Category: Holiday cover

This is the first in our winter series on stability: the idea that a business grows more easily from a steady base than from one that lurches from one deadline to the next. Christmas is a good place to start, because it is the one peak every business can see coming.

If you want to prepare your business for Christmas, plan backwards from your longest lead time. Start with the decision that takes longest to put in place, fix the dates that follow from it, and by October the plan should already be running, with only the final checks left. Then hold your nerve on price, and bring your team with you. That is what years in retail taught me, and it applies to any growing business, whether you sell products or services.

In the 1990s I worked for Superdrug. Every year the company ran a competition called Premier Crew to find the store best prepared for Christmas trading. A manager from head office was paired with an area manager, and together they visited every store in the area and picked a winner, who went through to a regional round and then the national final. I was involved in the early rounds, and it was hugely enjoyable. The effort every store put into being at its absolute best for Christmas was remarkable, and this was a time when store managers had a much freer rein over festive decorations than they do now. It wasn’t quite up there with Deck the Halls (the film, which is apparently now a Christmas classic), but some stores pushed it hard!

One image has stayed with me. It was a small store in a small town. We were welcomed with a warm mince pie, and the store was sparkling clean and beautifully decorated, with tinsel, a Santa and even a grotto. But the shelves were light, and for all its tidiness it didn’t look well stocked. I asked the manager whether deliveries were late. “Oh no,” he said, “it’s just really difficult getting the stock down. Our warehouse is on the first floor.” Was the lift broken? He pointed at the grotto. They had turned the stock lift into Santa’s grotto.

We changed that, and I still laugh about it. But it makes the point better than anything I could write: what wins at Christmas isn’t what customers see. It’s the planning behind it, right down to how the stock actually reaches the shelves.

When should you start preparing your business for Christmas?

Start with whatever takes longest. In retail, Christmas starts almost a year ahead. Buyers review last Christmas’s results in January, seasonal ranges are confirmed by spring, orders are placed by early summer and stock starts arriving in late summer. By October the big decisions are long made, the key dates are known, and the work left is crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s.

Every sector has its own longest lead time. For a retailer it is buying. In the hotels I have worked with, the rule of thumb was that Christmas planning was the first big task for the general manager on returning from the summer holiday. For a consultancy or agency it may be agreeing client deadlines before the break, or booking cover for the days you’ll be away. Find yours, and work back from it:

  • List the decisions your Christmas depends on: stock, staff, cover, pricing, client deadlines, opening hours.
  • Note how long each one takes to put in place, and the date it must be done by.
  • Put those dates in the diary now, starting with the one that needs the longest run-up.

Leave it until December and you are reacting to the rush rather than running your business through it.

Christmas is also so much longer than one day. The run-in starts with Black Friday, which falls on 27 November this year, and many clients start winding down in mid-December. In 2026 Christmas Day is a Friday. Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January. That is a long stretch when people are away, before you allow for winter weather and the inevitable seasonal bugs.

How busy it gets depends on your sector. Retail rarely has a quiet day now. The Christmas sales used to start on Boxing Day, but hold your nerve as a shopper and you may find that retailers have lost theirs well before the 25th! And online Christmas Day itself has become a big trading day: in 2025, it saw some of the strongest single-day growth in UK online sales, with fashion and footwear revenue up 50% on the year as the sales started early. Hospitality is flat out until New Year. Agencies and professional services are often quieter, because their clients are on holiday, and that dip needs planning just as carefully as anyone else’s rush.

What should your Christmas plan cover?

So much of a good Christmas comes down to planning, and in a store that planning is very practical. When do the price changes go through, and when do the shelf-edge labels change with them? When do the promotions change over? Who works the deliveries and refills the shelves, and who covers the late-night shopping hours? The list is nearly endless.

Then there is the stock itself. In a Superdrug store, the busiest weeks before Christmas could bring in two to three times the sales of a quiet week. All the Christmas-only stock, the gift sets and seasonal lines, had been sent out to stores by November. So just as the peak arrived, the stockroom was full of Christmas stock, and the store was selling more of almost everything else too, which meant bigger and more frequent deliveries to unpack, store and get onto the shelves. Every inch of space, and every route from the stockroom to the shop floor, mattered. Which is exactly why turning the stock lift into a grotto was such a problem.

Thinking back more than thirty years, the Premier Crew judges looked at five areas. They are still a good Christmas checklist, and each one has an equivalent in any business.

AreaWhat the judges looked for in a storeWhat it means for any growing business
Stock managementA tidy, organised stockroom; the right stock levels; fast sellers replenished during the day; a plan for where the extra stock is held before the peakCapacity: enough people and hours for the work you have committed to, and a plan for where the extra work will go
Look and feelPoint-of-sale material in place, impactful windows, end displays properly filled, every light working, the right music, even the right smell; staff making eye contact, saying hello and being helpfulFirst impressions: website, email signature and out-of-office up to date; clients getting a quick, warm reply
Operations and checkoutQueues managed, all equipment working, till areas clean and impulse lines stocked, gift cards easy to buy, everyone clear on the returns policy, no stock cages in the aislesSystems that work under pressure: bookings, invoicing and payments; everyone clear on cut-off dates, emergency contacts and policies
StaffingShifts well planned, extended opening hours covered, out-of-hours replenishment where needed, the team trained and motivatedA fair holiday rota agreed early, cover booked, and everyone knowing the plan
Marketing and communicationsPromotions, opening hours and messages clear and consistent, in store and from head officeOpening hours, response times and any offers published early; social posts scheduled in advance

Two more things are easy to miss. Set a cut-off date for new work before the break, and tell clients what it is. And send your invoices early, because January is when many businesses feel the pinch.

