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A guide to effectively navigating HR issues over Christmas [Infographic]
Discover 9 Christmas HR issues and how to tackle them with Sage People’s timely holiday advice
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- December 21st, 2018
It’s the most wonderful time of the year however the Christmas period can be a challenging time for HR teams with plenty of things to work through including addressing employee’s low productivity, sickness, holiday requests, flexible work requests and bonuses/incentives.
Do not fear, human resource teams can provide experiences that their people will thank them for through good planning and a little help from Sage People who have developed a timely infographic with holiday HR issues and advice. The infographic breaks down 9 Holiday HR issues and provides guidance on how human resource teams can deal with them.
Some of the key takeaways include:
#1 The power of incentive
Incentives are an important part of the holiday period, with gifting/bonuses popular across many businesses. Properly used incentives can also be an effective way of keeping people motivated during a notoriously unproductive time of the year.
Sage People note that cash bonuses aren’t the only way to motivate employees with 86% of US workers saying that simply being recognised motivates them in their job. Another incentive that can be effective is flexible working assuming that the employee completes their work or makes up their hours.
#2 Be clear about the rules around absenteeism
Managing absenteeism, especially around Christmas, is a challenge. The day after the office party is particularly challenging with research suggesting that 60% of workers in the UK are upfront about the fact they are too hungover to come to work the day after the office party and 32% call in sick.
Sage People advise that the best way to deal with this is to have a clear absenteeism and sickness policy and politely remind all staff about this over the Christmas period.
#3 Be flexible with leave during Christmas
Christmas can be a difficult time for employees who have to balance a busy period at home and in the office. Being flexible with paid time off and remote working ensures that everyone is kept happy over the holiday period.
Consider offering flexible public holidays, which can help inclusiveness. Flexible public holidays allow those who don’t celebrate Christmas to swap their Christmas holiday days for days that are more meaningful to them.
#4 Check the rules on corporate gifting
Make sure that rules on corporate gifts and hospitality are consistent with both the laws in your country and the local laws and customs in other countries. Sage People highlight 6 rules of corporate gifting in their advice including be transparent, be proportionate and be appropriate based on local customs.
Perks of being self-employed:
1) You choose which night for your own Christmas Party
2) You have no employees so you reap the full tab
3) You’re partying alone so no potential HR issues
4) You have no employees so you reap the full tab
*Draft’s Christmas Party tonight*— Draft (@DraftUK) December 21, 2017
Sage People advise that having a clear corporate gifting and entertainment policy is key to avoiding any issues over the Christmas period. The policy should cover both receiving and giving gifts and be clearly communicated across the organisation.
You can see the full infographic with some additional advice here: https://www.sagepeople.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄🎁🎉
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