“Vacation” – it’s a term that employees love. After all, who wouldn’t want to take off from work and spend a couple of weeks relaxing? Most of us would. But, the sad reality is that most of us don’t. Yes, it does sound surprising, but the fact is that most employees do not make use of their allotted vacation days.
There are several reasons for this. Some employers feel that going on vacation can jeopardize their careers while others simply feel like they’d be slowing down daily operations by not being present.
However, it’s the job of employers and managers to ensure that employees get to enjoy some time off. This is exactly why vacations need to be planned, especially in sectors such as manufacturing. If you want your daily operations to go smoothly, you need to have a production plan in place, but a production plan is useless if it doesn’t factor in vacation time.
The right practices
In order to ensure that employee vacations are planned appropriately, there are a few basic steps that you need to implement.
The first is to develop a ‘Vacation Policy’. This policy must be communicated to all your employees and more importantly, it must be enforced. All this needs to be done consistently.
When developing a vacation policy, make sure you focus on matters such as how much vacation time employees are allowed, when a request can or should be made, blackout dates (dates that cannot be allocated for vacation), and factors that determine blackout dates (seasonal demand, new product launches, other holidays).
The policy must also discuss laws (state and federal) that affect vacation requests and other topics such as who gets to approve the request, and whether or not vacation days can be carried over to another period.
Leverage technology
If your organization is home to more than 50 employees, especially in terms of production or manufacturing, you will need a WFM or Workforce Management software to help you manage and coordinate vacation requests.
WFM programs make it much easier to track employee scheduling along with time and attendance.
Failure to keep an eye on vacation time can lead to a host of issues. Workers need a break and if they don’t get it, you’re the one who’s going to suffer from reduced productivity and low-quality work. After a point, even your most loyal and productive employees will wander off in search of greener pastures.
So, make sure your employees get their vacation and make sure you plan it in advance.
If you need to plan your employee’s shifts and vacation days effectively and efficiently, we have the solution for you. With Planday, the most powerful online employee scheduling software available – you can easily create and share a schedule, communicate with employees and handle your HR processes. Contact us now for more information or to schedule a demo.
