Are employee holidays affecting your organisation’s output? Find out how Handdy can help track employee attendance and engagement.
The importance of taking time off can’t be understated. Employees need time to relax, unwind and recharge their batteries for the sake of their well-being. While they’re away, your organisation must be able to manage their absence effectively.
Contracted employees are entitled to annual leave, but spending time away from work has become increasingly difficult since the beginning of the pandemic as businesses fight to survive under challenging circumstances.
So how can you handle the balancing act of holiday and productivity? Find out with Handdy.
How Important Is Time Off from Work?
Mounting economic pressure has put incredible stress on the global workforce. Annual leave and holidays were put on hold as businesses wrestled with their new circumstances, but the argument for better employee well-being has been reinforced as the modern workplace evolves.
Taking time off is a proven way of keeping employees healthy and productive at work. Annual leave is essential in mitigating stress and avoiding burnout, and it’s up to employers to grant their staff the leave they deserve unless they’re prepared to face an onslaught of sick days and resignations.
In light of these challenges, how can businesses stop planned absences from affecting their output?
How to Stop Holidays Affecting Productivity?
In the new, totally transformed world of work, we’ve witnessed numerous instances of mishandled leave requests at the highest level, so it’s vital that your company has a fair, compassionate and consistent approach to retain employees.
If employee absences are interfering with your organisation’s output, there are several things you can do to regain control of the situation, allowing employees to rest and recharge while your company carries on as usual:
1. Ensure COVID-Safe Policies Stay in Place
If your employees are coming into the office, COVID-safe policies will protect your workforce from catching colds — or anything else — from their colleagues. Encourage social distancing, ensure plenty of hand sanitising stations are present and promote the use of face coverings in communal areas or when interacting with coworkers.
2. Promote a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Make your expectations clear — you don’t want your staff working all hours of the day. Working all the time may yield short-term productivity gains, but they’re likely to burn out if it continues, resulting in unplanned sick leave. If employees are reluctant to book annual, or even worse, book time off to catch up on work, it’s likely an indication that they have too much on their plate, can’t handle their current responsibilities, or something is going on outside of work that’s affecting their performance.
It could also highlight issues across your team, particularly if some employees aren’t pulling their weight. Employee monitoring software is useful in finding out the truth about what really happens during your employees’ workday. This helps protect your most driven and conscientious employees
3. Encourage Employees to Book Time Off Early
Give your employees every opportunity to book time off throughout the year so that you manage your capacity. Keep a close eye on your annual leave requests leading up to major public holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, as a large percentage of employees will want time off during the holiday season. Preparing your organisation for these periods will help everyone get the time off they need without putting undue stress on other employees.
4. Be Strict About Notice on Leave
Only under exceptional circumstances should employees be allowed to take time off at short notice. Last-minute requests should be handled compassionately but shouldn’t come at an unreasonable cost to their fellow employees. Make sure that your holiday policy outlines the cut-off for submissions and check employee attendance daily — especially if you’re working remotely — to ensure your staff are at work when they say they are.
5. Make Employee Handovers More Efficient
Establish handover processes that don’t leave employees in the dark about the work they need to cover while staff are on leave. If work needs to be reassigned, it should be agreed in advance of employees taking time off. In the event of unplanned absences, it’s essential that you have employees that can deputise for their coworkers. Not only will this make operations more efficient, but the extra responsibilities will also help with employee development.
It’s worth noting that taking time off while working from home is just as important as it was pre-pandemic. Encouraging your employees to book some well-earned time off regardless of their working arrangements will promote staff well-being, just so long as your organisation operates as it should in their absence.
Managing Employee Holiday Effectively with Handdy
Planned time off is linked with better mental health and has numerous benefits for employers and employees alike. Using employee monitoring software is crucial for any business that’s adopted a remote, flexible and hybrid working model. Not only will it help you keep track of employee attendance, but it’ll assist you in spotting any issues with absences, allowing you to manage employee annual leave requests effectively.
Get a free unlimited trial of Handdy and find out how we make managing your employees easy. Need more information? Feel free to get in touch and discover Handdy’s capabilities.
