The holidays are a really busy time of year and people take off to spend time with their families.  I’ve found myself in so many situations where coworkers seem to fly the coup and don’t prepare for not being in the office. And let me tell you…it sucks!  No one wants to be left completely confused and out of the loop on projects and blindsided by what’s coming next!  Since I know we’ve all been there let’s talk about 5 strategic ways to not screw over your coworkers this holiday season.

Communicate early.

We all know the holiday break is coming so let’s be prepared.  Communicate what projects are on the table right now and what needs to be done.  Don’t wait until your about to walk out the door to loop people in.

Set clear deadlines for yourself and your coworkers.

Now that you let everyone know what needs to be done, choose a reasonable deadline to accomplish it.  To effectively communicate your points via email, check out my tips.

Have a back-up plan.

People get sick, call out and projects change.  The end of the year can mean a lot for your business so make sure there are alternative plans.  If a deadline is missed, what can be done?  If the project manager cannot complete the task, who will take it on.  Have a plan and keep everyone in the loop.

Identify the time sensitivity.

Does the project or task you are working on have to be done right before the holidays or can it wait?   Assess the needs of the tasks on you and your co-workers plates before adding something else on.

Be a good partner. 

For many businesses the end of the year can be stressful.  Listen to one another and work together and not against one another to accomplish the tasks at hand.

Just remember, even though you may have off for a few more days doesn’t mean people will forget how you treated them the week before.  Take this as an opportunity to build deeper relationships with coworkers and find out how they work best.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were left in the dark? How did you overcome it?