|
Create a vacation schedule
|
 |
May 18, 2000: 10:56 a.m. ET
Plan ahead for staff absence with a simple cross-training program
By Jane Applegate
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Summer will be here before you know it, so now is the time to make up a formal vacation schedule. Every business has its own challenges when it comes to vacation time, but it doesn't have to be such a nightmare.
This is also a good time to set up a cross-training schedule. Every business, no matter how small, should make sure people can cover for each other. You never know when illness or other personal problems will keep a valuable employee out of the office for a few weeks.
People don't have to love the job they learn how to do -- they just have to be able to help out in a pinch. Emphasize that cross training is important because it provides a short-term solution to a staffing problem.
 Ask everyone to write up a short job description, detailing daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly responsibilities. Make copies of these job duties and keep them in an easily accessible three-ring binder.
Make sure you ask people for their home telephone numbers and emergency contact information.
(Jane Applegate, a syndicated columnist and author of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, covers small business for CNNfn.) 
|
|
|
|
|
|
ApplegateWay
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