How do you hold your nerve on pricing and discounts?

Every retailer faces the same question in December: how long do you hold full price before you start marking down to clear before Christmas? Move too early and you give away margin you didn’t need to. Leave it too late and you are left with stock you can’t sell.

Black Friday made this much harder. I was working in ecommerce when it arrived in the UK, and the early years were scary. Argos, Boots, John Lewis and Currys PC World all had major website outages, never mind the scenes in their stores.

The bigger damage was quieter, and it was to margin.

What happenedWhat it did to margin
December sales pulled forwardInstead of creating extra sales, Black Friday largely moved full-price December sales into discounted November ones. Customers got a discount on things they would happily have paid full price for a few weeks later.
The volume trapTake 20% off an item with a 60% gross margin and the profit on each sale falls by a third. To make the same return you need 50% more sales, which strained websites, warehouses and delivery networks.
ReturnsImpulse buying pushed return rates up, especially in fashion and tech. Processing returns and writing off opened stock ate into whatever profit was left.

Some retailers came close to marking down seasonal stock they needed to sell at full price in December. The lesson was to buy stock specially for Black Friday, so the promotion didn’t wreck their Christmas margins.

The principle for any business is to decide your trigger points in October, not in a panic on 18 December. For a service business, holding your nerve means not discounting to fill a quiet week, and not taking on work you can’t deliver well before the break. Decisions made calmly in advance are better than decisions made under pressure, and they are much easier to make from a stable base.

How do you get your team behind the Christmas plan?

The run-up to Christmas asks a lot of people, so they need to understand the plan and be bought into it. Share it early, and explain why, not just what.

The rota matters more than most people think. Whether in a store or a head office support team, somebody has to be available in Christmas week and the week after, and that takes organising rather than assuming. If Christmas leave doesn’t look fair, it can demotivate a team quickly, so agree it early and make the reasoning clear. And say thank you: a busy December is a team effort.

What if there’s no team to cover you over Christmas?

For many growing businesses, cover is the real problem. If you work alone, or your small team all want the same days off, start by telling your clients your plan: when you are available, when you are not, and what to do if there is an emergency. Most clients are happy with clear expectations. It is surprises that cause problems.

This is also where flexible support helps. A Virtual Expert can answer your phones and manage your inbox, keep client admin and invoicing moving, or schedule your social media in advance. Book early, though: their diaries fill up before Christmas too.

Your Christmas preparation checklist

  • As early as your longest lead time needs: make the big decisions (stock or capacity, pricing and promotions, client cut-off dates, cover) and put the key dates in the diary.
  • October: final checks. Confirm the rota, the cover and the dates. The plan should already be running.
  • November: schedule social posts, publish your opening hours and response times, and send invoices early.
  • December: run the plan, protect your key people and keep a short daily check-in.
  • January: review what worked and what didn’t while it is fresh, and write it down as the starting point for next year’s plan.

That last step is the one most businesses miss. The best input to next Christmas’s plan is what you learned this time.

From a stable Christmas to a strong January

The businesses that plan Christmas start January in control, not recovering. A busy season handled calmly is what stability looks like in practice, and it is where our winter series, Stability: A Place to Stand, begins. Over the coming weeks we will look at the other things that can knock owner-led businesses off balance, starting on 24 November with what happens when everything rests on one person.

If you would like cover in place before the rush, talk to your local Regional Director now!

Frequently asked questions

When should a small business start preparing for Christmas?

Work back from your longest lead time. Retailers start buying for Christmas almost a year ahead; for a service business the longest lead time might be agreeing client deadlines or booking cover. Either way, by October the plan should already be running, with only final checks left.

How do I cover my business over Christmas if I work alone?

Tell clients when you are available and what to do in an emergency, set a cut-off date for new work, and arrange cover for phones, the inbox or urgent admin. A Virtual Expert can provide that cover, but book early.

Should I discount before Christmas?

Only if you decided to in advance, and know what it costs. A 20% discount on a product with a 60% margin cuts the profit on each sale by a third, so you need 50% more sales to stand still. Set your trigger points in October, and if you sell products, consider stock bought specially for promotions such as Black Friday to protect the margin on seasonal lines.

What should I tell clients about Christmas opening hours?

When you close and reopen, how quickly you will respond in between, the last date for new work, and who to contact in an emergency. Publish it in November and repeat it in your email signature and out-of-office message.

How do I plan staff holidays over Christmas and New Year?

Agree the rota early, make sure every working day is covered, and explain the reasoning so it feels fair. Rotating the busiest days from year to year helps.

What should I do in the quiet week between Christmas and New Year?

Review the year, and capture what you learned about Christmas while it is fresh. It is the best input to next year’s plan.

About the author

When the phone rings and you can’t answer it, most new callers won’t leave a message. They’ll ring the next business on the list. A telephone answering service makes sure a real person picks up in your business’s name whenever you can’t: when you’re with a client, on a job, in a meeting or, just as important, on holiday.

I have relied on a telephone answering service since 2011. It answers Get Ahead’s own number, and in 15 years we have never missed a call. When clients started asking how we did it, offering them the same service was an easy decision. In this guide I’ll explain how a telephone answering service works, what it costs, how it compares with voicemail and AI, and how to tell whether your business needs one.

Perhaps one of these sounds familiar. “I can’t take calls when I’m on site, and by the time I ring back they’ve booked someone else.” Or: “I haven’t had a proper week off in years, because I’m the only one who answers the phone.”

What is a telephone answering service?

A telephone answering service is a team that answers your business calls for you, using your business name, and passes each message on. You divert your calls to them when you can’t answer, and they pick up as if they were part of your business.

