Johannesburg, 30 Nov 2000
What would happen if nearly all of Santa Claus`s little helpers took leave in December and toy production fell by eighty-percent? Well, for a start, even I who have patiently waited year after year for my Ferrari would be tempted to transfer my faith in the good man to the Lotto.
Seriously, though, amidst the confusion and disorganisation that the holiday season brings, your business could lose loyal customers if you don`t carefully plan your temporary staffing requirements. Here are some tips that we have formulated over the years:
- Identify critical areas, such as those that involve customer interface, finance and IT
- Pay particular attention to customer relations, ensuring that there will always be somebody to answer the phone and provide intelligent responses to client queries
- Assess the quantity and quality of temporary staff required to ensure that these areas are unaffected by the absence of permanent employees
- When engaging temporary staff, allow for a reasonable handover period, which will enable the temp to become fully acquainted with systems and procedures
- Provide temps with a full list of key internal contacts, their role in decision making and problem solving, and their availability
- Attention to details that include, sufficient stationery to last the holiday period, signed cheques to pay creditors delivering critical services and allocation of security-related responsibilities will go a long way towards avoiding Christmas chaos
It has been said that the true reflection of a manager`s capabilities is how efficiently the business or department functions when he or she is absent. Don`t let the silly season make a fool out of you.
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