Ask Timpo: how do I keep the office ticking over in holiday season?
Q: Any tips on avoiding everyone going away at the same time over the summer? I don't want the office to feel like a morgue and for the few that remain to see August as basically a working holiday.
A: I know what you mean about August. For years I became grumpy as I struggled to do business as usual surrounded by empty desks. Most of my telephone calls were greeted by an ansaphone – “I’m on leave for my summer break, please leave a message which I will pick up when I return to work on Tuesday September 1st.”
“Never happened in my day,” I complained, thinking of life 40 years ago when we only got two weeks holiday plus an extra day at Christmas.
Now I see it differently. Working in summer is wonderful. Less traffic on the way to an office full of peace and quiet. I get the space to do the enjoyable strategic jobs – tasks that need lots of concentration without interruption.
If August is a particularly busy time for your business, you must have a carefully managed holiday rota. Give priority to the parents of school children treating everyone else on a first come basis.
Don’t be paranoid about your half-empty office. Let others disappear to a busy beach on Ibiza or a packed pub on Anglesey and grab the opportunity to think about your future plans. And while you are there, field a few phone calls on behalf of your absent colleagues – you could discover quite a lot about them and your business.
Picture: source