You may also see it called a call handling or message taking service, or outsourced telephone answering. It sits between voicemail, which records a message and leaves the caller waiting, and a receptionist, whom you employ to sit in your office. It suits owner-led businesses that are too busy to answer every call but too small to employ someone to do it: sole traders, tradespeople, consultants, professional services firms and small practices.

How does a telephone answering service work?

You divert your line to the answering team, they answer with a greeting you have agreed, and they send you each message by email or text. Setting it up can often be done the same day. At Get Ahead it works like this.

1. Talk to your Regional Director

Tell them what you need cover for, when and for how long: every afternoon, evenings and weekends, a busy season, or a fortnight in August. We work with two specialist UK call answering partners, and your Regional Director will match you to the one that fits your hours and your callers.

2. Tell us about your business

We agree how calls are answered, your opening hours, the questions callers most often ask, what counts as urgent and whether you want messages by email, text or both.

3. Divert your calls

Most landlines, mobiles and internet phone systems have a call divert setting. You switch it on, and your calls come to us. If your mobile is your business number, as it is for many sole traders and tradespeople, a mobile phone answering service works in exactly the same way.

4. We answer in your name

A trained call handler answers in your business name, takes the caller’s name, number and reason for calling, reassures them that you’ll be in touch, and passes the message on.

5. Switch back when you’re ready

Turn the diversion off and your calls come straight back to you.

Why go through Get Ahead rather than straight to an answering company? Because you get one point of contact who knows your business, the right service chosen for you rather than a price list to work through, and support that can grow beyond the phone. I chose our partners precisely because they are specialists: answering calls is all they do. We were already using them for our own phones, so I knew exactly what our clients would get.

What happens to calls outside office hours?

They can still be answered. If your customers ring early, late or at weekends, or out-of-hours calls are your main concern, we use a partner that specialises in out-of-hours cover, available up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, depending on your specific needs. Callers reach a real person rather than a voicemail, and urgent calls can be passed on to you straight away if you want them to be.

If you only need daytime cover, calls outside your agreed hours can go to a personal message in your business name, and anything left is passed on first thing the next working day.

Whichever you choose, agree in advance what counts as urgent and who should be contacted, for example for a tradesperson’s emergency call-out.

What can a call handler do beyond taking a message?

More than most people expect. A good call handler doesn’t only write down a name and number. Depending on what you agree, they can:

  • answer common questions about your opening hours, services or prices
  • book appointments in your online booking system or calendar
  • find out who is calling and put the call through to you when you are free
  • pass urgent calls to you, or to someone you nominate, straight away
  • take orders and capture the details of new enquiries

Because Get Ahead is a network of more than 90 Virtual Experts, phone cover can sit alongside other support. A virtual assistant can follow up the enquiries, keep your diary in order or deal with the emails that build up while you’re busy, so the calls become work rather than a list of people to ring back.

That is what happened for the Leeds office of Sanderson Weatherall, the national estate agents. We set up telephone answering to handle calls and pass on messages, and alongside it an administration Virtual Expert who booked property viewings and checked prospective tenants were suitable. Within eight months her role had grown from one hour a week to a full day, and that gave the office the business case to employ someone permanently. You can read the case study here.

Should you use a telephone answering service when you go on holiday?

Yes, if your phone is how customers and new enquiries reach you. A recorded message saying you’re away until the 14th tells a new customer to try someone else, and tells an existing one to wait. A person who answers, takes the details and says when you’ll be back in touch keeps both.

It’s also better for you. A proper holiday is one where you don’t take work calls. You need time to recharge and to reconnect with yourself and the people you care about, and you can’t do that while checking your phone by the pool.

Headline Design & Print, a Guildford design and print business, uses our service in just this way. When staff are on holiday or off sick, they divert their line, each call is written up and emailed to the right person, and they switch it off again when the office is fully staffed. Their managing director, Mark Warner, puts it like this: “The service Get Ahead deliver allows me, as the director and sales front end, to take time out of the business safe in the knowledge my clients are able to communicate with us and are not going elsewhere.” You can read the case study here.

Holiday cover works in the same way as everyday cover, for a set period. Give your Regional Director your dates and tell them what counts as urgent, set your diversion before you leave, and come back to a clear list of who called and why rather than a full voicemail box. It’s worth doing for bank holidays and the Christmas closedown too, when many owner-led businesses close but their customers still call. Our bank holiday guide covers what else to think about when you close.

Telephone answering service, voicemail or AI: which should you choose?

It depends on how many calls you get and what your callers need. Voicemail costs nothing but loses callers. An AI answering tool is cheap and always on, but struggles when a call doesn’t fit its script. A person can deal with the unexpected.

 VoicemailAI call answeringTelephone answering serviceEmployed receptionist
Who answersA recordingSoftwareA trained person, in your business nameYour employee
Handles the unexpectedNoPartlyYesYes
Typical costFreeLow monthly feeA monthly fee plus a charge per callA salary plus employer costs
Holiday and sickness coverNot neededAlways onYesNeeds cover of its own
SuitsVery few callsHigh volumes of simple callsOwner-led businesses that can’t afford to miss a callBusy offices with constant calls

AI answering tools are improving quickly, and for some businesses they will be enough. For most of our clients, though, the calls that matter most are the ones that don’t fit a script: a worried customer, a complaint, an urgent job or a new client deciding whether to trust you.

How much does a telephone answering service cost in the UK?

Most UK services charge per call answered, per minute, or a monthly bundle that includes a set number of calls. Published 2026 price guides from UK providers put per-call charges at roughly 60p to £2.50 and monthly bundles from about £25 to several hundred pounds, with set-up fees of up to around £150. Out-of-hours cover usually costs more.

