Ah, Christmas – the season of joy, goodwill, and, let’s face it, logistical headaches for HR admins. From the annual leave scramble to keeping team morale high during this busy time, it’s a juggling act. But with the right planning and tools, you can navigate the festive season with your sanity intact. Let’s take a look at 7 HR challenges during Christmas and how to manage them.
1. Managing Christmas annual leave and employee availability
The flood of holiday requests in December is as inevitable as a box of Celebrations disappearing by lunchtime. People want more flexibility in their lives, especially around the Christmas period. However, with in-person businesses such as retail and hospitality, this can be challenging to accommodate – it’s not like you can offer your customer-facing employees a work-from-home position.
A Deloitte study found that enabling employees to have a say in their schedules can lead to a more content and productive workforce. The study, which surveyed 2,100 employees and C-level executives across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, revealed a significant gap between how executives perceive their employees’ well-being and how the employees themselves report their experiences. While 91% of the C-suite believed their employees felt cared for, only 56% felt that their company’s executives cared about their well-being. This study is testament to the fact that a company can only truly care for its employees if they listen to their needs and preferences, including their scheduling preferences.
During the busy Christmas period, when everyone’s juggling work with family gatherings, gift shopping, and festive plans, this kind of tool can be a true lifesaver for employees. It helps ensure that everyone gets the time off they need to enjoy the holiday season while keeping operations running smoothly. Here is where a digital tool, such as scheduling software that automatically creates a schedule based on the demands of employees’ availability, comes in handy. Not only does it save managers time and effort, but it also gives employees a sense of control over their schedules, leading to better work-life balance and overall job satisfaction.
For the wider business, especially those in retail, hospitality, and manufacturing, balancing employee needs with operational demands is key to staying fully staffed during the festive rush. Tools, like flexible scheduling software, can help managers anticipate peak periods, ensure shifts are adequately covered, and identify opportunities to offer overtime or temporary contracts. By aligning staffing with real-time demand, businesses can maintain service levels without overburdening their existing workforce. This approach not only keeps operations running smoothly but also fosters goodwill among employees, as they see their needs being considered alongside business priorities.
2. Preparing your workplace for winter weather disruptions
Snow days might be magical for kids, but for HR, they can throw a spanner in the works. A solid winter plan is essential. Clear communication channels and robust continuity plans can help keep everything on track. When managers and employees can’t easily get in or face unexpected childcare challenges, operations can quickly grind to a halt. A solid winter plan is essential: clear communication channels, flexible shift arrangements, and robust contingency plans can help keep teams on track and customers well looked after.
You can use your employee engagement platform, for example, to share some top tips to avoid accidents in the winter:
“Winter weather is here! ❄️ Stay safe by wearing non-slip footwear, taking care on icy surfaces, and leaving extra time for your journey. Remember to check your back here on our news & social for updates and guidance. Let’s tackle the season together!”
3. Integrating temporary staff during the Christmas season
During peak periods, such as the holiday season, hiring seasonal staff is a common practice in retail and hospitality to meet increased demand. However, managing temporary staff effectively is key to ensuring smooth operations without overworking your existing team or overspending on unnecessary resources. By using accurate forecasting tools, businesses can predict demand levels, plan for the right number of temporary hires, and ensure shifts are covered efficiently. This approach helps maintain service quality while keeping costs under control. To avoid this, accurately forecast your needs and plan effectively for the holiday season.
Do you know how many staff members are needed per shift? Are there any particular days or hours that require more employees? Have you factored in the extended hours during the holiday season? These are all essential questions to consider when creating a staff schedule.
From previous holiday seasons’ trends to current sales figures and customer foot traffic, data can provide valuable insights into staffing needs and help create a more efficient schedule.
For instance, if a store knows that they typically see a 30% increase in foot traffic the week before Christmas, they can schedule more staff during those hours to avoid long wait times and disgruntled customers.
And by integrating external systems such as booking or sales tracking applications with your workforce management software, businesses can take advantage of predictive modelling and forecasting tools to accurately determine staff requirements for each shift and better understand your seasonal staffing needs for the upcoming holiday season.
4. Supporting employee mental health
Christmas, while often a joyful season, can also be a time of heightened stress for many. The pressures of balancing work and personal commitments can take their toll, and mental wellbeing often suffers as a result.
For industries like retail, hospitality, and manufacturing—where the holiday season typically brings increased demand—these challenges can be particularly pronounced. Increased footfall means more customers to serve, often leading to longer queues, heightened stress levels for staff, and an uptick in customer complaints. More stock rotations become necessary to keep shelves full, especially with seasonal items flying off the racks. With more sales comes a higher volume of returns, often requiring additional resources to manage refunds and exchanges. Employees are more likely to call in sick due to winter illnesses like coughs and colds, leaving already stretched teams even thinner. Meanwhile, schools breaking up for the holidays add another layer of complexity, as parents may face childcare challenges or need to adjust their schedules.
On the flip side, some employees may request extra shifts to cover holiday expenses, making shift planning a juggling act. The holiday cheer can sometimes clash with the strain of busy days, leading to grumpy or fatigued customers and staff alike. Add to this the unpredictability of bad weather disrupting commutes and deliveries, and the holiday period becomes a masterclass in balancing demand with resourcefulness.
Creating a positive and supportive work environment can make all the difference during this busy period. While team-building activities might take a backseat during such a hectic time, there are practical ways to support staff and maintain morale. Adjusting shift patterns to accommodate childcare needs or allowing employees to swap shifts more easily can help alleviate stress. Providing small perks, such as meal vouchers, refreshments, or the option for early finishes where possible, can go a long way in showing appreciation. Recognising the importance of diversity and fostering an inclusive culture remain vital, ensuring that everyone feels valued and supported, even amidst the holiday rush. When employees feel valued, supported, and part of a cohesive team, they’re more likely to enjoy their work, perform at their best, and remain committed to your brand.
