’s work so that it can operate without generating losses. How do manage the employee’s absence and what to do so that the word “annual leave” does not make us shiver?
The issue of leaves looks quite different from the viewpoint of the employee and the employer. Truth be told, the interests of both parties are inconsistent. The employee will seek to use the free days to the maximum, which combined with holidays and weekends may result in an absence from work even for a dozen or so days. The employer sees everything from the perspective of financial results and works continuity which is necessary for the correct function of the business.
Most often, the problem occurs during vacation, winter holidays, and holidays which can transform everyday work into a series of long weekends. This problem concerns all enterprises, regardless of their size. However, it seems that the micro and small enterprises are in the worst situation: they repeatedly cannot afford additional investments, e.g. employment of temporary employees. The budgets of those organizations just do not take into account such types of situations.
The situation looks different in the case of leave on request, to which every employee is entitled. Those 4 free days which are part of the entitled leave, the employee may use even on the very day on which they are absent from work. If the employee uses the one-day absence caused by random factors, e.g. the child’s illness, then the company’s function is not threatened; however, should the employee uses up all 4 days following one another, it may turn out that e.g. one of the projects is threatened, meaning it would be necessary to look for someone who will temporarily take over the obligations.
And what if the situation is seriously bad?
However, sometimes both employer and employee might fail to foresee all situations which can occur. We are talking about disasters, malfunctions, or calamities, but also about unexpected inspections and meetings which require the presence of the employer. If it turns out that no other subordinate can replace the employee on their leave, the employer is entitled to withdraw such person from their “vacation”. The employer must hand over such information to the employee as well as take into consideration the whereabouts of the subordinate, the possibility of return, etc. The employee should treat this as an official instruction. This means that they are obliged to fulfill it regardless of their assessment of the situation. In addition, the employer bears all financial consequences of such withdrawal, e.g. flight cost.
As our lives become increasingly busy, more and more people are turning to virtual assistants to help manage their day-to-day tasks. A virtual assistant can provide a wide range of services, from scheduling annual leave to managing projects. In many cases, a virtual assistant can take on even more responsibility than an in-person assistant, as they can often work independently and remotely. This allows them to be available at all hours of the day, which can be a huge benefit for busy professionals. If you’re looking for someone to help take care of the little things in your life, a virtual assistant may be the perfect solution.
As you can see, the employer always has a few options and possibilities which may provide them with a sense of business safety in a situation when the workforce is lacking. Many people who work remotely use project management software to stay organized and on track. However, this type of software can also be useful for managing annual leave for virtual assistants. By tracking project deadlines and deliverables, project managers can ensure that tasks are still being completed even when team members are out of the office. This can be especially helpful during the summer months when many people take a vacation. By using project management software, employers can rest assured that their business will continue to run smoothly even when their employees are away.
Every solution has its advantages and disadvantages and even the earlier and properly prepared schedule of annual leaves may not be useful enough when we encounter sudden and random events on our path.
