Breaking with tradition

There's nothing more welcoming after a gruelling year running a business than those three weeks in the sun over Christmas. But like many managers who run privately owned firms, your worries over delegating work means the business is never far from your mind when you're supposed to be enjoying total shut-down.

The trouble is that if you opt for the great Kiwi Christmas shutdown and your customers don't, then you may have a problem. How much of a problem probably rests on your shoulders. But if you no longer want to play the unsung hero who's always compromising family holidays with work considerations, what should you do?

Lynn Humphrey, a partner with Blue Chip Coaching, says you must learn to empower others to attend to every likely eventuality - from a break-in, unexpected service calls, invoice queries through to that urgent export order - while you're away. But the Christmas break for many firms - especially family run businesses - brings into sharper focus an inability to cope when the boss and office manager are away.

But Mike Tisdall, managing director of Insight Communications, has noticed companies bouncing back into "business mode" a lot quicker after Christmas than previously.

"Even in our early days, if there was an opportunity to do business over the Christmas break we didn't really want it," Tisdall says. "But growing the business has meant looking after our clients all year round. That's why, these days, we make sure there's always someone on board over this time to answer queries."

Like most exporters, Tisdall says that having a sizeable amount of design and artwork based overseas has sharpened the company's approach to an otherwise quiet time of the year.

"It's been well signalled to us by our client in Britain that we need to be up and running at our normal speed during this time," Tisdall says. "But being more sensitive to the needs of export clients will help us leverage into other Britain-based business."

Humphrey contends that if staffing resources are used wisely there's no need why any company should to go into a semi-dormant holding pattern for the holidays. If you are running the company properly you should expect the same performance from the company at Christmas as at any other time of the year. If it's done with a spirit of co-operation, organising the Christmas holiday roster should ensure everyone gets an even opportunity for time off.

"The key for you, as the boss, is to communicate your concerns about manning the firm over the Christmas break," Humphrey says.

Tisdall adds that it is equally important to find out from clients and prospective customers what their requirements might be over this time. Although it can be hard getting people to work over the Christmas break, an increasing number of people are opting to work through and take longer breaks during the year.

He suspects that the flatter a company's management structure, the less of an issue it is to find people to hold the fort over Christmas. "For example, in a business like this - where there aren't a lot of pawns - 80 per cent of my staff are senior people who know how to make a business call when I'm not here without too much rule-making required," Tisdall says.

But whether you are entrusting someone for the first time or charging a senior colleague to run things while you're away, Humphrey recommends putting guidelines in place. The danger in not doing this is that people - particularly less experienced staff - tend to freeze when uncertain. Humphrey says that if it is not sufficiently clear how to handle the unexpected, then don't be surprised if those in charge make silly mistakes.

Humphrey says good managers should see the holiday season as an opportunity to delegate responsibility. "Ideally, you need to delegate to those with negotiating skills and the judgment needed to second-guess if there's a real problem."

Humphrey says it is essential to clarify expectations and establish the capabilities of those you may put in charge. Because the confidence of many staff is lower than their capabilities, it is important to express your confidence in those you trust to man the company.

To ensure the three weeks manning the company over Christmas isn't seen as a paid holiday, people need to know what criteria they'll be measured against on your return. For example, it could be a case of letting someone quote on jobs up to a certain amount, briefing them on what service call-outs are required, or what issues are important enough to require giving you a call.

Equally important is to ensure you brief those in charge on such matters as where to find the petty cash, who has the car-park keys, and whether invoices need clearing before you get back.

"There's a tendency over this time of the year for those in charge to focus on the urgent at the expense of the important," Humphrey says. "So always offer a lifeline whereby those in charge can contact you if absolutely necessary."

If opportunities for front-line sales are limited over Christmas, chances are those in charge are there primarily to man the phones if there are unexpected orders or servicing requirements. But Humphrey says that's no excuse why they can't be productive in other ways. For starters, he suggests asking yourself what you would do if you had an extra day a week to spend on developing the business? Humphrey advises managers not to slip into cruise mode this Christmas but to use the downtime to sharpen the company's competitive edge while other firms are napping.

"Delegating key tasks to one or more responsible people this Christmas break will also ensure everyone can hit the deck running in the new year. That means they won't have to spend the first week clearing a backlog of things that could easily be taken care of."

Humphrey's advice is to not let the surrogate management team sit about twiddling their thumbs and feeling sorry for themselves because everyone else is at the beach. He suggests you charge that team with completing those things you didn't have time to delegate to someone during the year. "Christmas downtime is an ideal time for more senior execs to spend more time developing other staff in key business processes."

10 tips for Christmas 

* Don't try to do it all by yourself.

* Manage leave entitlements equitably.

* Delegate important tasks to key staff.

* Ensure staff left in charge are capable.

* Develop performance criteria for those in charge.

* Explain the reasons under which you should be contacted.

* Make it clear working over Christmas isn't a paid holiday.

* Consider using downtime for staff training or report writing.

* Give key staff the scope to prove their worth.

* Don't focus on the expedient at the expense of the important.