At the heart of this is open communication. Make it clear to your team that they can reach out for support if they’re feeling overwhelmed, and ensure they know where to find mental health resources or additional help if needed. A simple gesture, like letting employees know you’re there to listen, can go a long way in easing stress and maintaining morale. A healthy, happy team isn’t just good for your people – it’s also a key driver of success during the holiday rush.
5. Keeping teams productive during the festive period
Let’s be honest: it’s hard to focus when the workplace is buzzing with holiday energy, tinsel, and Secret Santa swaps. But productivity doesn’t have to take a nosedive. Upskilling managers to better support their teams during this busy time can make all the difference.
Preparation is key – managers can create clear schedules that outline what needs to be done and when, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities and deadlines. Starting shifts with additional briefing sessions keeps everyone aligned, setting expectations and addressing potential challenges early. Throughout shifts, increased check-ins help identify where tasks are falling behind and allow managers to provide extra support or training as needed. This ensures frontline staff feel equipped to pick up additional duties, such as handling returns or restocking high-demand items.
For frontline teams, recognising effort and maintaining morale is equally important. Small incentives, such as public recognition for meeting targets, personalised rewards, or perks like meal vouchers, can go a long way. Emphasising open communication and ongoing feedback not only helps employees stay engaged but also encourages growth – whether it’s improving customer interactions or learning new processes to adapt to the holiday rush.
By equipping managers to lead effectively and supporting frontline staff, businesses can maintain focus and productivity without losing the festive cheer.
6. Managing multi-site Christmas coverage effectively
If your business operates across multiple locations, managing staffing levels can feel like an impossible puzzle, and this doesn’t get any easier around the holiday period.
The traditional methods of disseminating schedule changes — from phone calls to wall-posted rosters — are becoming outdated in our modern, mobile world.
Project. co’s Communication Statistics 2024 report illuminated the profound costs of poor business communication. Along with wasted time being cited by 70% of survey respondents as a primary issue, other significant challenges of miscommunication include:
- Missed messages (55%)
- Burnout, stress, and fatigue (53%)
- Lost files (36%)
- Adverse customer experiences (28%)
- Customers defecting to competitors (12%)
- The loss of employees (12%)
At the busiest time of the year for a plethora of industries, this is unideal at best. Serving as the nerve centre for all scheduling-related communications, centralising workforce management data through one unified platform keeps all staff members and managers in the loop simultaneously.
Changes to staff schedules and availability will be updated and reflected on each site’s roster in real-time and would be visible each employee’s mobile device via the app, eliminating any confusion and scheduling duplication across sites. And with the added ability to send instant notifications and alerts to all affected staff members, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to scheduling changes, thereby reducing the risk of scheduling conflicts and loss of productivity.
When managing staff across multiple locations, open lines of communication and transparency are the way to go. By utilising a centralised communication platform, you can streamline your scheduling process and overcome the challenges of implementing schedule changes across multiple locations.
No more scheduling site wars and confusion—just seamless coordination and enhanced team productivity. A key way to support demand during busy periods is to flex staff across multiple stores. For example, moving team members from quieter locations to busier ones, such as transferring staff to a city centre store experiencing high demand, can help balance workloads and ensure customers receive the best service. This approach not only maximises resource efficiency but also gives employees opportunities to work in different environments, enhancing their skills and adaptability. With clear communication and effective scheduling, flexing staff between stores becomes a powerful tool for managing seasonal challenges.
Automatic shift allocation
This is where implementing automated scheduling software can save the day. With advanced features such as real-time conflict detection and automatic compliance checks, such a system will automatically flag potential violations of working time directives, ensuring that no employee is scheduled beyond their legal working hours.
You can even set rules on certain shift requirements, only allowing qualified employees to be scheduled for specific shifts. At the end of the day, compliance shouldn’t have to ruin your service levels. And with an automated scheduling process, you can ensure that you are compliant while still providing exceptional customer service.
7. Setting up successful handovers
The key to a smooth and stress-free holiday season in the workplace? Effective handovers. For managers, this means ensuring clean transitions between day and night shifts, with clear communication about tasks completed, outstanding priorities, and any issues requiring attention. Similarly, frontline employees should check in and out with brief updates on their progress, flagging anything that might need follow-up. Encouraging your team to create detailed handover notes—outlining essential information, deadlines, and any ongoing projects—can minimise confusion and save valuable time. This level of preparation is especially vital in fast-paced industries like retail, hospitality, and manufacturing, where the holiday period is one of the busiest times of the year. By prioritising seamless handovers, both managers and frontline teams can ensure operations run smoothly, even during peak times.
To further streamline the process, consider holding knowledge-sharing sessions where employees can walk their colleagues through their responsibilities in real-time. These sessions not only provide an opportunity to clarify expectations but also build confidence within the team, ensuring that everyone feels equipped to handle their temporary new duties. Pairing employees up for shadowing or co-working sessions before the holiday period can also foster collaboration and reduce the likelihood of critical information slipping through the cracks.
Properly managed handovers can significantly reduce disruptions, prevent unnecessary stress, and maintain operational efficiency during the festive season. For employees, this means peace of mind knowing that their work is in good hands while they’re away. For the organisation, it ensures business continuity and a smoother, more enjoyable holiday period for everyone involved.
Wrapping up
Managing HR challenges at Christmas doesn’t have to feel like untangling fairy lights. With early planning, open communication, and the right tools, you can navigate the season with ease while keeping the festive spirit alive.
Take the stress out of the holidays – because you deserve to enjoy the season too.
