Career Hub
It’s that time of year again. The kids have been released from their school-shaped cage. That traffic-fuelled commute has almost become a pleasant early morning drive. The office is derelict. The only thing remaining that confirms people once worked here are the ringing out of office phones and a few stained coffee mugs that are starting to develop a greenish hue.
It’s summer.
Soon it will be your turn to take that annual leave you’ve had planned, be it a trip to the alps with friends or a family retreat to Cornwall.
Whatever your plans for this summer, it’s essential to make sure you prepare yourself and the office for your impending departure.
Here are five helpful tips taken from Robert Half on how to prepare for your annual leave.
- Identify your cover – If you’re right in the midst of a major project, speak to your line manager or colleagues about having someone stand in for you during your absence. Brief them up on what’s required of them and give them clear instructions. Make sure whoever takes over is equipped to look after your workload though!
- Work out what’s not so important – Not everything will need urgent cover. For instance, making sure that email gets sent to that company you’ve been meaning to get back to for weeks now, is probably not that urgent. Stuff like this can be left until you return. There’s no need to over-encumber yourself or your cover with medial tasks; this will only see less time spent on core duties.
- Let people know your availability – It’s important that people know how, or if they can reach you during your break. A great way to start is with a customised autoreply email and outgoing voicemail. Be fun with it, but try not to rub it in people’s faces that you’ll be sipping on a cocktail on a beach in Marmaris whilst they’re labouring away at some excel sheets.
- Prepare others – Nobody likes surprises. You might think you like surprises, but when it comes to the workplace, nobody really likes surprises. Expecting an angry customer to get in contact whilst your away? Expecting the CEO to drop in for a visit that you totally didn’t plan your holiday around? Warn your colleagues, otherwise you could end up with a very cold welcome back to work!
- Tie up loose ends for your return – Try to free up your schedule the days before you leave so there aren’t any nasty surprises or last-minute changes needed to be done. If there’s anything urgent that needs addressing before you leave, now is the time to do it.
Don’t leave stuff until you get back if you believe it will come back to haunt you when you return!
Take for instance, booking yourself on a CIPD programme. DPG offer a range of programmes suited to helping you progress in your career or finding that new job you’ve been looking for. If you book now, you can relax and forget about it until you return, recharged and ready to Develop yourself!
Holidays are a little slice of escape, so the most important thing is that you relax and enjoy yourself for that small time in the year you get to yourself and family. Hopefully, these tips will help you maximise your relaxation and make that Vodka lemonade taste that much sweeter.
Learn more about our HR CIPD qualifications.
