How do you manage a flood of out-of-office requests from your team? (holidays, etc.) Do you have any set agreement with them if a certain number needs to be on duty? How do you plan ahead to avoid disaster if a large number are out?
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VP of IT in Banking2 years ago
We plan according, always having enough on duty.Global Senior Director - Security in Telecommunication2 years ago
My expereince is that self-management is often the best option for my team. Unfortunately it's not possible for all duties and Digital tools are a helpful hand to mange potential overlaps of OoO requests. That allows transparency and fair processes for all to avoid first come first serve handling.Director of IT in Services (non-Government)2 years ago
we have 24/7 presence with mitigation and contracts in place in case of emergency Senior Director Engineering in Travel and Hospitality2 years ago
The team is built on trust and what we generally do is to ask the team to self manage.Teams are expected to know each others plans well in advance compared to a manager, and it helps if they are able to work it out between themselves on how to spread out their out-of-offices.
Though this is a best case scenario, spreading out the team globally also helps in mitigating the holiday needs through the year.
One last bit, as a manager/leader of the team, you might have to take a tough call to decline a holiday ask, but thats something you vest went you are left with other option like asking for remote working, half day off or other creative modes to balance the needs of the employee and of the business
Work with your managers to make sure you have critical staffing even in contingency situations like a natural disaster. This should be part of a documented DR/BC plan.
Maximize employee flexibility so that employees will accept an occasional “sorry but no” when they all ask for the same period off work etc. Say yes as often as possible.