At Get Ahead we have a couple of models depending on your specific needs – you either pay a small monthly service fee plus a charge for each call answered, or block buy a number of minutes per month. Either way, prices start from as little as £15 per month. There is no long-term contract, so you can use it for a few weeks over a holiday and stop when you are back. Your Regional Director will agree the cost with you before anything starts.

When you compare quotes, look at the whole cost: what counts as a call, any monthly fee, minimum term or set-up charge, and what your mobile network charges for diverted calls. Then set that against the work you lose when a new enquiry rings someone else.

How do you choose a telephone answering service for a small business?

Ask these six questions before you sign up. Good answers to all of them are a sign the service will work for a small business, not just a large one:

  • Who will answer my calls, and will it be the same people each time?
  • What hours do you cover, and what happens to calls outside them?
  • How quickly will I get each message, and how?
  • How do you handle urgent calls?
  • Is there a contract, minimum term, monthly fee or set-up charge?
  • Where are messages stored, and how do you look after my callers’ personal data?

The last question matters more than it used to. Every message holds a caller’s personal details, so your provider should handle them in line with UK data protection law; the Information Commissioner’s Office has more information on what that means. The call handlers we work with are trained, based in the UK and handle your callers’ details under UK data protection law.

Never miss the call that matters

A telephone answering service is a small cost that protects two valuable things: the first impression a caller gets of your business, and your own time away from the phone.

Want your phones covered?

For a holiday, the Christmas closedown or every day, your local Regional Director can set it up, often the same day. Or ring us and hear the service for yourself: it has answered our own number for 15 years.

Find your Regional Director Call 0330 223 7580

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a telephone answering service just while I’m on holiday?

Yes. Many businesses use it only for holidays, bank holidays or the Christmas closedown. At Get Ahead you can use it just for holiday cover and switch it off when you’re back.

Will callers know they aren’t speaking to my own team?

Calls are answered in your business name, with a greeting you agree. To most callers, your business has simply answered the phone.

How do I divert my calls?

Most landlines, mobiles and internet phone systems have a call divert setting you can switch on and off. Your phone provider may charge for diverted calls, so it is worth checking. Your Regional Director will talk you through it.

Do you offer out-of-hours call answering?

Yes. We work with a partner that specialises in out-of-hours cover, so evening and weekend calls can be answered by a real person, up to 24 hours a day if you need it. Your Regional Director will match you to the right service.

Can I divert my mobile to a telephone answering service?

Yes. Mobiles have a call divert setting, usually under Phone or Call settings, and you can choose to divert every call or only those you do not answer. Check with your network whether diverted calls are charged.

About the author

Taking Time Off: A Business Owner’s Guide to Switching Off (Almost)

Every business owner I speak to says the same thing: “I need a holiday.” And yet, when it comes to actually booking one, taking time off, and being fully present somewhere other than their inbox, most of them find a reason not to.

I’ve been running Get Ahead for over a decade. I’ve had to learn, sometimes the hard way, that taking time off isn’t a luxury. It’s a business decision. The planning, prioritisation and delegation that makes a holiday possible are the same disciplines that make a business scalable.

Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I now share with every business owner I work with.

Why do so many business owners struggle to take time off?

Because the business feels like it needs them. And often, it genuinely does, but usually because systems, handovers and trusted support haven’t been put in place yet. The business isn’t the problem. The infrastructure around it is.

When I talk to owners who haven’t had a proper break in years, it’s rarely because they don’t want one. It’s because the idea of stepping away feels riskier than staying put. That’s the thing we need to solve.

What does good preparation actually look like?

It starts well before you pack. I’d suggest a minimum of four weeks’ lead time if you’re going away for more than a few days. The core areas to address are:

  • Priorities: what absolutely must happen while you’re away, and what can wait
  • Delegation: who is responsible for what, with clear authority to make decisions, not just to escalate
  • Systems: are your CRM, accounts, files and shared drives in order? Can someone else navigate them without you?
  • Communication: who is your point of contact for clients, and what’s the protocol if something genuinely urgent arises?

The key word in that third point is delegation with authority. Handing tasks to someone and then remaining the bottleneck for every decision isn’t delegation. It’s just distributed stress. Trust the people you’ve briefed, and let them get on with it.

What about HR considerations when you’re the one stepping away?

This is something business owners with small teams often overlook. Before you go:

  • Make sure any team members or contractors have a clear point of contact in your absence, with the authority to make day-to-day decisions
  • Set clear expectations about what warrants contacting you and what doesn’t
  • Check that any outstanding HR matters (appraisals, onboarding, contracts) are resolved or safely deferred
  • If you use a virtual team, ensure they’re fully briefed and have everything they need before you leave

The businesses that run smoothly in an owner’s absence are the ones where the team has been trusted, briefed properly, and given room to act. Not the ones where the owner is fielding WhatsApps on the beach.

How do you handle the personal side of being away? The dog, the cat, the house?

This is where our Lifestyle Manager service comes in, and honestly, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of offering. The mental load of a holiday isn’t just professional. It’s personal.

Sorting pet care, ensuring the house is looked after, managing deliveries, handling the things that pile up at home while you’re away: these are all things that can be handed off. A good Lifestyle Manager takes the whole list, not just the work side of it.

When the personal logistics are sorted, you actually get to have a holiday. Not just a change of location where you’re still mentally juggling everything. And knowing that Sydney (aka The Prince) is in good hands and enjoying himself means that I can too!

Do you ever stay contactable while you’re away?

Yes, deliberately and on my own terms. I make sure someone knows how to reach me if something genuinely needs a call. In practice, in all the years I’ve been running Get Ahead, that call has never come.

