Managing insurance agency time off can be rough. It’s the start of a new week, which means we’re kicking off a brand new topic for our Three Minute Videos. This topic is probably one that you’re feeling the impacts of right now, and it has to do with insurance time off, and time management. We call it the “summer hangover.”
”Running short-staffed for 90 days when many agencies might already be a little short staffed can cause a lot of chaos. So if you’re feeling like a headache and maybe some queasy stomach and not feeling your absolute best, ask yourself, if we look at the summer hangover vacation, did we do it smart?
Here’s what happens: August can be a rough month for employees, because by this time, everyone basically feels like they’re running on empty. Insurance time off for the summer really starts in May with graduations, recitals, and other celebrations. This pattern continues right through Labor Day, when agencies are usually down a person or two at a time.
Being down just one or two people usually wouldn’t necessarily have a big impact, but when it goes on month after month, it can leave everyone feeling exhausted and grumpy. Here’s how you can make sure insurance time off in the summer doesn’t leave everyone feeling completely drained.
Have a plan
Of course, vacations are going to happen, but it’s important to have a plan for your insurance time off. What happens before someone goes on vacation, and what happens after? How do you seamlessly transfer work between people? Some other considerations should be email inboxes, out of office messages, and making sure all of your clients are taken care of.
Have people managing activity
When someone has insurance time off, their work shouldn’t be left to pile up. Instead, we should own their work and complete it, because coming back from vacation to be completely buried is not relaxing for anybody. This is all part of managing time off in an insurance agency.
Plan catch-up time
Coming back to work can be a whirlwind, so it’s important to plan catch-up time. For example, for the morning that you’re back, you can stay heads-down, off of email and your phone, while you get caught up. Making sure there is a smooth landing can make insurance time off much more seamless.
Space out vacations
It’s not always possible, but managers should consider spacing out employee vacations. Especially if your agency is short-staffed, spacing out vacations might be necessary in order to avoid a total meltdown.
The summer hangover is bound to happen, but you can take steps to mitigate its impacts. If you feel like it hits your agency hard, work to come up with a plan, in order to sort through all of the chaos.
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