Christmas Readiness Checklist for Maximum Christmas Readiness Christmas Readiness Checklist for Maximum Christmas Readiness

Nail your Christmas readiness:

Formalities:

Are your operating hours over Christmas changing? Will you be closing for a set period of time, only on the public holidays, or open every day due to industry requirements/avoiding your family?

Do you have your hours listed on your website?
Do you have your hours listed on your Google Business listing?
Do you have your hours listed on your Facebook page?
Can it be centrally added to all staff email signatures?

How are you going to announce the change in hours/availability to your customers, and the general public?

Within your newsletter or social posts? More than once?
Email signature with a link to a short blog post?
Client-wide email?

Are there any requirements of staff during the festive season (e.g., “Don’t show up on the 25th”)?

Have they been advised of any forced closures? (Now might be a good time to advise them so they can plan their atomic parties and dangerous DIY projects).
Will they have to take additional leave, and when does it need to be logged (and do they log it themselves, or will HR take care of it)?
Are there any other options like being part of a skeleton team? If so, can staff volunteer for this?

Email/phone out-of-office messages:

Should this be curated by an individual, or is it managed by an internal department?
Does a script need to be followed or can users curate their own?

Festivities:

Is Secret Santa on the cards? If so:

Who is organising this?
What are the rules of engagement?
What is the process (who provides for who, and how is this decided)?
Is there a budget or do “gifts” need to be homemade / op-shopped?
Is there a guide to what is/is not appropriate? This might seem obvious, but from experience, we suggest at least putting restrictions on alcohol, adult toys, and anything acquired from the dark web.
When should the gameplan be communicated to staff, and how?

Staff Christmas Party:

Is one happening (or equivalent)?
Is there a theme? Note that themes are cool but can be stressful for some people to cater to and render the whole exercise an unpleasant experience.
Is someone making an executive decision on the event, or will staff be surveyed for their input?
Is someone accountable for it (i.e., a single source of truth for questions, troubleshooting, and event management)?
Can everyone attend (i.e., are any staff left behind to maintain phones or a support desk, and if so, are they facilitated for)?
Does an activity/event need to be involved (e.g., team building, or just hanging out)?
Are partners invited?
Who oversees safety and to what degree?
Does information or specific expectations need to be circulated to the greater team regarding company standards and professional responsibilities?
Does it cater to everyone (non-drinkers, non-meat eaters, dairy, gluten or nut intolerant, intermittent-fasters, CrossFitting paleo’s etc.)?
Is there an alcohol policy – policy for company supply of or purchase of alcohol? Do waivers need to be signed before the finance team starts shouting Jaeger Bombs?