Do you get questions like these:
• I have 3 weeks of vacation saved up! Can I take all 3 at once?
• I would like every Friday and Monday off, even during tax season…
• I know it’s end of month, but I’d really like to go away (again).
You know, it is OK to say NO! Your employees will respect you if you have fair and easy-to -follow rules in place; and one of those rules could be just that vacation requests must be reviewed and approved.
If the same person wants every Friday off, but others are waiting in line for their Friday off, maybe come up with a rotation. If it’s busy season and you just cannot live without that employee, kindly let them know that you will approve vacation when it is not so busy.
As we move through the summer, you may get last minute requests too. A first come, first serve policy is usually good to have in place, provided no one is abusing the policy. ( You know, putting in for time off 3 years out…. “just in case.”)
Try to avoid too many blanket rules if you can and get comfortable saying NO. If it is the busy season but someone has worked their tail off, you may be able to let them sneak out a few hours early on a Friday. Maybe someone has had a birth in the family and an extra day off won’t “kill” the work flow. Your employees will appreciate the “we’ll see what we can do but no promises” type answers way over the “nope, no one can have time off then” answers.
Speaking of vacations… Where is the last amazing place you vacationed? Post a pic of your vacation to our Facebook page and you could win a $5 Starbucks gift card!