But knowing it’s possible if needed means I can actually relax. It’s a safety net I’ve chosen to have, not a leash. There’s a difference. And building the right team around you is what makes that distinction possible.

What’s your pre-holiday checklist?

Here’s what I work through before I go anywhere:

  • Goals reviewed: what needs to be done before I leave, and what can genuinely wait
  • Delegation confirmed: named people, clear responsibilities, authority granted
  • Systems in order: shared drives, CRM, accounts, inboxes all accessible and up to date
  • Social media scheduled: posts queued for the duration, evergreen content repurposed where needed
  • Client communications sent: anyone who needs to know I’m away has been told, with a named contact
  • Virtual support briefed: telephone answering, email management, any ongoing tasks handed over with a proper brief
  • Personal logistics sorted: pet care, house, anything domestic that would otherwise be sitting in the back of my mind

What’s the business case for actually taking the holiday?

You come back better. Clearer thinking, more energy, more perspective on the things that actually matter. Every owner I know who has properly stepped away and come back says the same thing: they could see the business more clearly from the outside than they ever could from inside it.

The planning that goes into a good handover also tends to reveal gaps in your systems that you’d been papering over. It’s an audit you didn’t know you needed.

And frankly, if your business can’t function without you for a week or two, that’s the most important signal you could have about what to fix next.

How can Get Ahead help?

Whether you need telephone answering and email management while you’re away, a virtual assistant to keep things ticking over, or a Lifestyle Manager to handle the personal side of life, we’ve been helping business owners take proper breaks for over a decade.

Talk to your local Regional Director about what cover would look like for your business. You might be closer to a real holiday than you think.

www.getaheadva.com or call 0330 223 7580

Rebecca Newenham is the founder of Get Ahead, an award-winning virtual assistant and outsourcing franchise she launched in 2010 following a successful career in corporate retail buying. With a team of over 90 virtual assistants and franchisees, Get Ahead provides flexible marketing and business support to growing businesses across the UK. A passionate advocate for flexible working, Rebecca is also a Franchise Consultant at Ashtons, helping founders scale with clarity and confidence. She hosts Link Up Networking Guildford and is a Baby Naming Celebrant, proof that a purposeful career doesn’t have to fit a single mould. At the heart of everything Rebecca does is people: connecting them, supporting them and helping them build businesses that genuinely work for their lives.

The Latest from get Ahead

If you’ve got a lovely summer holiday coming up, you know it’s your chance to switch off completely and restore yourself after months of hard work. But for you to get the most out of your holiday, you’ll need to know your business is in safe hands while you’re away. In this blog, we look at how to do a holiday handover to reduce stress before and after your break. 

What should you hand over?

Of course, there will be some things that only you can do, like nurturing a client relationship built on a personal touch, or financial responsibilities where you’re a named signatory.  

However, there are plenty of other responsibilities that others can pick up on your behalf. True, the other person won’t do it in exactly the way that you do, but they will keep things ticking over so you don’t have a double workload to come back to. These tasks include:

How to do a holiday handover – what should I consider?
See it as an investment in your business

    Handing over your work before your holiday creates a great opportunity for someone else in your organisation to take on more responsibility and gain more skills. Keep your handover positive – remember, it’s an investment in both your wellbeing and the growth of your business.

    Don’t rush it

    Making time for your handover should make your pre-holiday work week less stressful. It should also mean you don’t have to send last-minute instructions from the airport. 

    Delegate to the right person

    Pick someone whom you trust – this can be more important than their experience.  Choose someone with good judgement who will know when to take the initiative and know when to ask for advice. 

    Keep it simple! 

    You are probably only going away for one or two weeks, so the person you hand over to doesn’t need overly detailed instructions. In fact, if you make the handover too detailed, you risk overwhelming the other person so they can’t do their best work. 

    Make it a two-way process

    Find out what the other person’s knowledge gaps are and focus on filling them. If there’s a process they don’t understand, this is the time to explain it to them. Let them ask questions. Try not to be critical if they ask you something you thought they already knew!

    Can I outsource my work while I’m on holiday?

    Yes! You might be surprised at just what you can outsource. For example, you probably know you can outsource back-office tasks like admin, payroll, marketing and diary management. But did you know you can also outsource your core work? 

    For example, if you run a creative agency, you can outsource design, branding and marketing to Get Ahead. Or if you offer HR or recruitment, you can outsource some of your processes to our team of experts. Your clients will receive a seamless service and you get the full benefit of your holiday into the bargain. 

    You can also outsource to a team of experts. We can assemble a team to cover whatever you need, whether you need email management and graphic design, or social media and business development.

    Explore our site to find out more, follow us on social media, or get in touch for an informal chat. 

    There are always lots of things to do at work before taking a holiday, particularly if you run your own business. Fortunately, when we know what they are and we manage our time well, we don’t have to bookend our holiday with two stressful weeks. 

    We’ve caught up with virtual PA Amanda who shares her list of things to do at work before taking a holiday.

    What should we do at work before going on holiday?

    Tell people

    Amanda: If you do nothing else, tell the people you work with that you are going away and when. Even if you own the business and you don’t have to apply for annual leave, it’s a good idea and common courtesy. Telling others means that they can manage their work accordingly, whether that’s asking you about matters now before you go on holiday, or taking the initiative so they don’t interrupt your break. Let anyone outside your business whom you’re collaborating with know too. 

    Set up email management

     Amanda: We’re all used to out-of-office replies now – they’re a very handy invention. If you’re in danger of forgetting to set yours, write it now and schedule it for your holiday period. 

    While you’re automating emails, take the opportunity to set up the “focused” and “other” inbox system that Outlook provides (if you haven’t already). This can make things smoother when you’re back from your holiday – the messages that need your attention should be easy to find.

