Can you believe it’s April 1^st?  Before you know it, Memorial Day weekend will be here and the start of the summer vacation season. 

Your employees are probably already ready planning their summer vacations and time off.  But have your employees submitted all their vacation requests yet for the year?  If not, set a deadline soon so you can plan accordingly, your employees can plan and enjoy their vacations and the business will continue to run smoothly.  

If your company doesn’t have an official vacation policy, you need to put one in place.  It should include how many weeks employees are entitled to based on time of company service and official company or legal holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Set rules just in case two employees request the same time off and it’s a potential conflict due to the departments they work in and the responsibilities they hold.  Are there any particular dates employees cannot request due to busy times of the year, special promotions, etc?

And while your employees are requesting vacation time, don’t forget to set aside vacation days of your own.  With all the pressures on CEOs, company presidents and business owners these days, a long weekend or a summer vacation may be just what you need to recharge your energy and give you a fresh perspective about how to successfully continue to run the business.