6 Efficient Tips for Managing Your Business While on Vacation
Traveling to various cities or countries to take a break from business may be a dream for many people. Unfortunately, not all business owners can turn that into a reality. There are many activities that seem impossible to be left behind such as projects with clients, inventory management, sales tracking, and a lot more, so that going on vacation seems like a wishful thinking.
Susan Krauss Whitbourne, professor of psychology and author of Adult Development & Aging states that vacations are very important to our physical and mental health. Taking vacations can relieve work-related stress and after getting back from one, you will be ready more than ever to take on the world again. Doesn’t this sound like a good idea for your business continuity as well?
If you really can’t leave your business, then you better take it wherever you go. Here are some ways to do it.
1. Plan ahead
In order for you to be able to truly enjoy your vacation without having to worry about your business, schedule your vacation three to six months in advance. This will make it easier for you to prioritize tasks and manage deadlines. However, if you are an impulsive person, then you can take your vacation at a time of year when your business is slower.
2. Manage your workload
Try to complete client-related workload before you leave. Or if that’s not possible, make sure that your staff can continue to serve clients without your presence. You can also inform your clients about your absence and ask them to meet you after you return from your vacation.
3. Choose a representative
If you want to take a few weeks off, then it would be a good idea to appoint the right person to replace your role temporarily. This person can represent you in every internal and external meeting. However, business decisions still depend on you. Keep in mind that you can throw this option out if you think it’s unnecessary.
4. Turn employees into independent learners
You will find out whether your employees are actually reliable or not while you are away. However, you wouldn’t want to take a gamble by not teaching your employees to be self sufficient.
Your employees must really understand what they are doing and what they should be doing when certain issues occur. Here are some examples of independent employees:
- The IT staff can act quickly when your website is down without asking their supervisor for help
- The inventory clerk knows which supplier to contact when the stock is running low
- The finance manager knows how to pay bills and distribute salaries in a timely manner
- The digital marketing strategist can come up with creative ideas to increase sales conversions through the campaigns they make
Your business operations will run smoothly and you will be able to enjoy your vacation if you use an automated solution. With fully integrated software like ERP, all the complex tasks that take a lot of time and energy can be automated. Sales, finances, inventory, and various critical reports can be generated within seconds. All your business functions can integrate and collaborate using a centralized database.
Click here to find out more about ERP.
5. Use a monitoring tool
With the help of a cloud-based solution, you can easily monitor all your business activities wherever and whenever you want. Your daily sales results, stock movements, order shipments, appointments, and employee attendance can all be monitored through your browser.
6. Stay connected to internet
All you need to manage your business while on vacation is an internet connection. As long as you are connected to the internet, you are able to check your emails and respond to them immediately. You can also monitor your business activities with your smartphone or iPad.
Even though you might not be able to completely leave your business behind, the most important thing is to make the most of your vacation to relax your body and mind. This way, you will feel more refreshed when you return to work.