3 Ways SMBs Can Prepare for Holiday Season Success

Quick look: As the holiday season approaches, businesses face the dual challenge of wrapping up end-of-year tasks and giving employees much-deserved downtime. To navigate this balance effectively, leaders can focus on three key strategies: smart scheduling, proactive productivity planning, and meaningful employee recognition.

The winter holidays are often a busy time for employees, filled with family celebrations, school breaks, and year-end deadlines.

To help teams manage these demands and set the stage for a strong year ahead, employers must strike a balance between productivity and flexibility.

By planning schedules carefully, managing workloads early, and recognizing employee efforts, leaders can support their teams while keeping work moving smoothly. Here are some tips on how to do all three of those things:

1. Mindful holiday scheduling

The end of the year tends to be busy across industries. Retailers may see a surge in customer activity, marketing teams often rush to complete final projects, and educators juggle school breaks and maintaining classroom focus.

During this period, leaders must fine-tune their scheduling; too few employee hours can lead to missed deadlines and weaker customer service, while too little downtime can result in burnout, lower morale, and higher turnover. Here are a few ways to help prevent those hiccups:

Define and communicate coverage needs

Well before the holiday season begins, leaders should clearly communicate expected workloads and set transparent guidelines for their teams.

For instance, a retail store may establish specific “blackout days” when time off isn’t permitted. Sharing this information early helps ensure adequate coverage while giving employees the opportunity to plan their well-earned time off during more flexible periods.

Set a deadline for requesting paid time off (PTO)

Choosing a deadline for holiday PTO requests encourages staff to plan their time off in advance and helps minimize last-minute callouts during peak periods.

Disclaimer: PTO policies are subject to specific legal guidelines and company policies, which employers must follow to ensure compliance. PTO eligibility, accrual, and usage may vary based on location and employment terms. Employers are responsible for adhering to federal, state, and local regulations governing PTO.

Offer incentives

The holidays can be challenging. According to recent research by the American Psychological Association, 41% of Americans are more stressed during this season than other times of the year.

While some may choose to work to stay busy or earn extra income, offering holiday pay boosts or an additional day off is a thoughtful way to thank employees for covering tough shifts and to provide a bit of added financial support.

Be mindful of compliance

It’s important for business leaders to understand the legal requirements surrounding holiday work schedules. While private employers typically aren’t required to provide paid holidays for nonexempt employees, exempt employees must usually receive their full salary if they work any part of the week, even during holidays or office closures.

At the time of this blog, Rhode Island is the only state with a law mandating premium holiday pay. Under RI General Law 25-3, most employers must pay at least 1.5 times the regular rate for work on Sundays and the following holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Victory Day (the second Monday in August)
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list of employment laws. Please refer to your regional and industry-specific legal guidelines or consult your legal counsel for detailed and specific information.

2. Preserving productivity

Maintaining a smooth workflow over the holidays starts with planning ahead and developing a strong team that’s ready to cover for one another. Some ways to achieve this include:

Hiring seasonal staff

Seasonal employees are temporary hires brought in to handle peak demand, often during the winter holidays. Approximately 75,000 U.S. seasonal workers support industries ranging from accounting to tourism. These staff can help organizations:

• Reduce burnout levels and turnover
• Provide consistent levels of customer service
• Decrease lost sales
• Maintain a positive reputation
• Potentially save on future recruiting costs

Cross-training ahead of time

Cross-training, or teaching workers tasks beyond their usual responsibilities, pays off year-round, and especially during the holiday season. When employees can cover for one another, operations remain smooth and the entire workforce benefits from stability.

This training also supports professional growth, enabling workers to broaden their skills and prepare for potential internal career opportunities.

3. Showing appreciation to your team

The holidays are the perfect time to show appreciation for your team. Three ways to do this include:

• Celebrating together: End-of-year celebrations boost morale, strengthen team bonds, reduce stress, and honor your team’s efforts. These events are also an opportunity to recognize various cultural and religious traditions, demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). For remote staff, consider hosting hybrid events, offering online activities, or providing celebration kits so everyone can join in the festivities.
• Giving a thoughtful gift: A personalized gift or a handwritten card from a manager conveys genuine gratitude.
• Establishing an employee recognition program: These strategic programs show thankfulness year-round by aligning with the company’s goals and values and rewarding workers’ efforts with awards, shout-outs, prizes, and more.

These gestures can have a tremendous business impact; Forbes reports that employees who receive regular recognition are more productive, safer, less absent, and more likely to stay.

Ring in the holidays with the right HR support

Winter brings a unique challenge for business leaders: balancing company goals with allowing employees (and themselves) time to rest and recharge. And while juggling these two needs can be complex, a professional employer organization (PEO) can help.

A PEO is a human resources (HR) outsourcing partner that supports small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with HR, benefits, payroll, compliance, and more. A PEO like ExtensisHR for example, can help companies celebrate the holidays both festively and efficiently by providing:

• HR guidance: Assistance with creating and updating holiday policies, learning and development initiatives, employee recognition programs, and more.
• Time and labor management: Tools for scheduling, attendance, overtime, and timecard oversight.
• Payroll administration: Access to a dedicated payroll specialist for payroll processing, tax filing, reporting, and more.
• Full-cycle recruiting solutions: Available at no additional cost with our PEO solution, including everything from job advertisement creation to offer letter consultations.

Ideally, the holiday season gives companies a chance to relax while also strengthening their culture and laying the foundation for a productive new year. And a PEO like ExtensisHR can make that possible.

Temperatures may fall during the holidays, but your business’s productivity doesn’t have to. Explore ExtensisHR’s PEO solution, or contact us today to learn how we can help you operate smoothly year-round and give everyone the rest and recognition they deserve.