    Some of my clients ask me to manage their inboxes while they’re on holiday – it’s a great solution. I create folders for different types of email and I can even field them out to others in your organisation. You won’t come back to thousands of emails and you will be able to pick up where you left off. 

    Test your automation

    Amanda: If you’re going to use, say, social media scheduling software to cover you while you’re away, test it out first. If you trial it while you’re still in the office, you’ll have time to iron out any wrinkles so the system runs perfectly in your absence. 

    Write a to-do list for your return

    Amanda: Writing things down is a great way to get them out of your head, even if you can’t deal with them immediately. I always encourage my clients to write their to-do list for their first day back. Not only does it mean a more organised return, but it gives them more freedom to enjoy their holiday!

    Plan for core work and big projects

    Amanda: How you cover bigger projects depends on many factors. However, it’s important to remember that everything won’t grind to a halt without you. You might choose to put work on hold while you’re on holiday. Or you might choose to set it up in advance so it can run well in your absence.

     If you’re a good employer or collaborator (and I’m sure you are!) your team should feel empowered to carry on without you and act on their own initiative. Maybe the team could use your holiday time to address the areas that don’t need your specific input, like the actual printing of a new publication. Or maybe you could set up a task in your last week and they could use your holiday to put it into action. 

    Virtual PA services from Get Ahead

    Get Ahead has built up a team of nearly a hundred virtual PAs, VAs and sector experts to support your business while you’re away on holiday. We’re here for when you get back too! Follow us on social media to find out how we work, and get in touch whenever you’re ready. 

    How to keep your business running when you go on holiday

    How to keep your business running when you go on holiday might feel like an impossible question. Your business is your baby, and no one but you knows how hard you’ve worked to get where you are today. But it’s also important to take a break. Even if you don’t plan on going abroad, it’s a good idea to have Plan B ready to go – you never know when you’re going to fall ill or face a family emergency. 

    In this blog, we talk to regional director Hazel about how to find the right team so that your business can survive without you.

    Why should my business be able to survive without me?

    Hazel: It’s important that you see your business surviving without you as a positive idea. If you can take time away without your business going under, it means you’re doing everything right! When your business survives without you, it doesn’t mean that what you bring to the business doesn’t matter. Instead, it means that you’re a good leader and a good manager who has prioritised putting the right team in place to improve business resilience. 

    Your business should be able to survive without you so you can take a break. We all need to take breaks,whether it’s five minutes to look out of the window or a fortnight in the Mediterranean. Breaks make us more productive when we return to work. They also help us retain our sense of proportion and give us a chance to explore what else we have to offer. These are both important protections against burnout. 

    I can’t bring myself to trust my staff – what should I do?

    Hazel: If you have a team but you don’t feel confident leaving your business with them, it might be time to rethink the way you manage them and consider alternatives. My own background is in HR, and I’m a firm believer in clear job descriptions and company policies so that every member of staff knows what’s expected of them. Similarly, strong performance management means that you can help your staff develop into people you’d be proud to leave your business with. 

    If possible, start as you mean to go on, using strategic recruitment planning to ensure that you recruit people with the right skills and personalities. This will mean that the people you recruit will also be the people you trust. Savvy business owners align their recruitment processes with their business plan and appoint the right people to deliver their goals. However, it’s important to remember that skills can be learned but personalities don’t change – pick a team whom you can trust and who trust you too. 

    Remember that trust is two-way. Try to develop a culture of trust by modelling reliability for your team and avoiding micromanagement.

    And if trust is a serious issue for you, coaching might help. We have business coaches both on the Get Ahead team and in our wider network – please let us know if you’d like an introduction. 

    I work alone – who will take up the slack if I’m away?

    Hazel: There’s no need for your business to grind to a halt just because you’re on holiday. I always suggest outsourcing or white labelling. An outsourcing agency like Get Ahead will be able to cover your back-office work, and maybe even some of your core business. (Have a look at all our services here to see what we offer)

    Alternatively, you could use your network to find someone in your sector who could provide a similar service to your clients while you’re away. With any luck, they’ll return the favour when it’s their turn for a holiday! 

    Even if you are the only one who can do the actual work, there’s no reason why you can’t outsource email management, phone answering or social media management so you don’t come home to countless messages. 

    Get Ahead helps to keep your business running when you go on holiday

    If you think you could benefit from back-office support, outsourced HR services or white label services, we’d love to hear from you. Our regional directors will take the time to learn about you and your business so they can match you with the best business experts for your needs. We always take personalities into account as well as skills, making the best match we can. Explore our site to find out more, or contact your local regional director here.

    Working from home during the school summer holidays can be a challenge. With your children at home, it can be hard to focus on work.

    But help is at hand! Team Get Ahead have been working from home since well before the pandemic. We’ve put together our top tips for staying on top of paid work during the school summer holidays – read on to find out more.

