If your business is closing down over Christmas, and you’re looking forward to clocking of for an extended festive break, you’ll no doubt already be winding down and counting the hours until you can switch on the out of office. The trouble is, switching off completely means there’s a chance you’ll come back to a packed inbox and a full answerphone.
But a little bit of preparation before you break up could help your colleagues to keep things ticking over and make sure you come back to an organised office that’s ready to take the new year by storm.
How to ensure it’s business as usual during the Christmas close-down
If you want to make sure things run smoothly with a skeleton staff, and ensure you’re good to go in the New Year, check out these top tips.
Get rid of any clutter
We normally put off de-cluttering until Spring, but just before Christmas is as good a time as any to have a sort out. So, before you clock-off for Christmas, take a bit of time out to organise your desk and your in-tray, shredding any old paperwork or unused documents that could be cluttering up your workstation. And make sure your colleagues have access to any files they might need while you’re away.
Once the clutter has been cleared, take this opportunity to properly file away documents, maybe even implementing a new, more efficient system. And don’t forget to have a sort out of any digital documents, taking the time to process any work that may have slipped through the net and been de-prioritised.
Organise your out of office
Before you leave, set the Out Of Office function on your email software to send automated messages to anyone who sends an email over the quiet Christmas period, and don’t forget to do the same on your office phone by updating your outgoing message to state when you’ll be back in thr office, as well as any emergency contacts.
Ditch the 9-to-5
If you’re usually strict about when the working day starts and ends, it’s a good idea to relax things a little over the festive period. Flexible working is all about compromise, so it’ll go a long way with your staff if you allow them to use quieter periods to spend with family, so long as they agree to make sure they’re around when things get busier.
This flexible approach could also mean people are prepared to come in on those ‘dead’ days between Christmas and New Year, if necessary, which could allow you to take some time off.
Stay in touch with a conference call
It may be that you take a couple of days to work from home before you clock-off completely, in which case you might still have a few meetings to attend – but instead of going back into the office, stay in touch via conference call instead. To set up a conference call, simply enter your email address at ConferenceCall.co.uk and we’ll send you your unique PIN number to get started.
Find out more at our guide on how to make a conference call.
