Previous Dilemma:
Help! I’m getting ulcers from vacation requests

Murphy’s Law is in full force along with the summer heat. Somehow, many employees on my team tend to request vacation on the same weeks. Last year, I struggled to decide who gets first dibs on popular vacation dates. The aftermath was nasty, and I don’t want to go through that again.

Yes, I want to my team to take its well-deserved time off. But how can I be fair without leaving the business shorthanded? Should I go by seniority, hold a drawing or what?

— Judy, Manager

Human resources departments in many companies tend to have policies to help managers deal with vacation requests. But not all companies, especially small businesses, have the luxury of a vacation process in place. Without rules, the managers rely on an ad hoc process, which often leads to problems.

It sounds like this company needs to develop guidelines. Not to worry, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Readers and experts give tips for creating a fair process for granting vacation:

• Assign on a first-come basis.
• Provide a deadline.
• Create an effective seniority program.
• Involve employees.

Oh, and make sure you take a day or two off to reward yourself for a job well done and chasing away the ulcers.

Got another great tip for dealing with vacation requests? Join the conversation by leaving a comment. Or ask your own question.

Assign on a first-come basis

The most popular advice from readers is to approve vacation assignments on a first-come, first-served basis. This rule is tough to beat, but companies may have rules that won’t work with that approach such as seniority. Add to that, companies with employees in unions have to comply with the union’s rules.

If assigning vacation days as you get requests doesn’t work for you, readers offer other options.

Provide a deadline

Rather than just letting employees submit vacation requests whenever, give them a deadline to encourage them to plan. “I found that by designing a vacation plan up front, I have avoided the ‘vacation jam.’ Simply, I clarified several times of the year where there is black-out scheduling, meaning no vacation time granted. Of course, you have to account for emergencies, but overall, this immediately ensures that you have the appropriate coverage for the busiest times,” says Rachel Aidan, Aidan James Salon.

Create an effective seniority program

Companies using the seniority approach see this as an opportunity to reward long-time employees without any extra costs except the price of frustrating less senior employees. The problem with seniority is that employees with shorter service time have to wait on everyone ahead of them to schedule vacations before they can act.

David Weichenthal, CEO, Schedule Tech, proposes a modified seniority scheme. “The advantage is that you can shorten the vacation scheduling process from months to a day or less. Every employee submits up to three choices for the first week of vacation, second week of vacation and the remaining weeks by a certain date.”

If conflicts arise, Bettina Seidman, president of SEIDBET Associates, recommends speaking to the people involved and finding out how critical the requested dates are.

Weichenthal adds, “A manager goes through the requests and creates a schedule. If a manager can’t accommodate an employee’s three choices for a week, the manager moves on to the employee’s next three requests or on to the next employee. After scheduling vacation for all employees, those employees who struck out submit a second set of requests.”

Involve employees

“Remember corporate America is not a democracy, but a business that must be operational,” says Patty Sharkey, vice president of human resources for Greenlaw Partners. “Work with your employees. Determine applicable boundaries, i.e., two staff members must work. Explain the rationale behind the business requirements. Then bring the vacation policy to your team to work out the basics.” Sharkey has had good experience with this approach, and employees value having a voice.

Managers can further empower employees by letting them brainstorm rules. “Generate an abundance of schemes for allotting vacation time. Get creative. The more schemes the better. Take time out so that your team can go find out how other companies do this,” says Ann Latham, president and founder of Uncommon Clarity, Inc. “Evaluate each scheme against the factors and agree on the best fit. Promise to collect feedback and new ideas to tweak the method for the future.”

Aidan has another idea: “I also direct staff to work together to find coverage for projects or coverage. This way by the time there is a request, we usually have adequate coverage in place.”

Latham continues, “There is no perfect process, but if your team believes the process is fair, they are much more likely to put up with any shortcomings.” says Latham.

Joann Perahia, vice president of Systemic Solutions Inc., gives us some advice to remember. “The last words of wisdom are, ‘TOUGH, we all can’t get what we want at the same time.’ Put rules in place to lessen the whining and disgruntled employees. In this day and age, they should be happy they have a job.”

Doesn’t reading this make you want to take a vacation? How does your team handle the vacation dilemma? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or ask your most pressing question.