    1. Keep the children occupied while you work. Work with them to plan activities – this will help you all find something realistic, safe and unlikely to cause an argument. Help your children find the books, plasticene, working felt tips (!), Lego, dressing-up clothes etc so they’re all ready to go and the children won’t interrupt you with questions. We’ve noticed that computer games can lead to a lot of frustration so we try to save them for a time when mum and dad are free to play too. But we also know how difficult it is to manage screen time with our tech-savvy juniors – do what you have to do!
    2. Use a clock and stick to your timetable. Get a clock with clear numbers so you can explain to the children when you’re free and when you’re not. And if you’ve promised you’ll be free when the big hand gets to the six, make sure you’re free!
    3. Book play dates. Fix up with other working parents to have each other’s children over on different days. While this will give you fewer working days, it will mean that those you do get are more productive.
    4. Plan your to-do list. Chunk your work into stuff that can be interrupted and stuff that can’t, and choose when to do what. The calmer and more in control you feel, the calmer your children will be too.
    5. Work when the children are asleep. How you apply this will depend on your children’s ages! If you have tinies, consider working at nap-time or after you’ve put the children to bed. If your children are older, get up early and clear your daily tasks before they wake up.
    6. Share your plans with your partner or whoever supports you. Get the grandparents to save the big day trip to coincide with your online training session. Book important meetings at a time when your partner can take a break to be with the children. If there are two working parents, stagger your work commitments if you possibly can so one of you is always free if the children need you.
    7. Schedule time when you won’t be working. Plan how you’ll use it and stick to the plan. This kind of reliability is reassuring for your children and may lead to better behaviour too. (Disclaimer: there is an element of luck involved too!)
    8. Outsource! If working from home during the school summer holidays leaves you with too much on your plate, we hope you’ll consider outsourcing. Check out our infographic to get an idea of what you could pass on to someone else. Remember, you can outsource almost anything from virtual PA services to social media content writing services . Our regional directors can nearly always track down an expert with the skills your require. 

    Working from home during the school summer holidays with help from Get Ahead

    Our team has always worked from home – we love the flexibility! We’re always sharing news and views about business ownership and flexible working on our LinkedIn page – follow us to find out more.

    Working from home during the school holidays can seem like a real challenge. But the key to finding the balance might lie in your attitude.

    For this blog, we’ve caught up with Gloria, one of our VAs who offers life coaching and business planning in addition to back-office support. Read on for her great advice on rethinking work/life balance and overcoming negative mindsets.

    Why is working from home in the school holidays such a challenge for parents?

    Gloria: It’s a challenge because we care. We love our children and know we should be there for them. But we also know that we’re supposed to be working and earning, both to set a good example to our kids and because there are bills to pay! We often feel pulled in two different directions, and we might feel like we’re letting down both our children and our work.

    How can we rethink our working lives to achieve a better balance?

    Gloria: The good news is that there are lots of strategies to try. Here are some of my favourites:

    1. Ask yourself what you really want

    Start by asking yourself what you really want and what a good summer would look like for you. For example, you might decide that, as well as weekends, you want to have a “family day” every week. Or perhaps you’d rather squeeze all your paid work into two intense days and have the rest of the time free to use however you want. Whatever you decide, say it out loud or write it down. Make it specific. “I’d like more free time,” won’t result in you doing anything; reorganising your diary for a four-day week will.

    • Get your objections in proportion

    Once you’ve decided what you want, the little voice in your head will probably start raising objections. It might tell you that your boss will think you’re slack. Or it might tell you that you won’t make enough money if you don’t work every day.

    A good way to deal with these objections is to ask yourself whether they’re true. Are you just assuming your boss will hate your plan? Have you actually done the sums that show you won’t make enough?

    Try to rationalise your doubts. If you do and you find they have foundation, thank the voice in your head for protecting you! But it’s more likely that you will realise that working a five-day, forty-hour week is just a habit and there’s no reason why you should stick to it. And if that’s the case, let it go.

    • Techniques to let a negative mindset go

    Something I have learned as a life coach is that we are capable of any mindset. We can rewire our brains to think in a new way. Yes, we might have learned some negative mindsets during our lives so far, but it is possible to reframe those mindsets and make them positive.

    So when it’s time to let go of the idea that we have to do a five-day week, even when it doesn’t work for us, we can use certain techniques to dispel anxiety and put ourselves in the positive frame of mind we need.

    By the way, if you spend the summer holiday feeling stressed just because of work and family pressure, these techniques are for you too. Remember, some will suit you and others won’t – just choose the ones that work for you and your family.

    Affirmations are repeated words that help you create a sense of internal, emotional safety. Try repeating, “I can do this,” or “My family love me,” or whatever the phrase is that resonates with you.

    Try starting the day with meditation. Sit or lie somewhere quiet and place your hands on your tummy so you can feel your body moving as you breathe. Focusing on the breath for a few minutes in the morning can help you feel more focused and positive throughout the day.

    Intervene to stop anxiety. Most anxiety is forward looking, suggesting possibilities that haven’t happened yet. So if you start to feel anxious, try to bring yourself back to the present. A good way to do this is to use your senses – find one thing each for sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. This exercise will ground you and might help you regain your sense of proportion.

    Go outside! Walk barefoot on the grass and reconnect yourself with something bigger than you. It’s a beautiful world, and so much bigger than your child spilling a drink or a tricky spreadsheet formula.

    And lastly, one for the whole family! Work together to write down what is going wrong…and then rebalance it by writing down what is going right. You’ll quickly see that the positive column is a lot longer than the negative one. This can go a long way to making us feel better. When we work, we set a positive example to our children. But we also set a positive example when we show our vulnerability. Writing a gratitude list is a great way to teach emotional literacy to our children (which might mean fewer interruptions too!).

    Support for working from home during the summer holidays

    If you need business support, Get Ahead are here to help. Gloria offers coaching and business planning alongside more traditional VA duties. She has helped many business owners to find direction as well providing them with valuable back-office support. Explore our site to find out more, or contact your local regional director here.

    How to solve staffing issues is not the first question you want to be asking when you reopen after Christmas. Unfortunately, it often is. Christmas gives many people time to think and re-evaluate, with the result that January is often a key time for employees to give notice and start looking for other jobs.

    If you’ve been thrown into a staffing crisis because a key team member has decided to move on, you’re not alone. In this blog, we talk to virtual expert Louisa about the problem and consider different ways to solve staffing issues.

    Why is January a key month in staff turnover?

