Rain or shine, snow or fog, people normally take to the roads or the airways for travel in July, August, November and December, leaving most businesses routinely understaffed and experiencing vacation downtime. As business leaders, your reaction to this recurring reality can mean the difference between profit and loss each year. You need to optimize your effectiveness during your downsized holiday times.

Businesses today are faced with a growing consumer demand for 24-hour service. That said, we will begin with the assumption that we don't hang a 'gone fishin' sign outside our office during the heavy holiday periods. Survival in business today requires permanency in the marketplace. Namely, your operations must be available to clients, in one form or another, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Even on Christmas day, your customers should be thinking about you as they read the holiday greeting that you warmly sent to them.

Here are ten easy-to-implement tips to optimize your organization during the annual pilgrimage seasons to prevent vacation downtime.

Drop the Guilt Trip
No one should feel guilty about taking vacation time, and yet, sometimes, people feel as though their holiday time is an imposition to their company. Establishing a holiday-friendly environment will reduce stress levels and help to build trust in an organization. Ensure that there is a climate of encouragement where holidays are concerned.

It is important for people to get away and re-charge their batteries, and managers should be encouraged to show support for their team members' plans. With team support and encouragement, people will look forward to returning to the office after some time off.

Implement Effective Holiday Forecasting Tools
If you don’t already, it is essential to have a standard holiday forecasting tool that is visible to managers for resource planning. While flexibility is understood, forecasting is an essential ingredient for successful, pro-active resource planning. If people in your organization are lazy about completing forecast sheets in advance, be creative in your approach.

Create a forecast log that includes destination and activity, and offer a prize for the best, or most creative vacation plan. You might also request that the winner make a semi-official presentation about the trip for team members upon his return to work. This will build presentation skills and foster morale simultaneously.

Develop Desk Guides
A desk guide is a document that explains what tasks relating to a specific position (or desk) need to be accomplished, and how they are accomplished. Prepared well, these guides make it easy to cover for a person "missing in action." The desk guide should be prepared by each person whose position in the company will require coverage during an absence. (Let's assume that's every position in your company. If it's not, you’ve got some thinking to do.)

Ideally, the desk guide will include essential tasks required; a schedule of tasks; the location of any necessary forms, documents, and resources essential in getting the job done; and important contact information. Desk guides should be written in a "recipe-like" format with the understanding that the person using it will probably be less familiar with the work than the process owner who wrote it.

- Article by Wale Bello

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