For many businesses, the last quarter of the year is the busiest and most time-strapped time of year – leading up to the start of the holiday season. For smooth, uninterrupted workflow and peace of mind, there is a lot to recommend being well prepared before closing for the holidays or resorting to a skeleton staff. Here are seven tips to avoid holiday stress and ensure that you start 2025 on the front foot.
1. Firm up your holiday dates
If you do not exercise a blanket company shut down at year end, decide on which days you will close and your operating hours over the festive season. Let your team know in good time so they can plan.
- Provide employees with a deadline for their leave applications so you can plan workflow accordingly.
- If you use a skeleton staff, establish a staff rotation now to avoid last minute shuffling of resources.
- Consider hiring temporary staff if required and ensure you have the time for handovers and to train any temporary staff properly.
2. Make certain you do not run out of stock and office supplies
Some merchants have year-end last order and shipping cut-off dates as early as November and will only resume business in the middle of January.
- Take stock to ascertain what office supplies and stock are required to ensure your business has what it needs to continue operating until your suppliers reopen in the new year.
- Place your orders well in time to avoid last-minute catastrophes.
3. Make sure your insurance is up to date
Always plan for the unexpected.
- Make sure all your company’s insurance policies and important documents are up to date and easily accessible.
- Check your security systems are functioning properly. Should you claim, your insurers will review if your security system and electrical fencing were properly maintained and functional at the time of an incident.
- Remain aware of cyber risk – especially over the festive season. Organise and back up your data and update your passwords before you go on leave.
- Arrange who within the company will be the contact person in case of emergency.
4. Do not allow your marketing to come to a halt
Just because most people are on holiday does not mean that marketing your business should come to a standstill. A well-planned holiday marketing strategy is important for business continuity in 2025.
- Review your previous year-end marketing campaigns. What worked well and what did not? This will help guide you on what to do again and where you can improve. For example:
- Target your existing database with a personalised email campaign that wishes your clients and prospects well over the festive season. This will help drive traffic to your website.
- Create and schedule a calendar of social media posts that cover December and January. Include feel-good, holiday-themed social media posts that engage and inspire your followers and spread festive cheer.
- To help momentum, run a competition or giveaway in the New Year once the buzz of the festive season is set to fade.
5. Plan staff appreciation
Year-end is a great time to acknowledge and reward your team for what they have accomplished over the past twelve months, and to motivate them for the year ahead.
- Build a reward ceremony into your year-end event – be it lunch, a party, or an informal get-together at the office – to acknowledge your hard-working employees in front of their peers.
- The rewards do not have to be financial. Consider giving your team members valuable non-monetary rewards like the opportunity to take their birthday off or receive skills development and training.
- Give each staff member a hand-written thank you note that acknowledges their unique contribution over the year.
6. Plan client appreciation
Client appreciation goes a long way to helping you build strong relationships with the very people who keep you in business.
- A thoughtful gift is a great way to make your clients feel special and appreciated as the year draws to a close – and it does not have to be an expensive gift.
- Make it special by adding a handwritten note to each gift, expressing your personal gratitude for each client’s support over the past year.
- Acknowledge your key clients by creating a series of client spotlights as part of your festive social media marketing campaign.
7. Allow time for qualitative reflection
It is as important to reflect on the qualitative aspects of your business as it is to set next year’s budget. These are important aspects of the health of your business that center on employee well-being and a positive workplace culture. They can be observed but are harder to measure. As the year draws to a close, ask yourself these questions:
- How were stress and anxiety levels across your team or company this year?
- Did people show signs of burnout?
- What were attitudes like between employees and managers?
- Was there any sign of a toxic culture developing inside the company?
- Did people and teams collaborate well?
- Did business outcomes this year align with, and support, the company’s mission?
The answers to these questions will help to plan action steps toward setting goals for 2025. They will also give valuable insight on whether your plans for 2025 are realistic, or if achieving them without first taking corrective action will damage your business.
Over to you for sharing your comments and experiences.
About the Author: Kerstin Jatho
Kerstin is the senior transformational coach and team development facilitator for 4Seeds Consulting. She is also the author of Growing Butterfly Wings, a book on applying positive psychology principles during a lengthy recovery. Her passion is to develop people-centred organisations where people thrive and achieve their potential in the workplace. You can find Kerstin on LinkedIn, Soundcloud, YouTube and Facebook.
