Start-ups: Preparing Your Staff to Weather the Holidays

Clients:

October 20 – Nov 5 is prime time for getting your closure dates out and also for asking in advance for any changes that your clients may need.

Technicians:

Your technicians need to know that you will be very busy right before and after the holiday and will need them to be present. Setting up a black-out time frame can help them to prepare.

Office Staff:

You need to know that they will be spending more time on the phones and handling scheduling changes. They will need to adjust their schedules accordingly. It’s a good time to review telephone techniques and even conflict management.

You:

You need to know that staff may struggle to get their basic duties done – provide support. People may be crabby about not getting as much time off to spend with family as they’d like. Commiserate and appreciate their commitment.

Clients:

Let them know your policy about cleaning decorations, around trees, etc. If they have sentimental items out for the holidays, explain how your company handles them as well.

Technicians:

Give them a heads-up about the situations they may be dealing with. Remind everyone about policies for handling decorations and how you would like them to deal with additional time requirements.

Office Staff:

Alert them that their scheduling procedures may need to include adding a small buffer for homes that go BIG during the holidays. Be sure to keep those notes in the client file for the future.

You:

There are opportunities for you to make more money – how can you help? Can you put up lights or trees? Take them down? Pack decorations away for the season? Clean spare rooms in anticipation of guests? Look for ways you can make the season more joyful – and reap the rewards.

Clients:

Let them know your policy for handling tips/gratuities. If your policy is for the tips to be shared, you don’t want a $100.00 Christmas check written out to Sandra, who always cleans the home. It will be hard for Sandra to hand that over without feeling a bit of resentment.

Technicians:

Make sure they understand your tip/gratuity process and are in agreement with it. If they aren’t, the handling of gifts, money, etc., could end up being called into question. That conversation rarely ends well for all parties.

Office Staff:

Explain your policy so there isn’t resentment. Are there extra treats around for snacking? Will there be a bonus? A clear understanding of what you do and why will staunch much of the potential resentment.

You:

There will be questions no matter what policy you have. Answer them thoroughly and with conviction. If you need ideas, there are MANY on the LinkedIn boards. The ARCSI board has a new discussion each year and you can always revisit those from past years as well (use the Search option just under the group logo).

Clients:

Do your best not to make changes without warning. More communication about even the smallest of things will reduce the chances that your clients will blow. Everything, including very minor damage, showing up 5 minutes late, a hair on the floor, and someone new on the team that wasn’t expected can be triggers for even the nicest of clients. Remain calm, don’t take it personally, and fix the problem if at all possible, no matter whose fault it was. Smile A LOT!

Technicians:

Make sure they understand that the clients will be ultra-picky at this time. Remind them to follow policies to the letter to keep from having to deal with irate clients. Co-workers may also be on edge. Remind everyone to have patience and not take things too much to heart.

Office Staff:

Prepare them for the inevitable Grinchy call. Give them tools to help them deal with it before it happens. Make it a game to see how many days go by without a call, or buy a treat every time someone handles one of them well.

You:

You aren’t immune most likely. Be on your guard. Don’t let it show. Call your friend or family if you need to vent, but keep it away from work. Be the shining light in everyone’s day no matter what they have to deal with. Be helpful.

Clients:

If you have been doing something in the past, the expectation has been set. Either continue doing what you’ve done in the past or begin reducing in small amounts. Many companies are happy to send just a card.

Technicians AND Office Staff:

Telling them what exactly will be happening will make the entire season run more smoothly. Having a plan to do nothing that everyone knows about will cause you less friction than throwing a party that was unplanned, or even getting a bonus they didn’t know about. Directly after the excitement of receiving it come the questions “How much did you get?” “Why did he/she get that much?” and on and on. Avoid this scenario by telling everyone your plans at the beginning of the season.

You:

Your budget can take a pretty hard hit if you just start acting on emotion. Make a plan for what you can afford – hopefully you did it in January and have been preparing all along. If not, make it part of your routine and Annual Action Plan in January 2014.