6 tips for a stress-free holiday handover

It’s time for your holiday and your travel is all booked. If you want to be able to enjoy your free time without constantly thinking about work and all the tasks going neglected, follow our 5 tips for a stress-free holiday handover. This will help you to prepare your holiday handover in an effective way, ready to hand over all of your tasks to a colleague.

1. Inform colleagues and customers in good time

Tell your colleagues and clients that you’ll be out of the office in advance. It is especially important to tell the colleagues who will be responsible for taking on your work. Customers for whom your work may affect deadlines should also be made aware of your absence in advance. That way, you can close up any ongoing projects before your holiday, push back any deadlines (with approval from your client) and hand over any tasks that fall within your holiday to your covering colleague.

2. Clear office organisation

Organising your office clearly makes your work so much easier and helps you to keep a better overview of your tasks. A tidy desk really pays off when colleagues need to find documents or folders while you are being covered on holiday. Labelled shelves or organisers from Novus can offer a big help when it comes to staying organised in the office from day to day. You will work more efficiently and save time, because all your documents and items on your desk have a designated place and you won’t have to spend forever searching through drawers. It can be really helpful to create a file plan that you stick to the side of your desk or next to your shelves, for example, as this will allow your colleagues to find relevant documents quickly, even while you’re away. Be inspired by our organisation solutions! You can also learn more about organisation in our post ”A tidy workstation“.

3. Clarify responsibilities and note down tasks

Create a list of daily tasks. Consider in advance what projects and tasks will come up while you are away and who should take responsibility for them. The person covering for you will usually not be as experienced in your area as you are, so a comprehensive handover is really important – especially if you’re out of the office for more than a day.

4. Plan in good time

You should think about the tasks that need to be handed over at least three weeks before your holiday. This will allow you to think about the things you can do and organise in advance to make it easier for your colleague to take over the tasks. Plus, don’t forget to set out a little time for the handover itself. Create a list of daily project tasks and any larger tasks that need to be completed during your absence. It is also important to make a list of all your access details and important customer contacts. A few days before your holiday you can discuss all points with the person covering for you and clarify any questions they have. Send out a handover email on your last day that explains the latest developments.

5. Write a handover email

A handover email is a chance to inform all of your colleagues who will be working with you on projects or covering your work about the latest status of projects and all of the tasks they will need to do. In your handover email, you should clarify the following for each customer:

What tasks are coming up?

What is already underway?

What needs to be done next?

What deadlines are coming up?

Who is responsible?

Where are documents saved?

Who is your contact person?

By arranging things in advance and providing a detailed list, your colleagues will know exactly what to do and can concentrate on fulfilling the tasks properly during your holiday period.

6. Set an out-of-office autoresponder and redirect your calls

So, all your tasks have been allocated, everyone knows what they’re doing. All that’s missing is an out-of-office autoresponderin your email software. You should include the following information in your autoresponder:

1) Details about how long you will be absent.

2) That the email will not be forwarded, but that you will respond as soon as possible once you return.

3) Details of who is covering for you and how they can be contacted for urgent enquiries.

Don’t forget to redirect your phone to your colleague or a central number!

Armed with these 5 tips, you will be fully prepared to enjoy a relaxing holiday without having to give work another thought. If you are looking for inspiration when it comes to your work life, then look no further than our blog posts.