    Louisa: I like to use my Christmas break to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the next year. Lots of working people do, and it’s an important time in goal setting. Unfortunately for employers, it can also lead to employees deciding to take a different direction, leaving your business with a skills gap.

    How can we solve staffing issues in January?

    Louisa: It’s always a shame to say goodbye to someone with skills and experience that have benefited your business – fortunately, there are a number of solutions available. Above all, stay positive – remember that someone leaving always creates opportunities. For example, filling the skills gap could mean a promotion for the right team member. You could also change a process or introduce an efficiency.

    When I encounter businesses with a skills gap, I usually suggest the following solutions:

    Training and promotion

    Depending on your business and your team, training up another member of staff could fill the gap. This can be a cost-effective solution, as well as creating an opportunity for an established member of staff to develop their skills. Opportunities like this can make your staff members feel valued and could help minimise future staff turnover.

    On the other hand, if your existing team are already at capacity, you will have to bring in outside help.  

    Recruitment

    With an obvious gap in your team, you could also recruit a new member of staff. This is a good solution if you’re confident that the role you’re recruiting for is very similar to that held by your outgoing team member. It’s also good if your business is secure and you’re confident you will have the budget to cover the role.

    The downside of recruitment is that there are costs associated with advertising the role, as well as time lost from core business while you follow the recruitment process. It’s also important to remember that your new recruit won’t necessarily be able to bring value to the business straightaway. They might need to learn the ropes before you’ll see a return on your recruitment investment.

    Outsourcing

    Outsourcing is when you pay an outside person or organisation to provide a particular skill or service. It’s a great solution if you have a short-term skills gap…or if you don’t know how long you’ll have the skills gap for. Unlike using a temp, outsourcing is completely flexible and you only pay for completed work. For example, if you outsource the outgoing team member’s responsibilities and then find that some of them are no longer relevant, you can simply turn off that part of the service.

    If you outsource to an agency like Get Ahead, your local regional director will hand pick a team of experts to cover all the support you need. This means that you could spread one person’s hours across three people, and get an exceptional standard of work from each one. And if your virtual support shows you a more efficient way of doing something, you are welcome to adopt it – this could change the whole outlook of your business.

    Whenever I’m asked to slot into a new business at short notice, I’ve learned to quickly pick up on the culture as well as delivering the best work I can. This means – like all Get Ahead’s virtual experts -I can hit the ground running when I start working for a new client.

    Best of all, there’s no long contract, so if you unexpectedly fill your skills gap with a permanent staff member, you can simply switch off the outsourced work while keeping within your staffing budget.

    Outsource support to Get Ahead

    If you think Get Ahead could be the solution to your skills gap, we’d love to help! Get in touch today or explore our site to find out more. You can also find us on LinkedIn where we share loads of news and tips for business owners.

     

     

     

    How do you say thank you to staff at Christmas? And with all the restaurants taking Christmas bookings since the summer, what do you do if you’ve left it too late to fix a party?

    If you’re stuck for ways to show your team some appreciation this Christmas, or you need some last-minute ideas, help is at hand. We caught up with business development manager Melanie who shared her top ideas for team bonding, seeing your staff as real people and generally having fun at Christmas time. 

    Why does employee appreciation matter?

    Melanie: Showing your employees that you care goes a very long way. It’s a great way to build staff loyalty which can increase productivity and staff retention. What you do doesn’t have to be expensive as long as your team can see that you’re sincere. 

    In my work as a business development manager, I’ve seen how breaking down barriers and meeting staff on a non-work level can really help a business. When there’s a staff party – even something as simple as playing board games together – job titles disappear and you’re all just people together. This is how to really start getting to know your team, understanding what pressures they’re under outside of work, and learning what’s really important to them too. 

    Once you’re on the road to getting to know your staff on a more personal level, you’ll probably find management easier. Flexing round someone who is balancing paid work with being a carer, for example, is much more likely to bring out their best side. You can keep all their drive and talent within your own organisation, while supporting them in their personal life too. 

    How do you say thank you to staff at Christmas?

    Melanie: There are lots of ways to thank your staff! 

    • Say thank you

      It’s simple and it works. Write it in a card or say it out loud, but make a point of it – it goes a long way. 

      • Plan a celebration

      Even if you’ve left it too late to book a party, escape room or cocktail class, you can still get together with your staff. If you have a business premises, hold your party there. Prosecco and crisps go a long way, and there’s nothing to stop you laying on more of a spread if your budget will allow. Remember to provide something festive and alcohol-free for any colleagues who aren’t drinking. 

      You know your team. If you think a structured activity could help break the ice, a quiz or a games night is cheap and easy to organise. And if you’re an outdoorsy lot, go on a walk together – you could even “give something back” and do a litter pick at the same time. 

      • Volunteer together

      Christmas is a busy time for loads of charities – why not check out corporate volunteering opportunities near you? Volunteering is a great way to bond as a team and have a laugh, helping your community at the same time. 

      • Support a new cause

      Show your support for the causes or events that your employees take part in at Christmas. This can be a great way to show you value what your employees do outside of work, as well as supporting a new charity or organisation.  For example, one of our team sings with the Lloyds Choir and we’re all going along to their Christmas carol concert – really looking forward to it! 

      Say thank you to your staff at Christmas

      Whatever you plan for your staff at Christmas, think about who they are and what they’d enjoy. Personalising your thanks makes it much more meaningful. In turn, this can make it go further and help you bring out the best in your employees. 

      We’ve put together loads of Christmas resources to help business owners during this busy time! If you found this blog useful, check out these ones too:

      Take a break from work over Christmas

      Connect with your business family

      Top tips for using social media over Christmas

      Christmas cheats for business owners