Five important tips for organizing vacation replacement

"During the vacations, employees should recharge their batteries without worrying about job matters," emphasizes Yeng Chow, Senior Manager at Robert Half in Zurich. "Holiday handovers therefore not only help colleagues who have to take over tasks. Above all, they serve to actually be able to completely switch off and regenerate during the vacations. If recreation comes up short during the time off, lower productivity and lack of motivation can be expected upon return," says Chow. To help employees enjoy their well-deserved vacation, Robert Half recalls some tips for the perfect vacation handover.

Organize vacation replacement successfully with these 5 tips:

1. The early bird catches the worm: Inform in good time: Remind your colleagues at least one to two weeks before your last day of work and plan enough time for the handover. No one is focused at 5 p.m. on Fridays, so the appointment should take place earlier. This will give your colleagues enough time to ask you questions after the meeting. You should also allow a buffer for yourself: Don't schedule important tasks or appointments just before the vacation to avoid unnecessary stress. In any case, it is advisable to record all responsibilities, tasks and external contacts in writing. This document will serve as a reminder to your colleagues and will also come in handy if a substitute drops out and someone else has to step in.
2. Clear responsibilities: Clearly designate vacation replacement: Regulate exactly who represents you and bears responsibility. In this way, you prevent tasks from not being processed due to unclear responsibility. If the rules are clear, your colleagues will have sufficient opportunity to consult with you. In this way, it can be clarified at an early stage whether your intended substitute has sufficient capacity available. If this is not the case, you should better look for an alternative in consultation with your supervisor. It often makes sense to delegate your tasks to several colleagues in order to distribute the load evenly.
3. Tidying up and creating a to-do list is half the vacation: An unstructured return can quickly undo the recovery. Two simple measures can help against this: First, you should create order on your desk and in your documents so that you are not overwhelmed by the chaos on your desk after your return. Secondly, you should create a to-do list for the time after your vacation. Both will help you to motivate yourself in the first days after your return and to prioritize tasks properly.
4. "I'm off then": Write an out-of-office note: Even if you have informed your most important contacts about your vacation in advance, an out-of-office note is essential. This should contain the following information: The date of your return, the contact of your vacation replacement, and an indication of whether the email will be forwarded. If necessary, you should also set up a forwarding of your phone to your colleagues.
5. For managers: Clarify telephone availability during vacation: Particularly in managerial positions, it is often contractually agreed that you must be available even when you are on vacation. In this case, you should set fixed times when you answer the phone or reply to e-mails. This way, your colleagues will know when they can get information from you and won't disturb you on an inappropriate occasion. In addition, this approach is more efficient and you get better rest than to look at the cell phone or laptop every now and then in between.

Thus, nothing should stand in the way of recreation during the vacations.

Source: Robert Half