November FAQ – Holiday Time Off
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts about them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
With the holidays coming up, how do I ensure I get some time off and still be fair to my team?
Are the holidays in retail really a holiday? Most would probably answer no. I have spent my entire working life in retail in some form. Somehow, I started at the deep end and was in a toy store for the first five years of my career. Talk about not having a holiday. From Thanksgiving to basically New Year, it is non-stop. And so it goes for most workers and leaders in the retail space. Manufacturing a little time off to catch your breath and relax is necessary and difficult.
I buck the trend and think six-plus day work weeks during the last month of the year are NOT a necessary part of retail. My thinking is that it is an outdated approach and not needed. Also, I’m not too fond of blackout periods and recommended schedules from corporate or centralized roles. Store and District Managers should be able to make those critical decisions for themselves and know their business the best. That said, I understand why. Without the mandated approach, every request has to be managed and discussed. It is much easier to say, “The company doesn’t allow for time off during the holidays.” Alas, it becomes a challenge to figure it all out.
Managing your time off and that of the other leaders and team members during the holiday can be brutal, but it is possible. It can be supportive of the business needs as well as the needs of the team.
Communication
Start with being clear about your expectations during the holiday. If there are specific days you know will be ‘on hands on deck,’ be clear to everyone. Communicate it early and often. Sharing a calendar of those days as soon as possible will be best to allow people to plan around that. Agree with your team on why certain times may be restricted and where exceptions may be possible.
Be Fair
The last thing you want to do is make it look like you’re giving yourself the best schedule for every part of the holiday season. Everyone has families and people they wish to spend time with. Plus, people require time to prepare for the season. It may be for decorating, travel, shopping, or just a time to catch up with life. Ask the team if there are specific days that would be best for them. You may be surprised that not everyone needs the same time windows off. They may celebrate different holidays or in other ways during the season. With so many busy families, celebrations get scheduled at different times than the most traditional dates.
Rotating the days off throughout the month can also be helpful. Trying to get everyone a weekend or just two days back to back can be a tremendous way to support their celebration needs or the desire to get other things done. That, plus having some time for relaxing or catching up on rest, is critical to surviving the season.
Be Creative
There are many ways to be creative with scheduling that can help you and your team make the most of their days off. As mentioned above, try to rotate weekends or back-to-back days off. This can be additionally supported by having an early shift on the front side of that time off and a closing shift on the backside. That can effectively give you nearly three days off. Someone traveling can fly out at night after their morning shift, have two days with friends or family, then catch a morning flight home and be at work that afternoon. There are plenty of ways like that to stretch out the time off you do have available to use for everyone.
Make Up Days
If you can offer extra days off after the holidays, that can be an excellent incentive for working the rigorous hours that December can often demand. I highly recommend you still find ways to get the rest you need during the holiday season, but knowing some extra days off are coming can be rewarding to look forward to and use once January rolls around. Even without an additional day, scheduling to create three-day weekends for your leadership team post-holiday can feel like a mini vacation.
Having a plan for how you will approach the season is step one, followed by communicating it. There is no need to succumb to the idea that December has to be a crazy grind. With some forethought and creativity, combined with open discussion across the team, everyone can enjoy the holiday season at work and home.
Happy Holiday Working Season!
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