Holiday Outsourcing Tips Your Team Will Love

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas (winter holidays) coming up, I thought I’d share a few holiday outsourcing tips your team will love.

Know Their Location

Be mindful of the country in which your assistants and team members live. This is very important if you have international team members. Sometimes you may celebrate the same holidays but at different times. Thanksgiving is a good example of this. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October where as Americans (US) celebrate it November. There could be times when you find that you don’t celebrate the same holidays at all. Even if you know that you are all in the same country, don’t assume your team members will celebrate specific holidays, especially religious ones.

If you keep communications open, your assistant will feel free to tell you ahead of time that they won’t be available for a few days. You may even want to send a personal note at the beginning of the month to find out if they have any special days coming up. Not only will that note keep you on top of things and help you plan how to outsource projects but it will also make your assistants and team members feel valued. As you discover which holidays your assistants celebrate, make a note of it so you will know next year.

Plan Ahead

The holidays are a busy time for everyone. Many businesses have special sales during this time. Advertisements need to be submitted. There is extra content to be added to websites and blogs. Communities may become more active and need to be moderated closely. Customer service will almost certainly increase. All of this is part of being in business. Plan ahead for it! When you organize early and plan ahead, it helps your assistants stay focused and meet deadlines. Remember, lead by example.

Outsource Early

When there is a holiday at the end of a month, like Thanksgiving (US) and Christmas, outsource tasks early in the month. When you allow your assistants extra time to schedule holiday obligations between projects, everyone’s needs are met. Your outsourced work is completed before the holiday and your assistant doesn’t miss any holiday time with the family.

The key to holiday outsourcing all boils down to knowing the location of your assistants, planning ahead, and outsourcing early. When you do these three things, your family, your business, and your assistants all benefit.

Happy Holiday Outsourcing!
Kit Singleton

P.S. You can get more outsourcing tips in your email and read them at your leisure.

Kit