Additionally, a particular type lacking employee confidence finds unhealthy reassurance by viewing their position and personal performance as indispensable. Stated bluntly, your small business may have hired someone reluctant to surrender keys, passwords, knowledge, experience, and other vital information. This reluctance is why it’s wise to pay close attention to any resistance you encounter when implementing cross-team collaboration.
Job duties and responsibilities often change with the passage of time and turnover. Make collecting specific information your people use to do their jobs a regular part of your managerial duties. Most of the time, there will be little in the way of change to document month to month. That’s OK. Do the inventory anyway. Reassure staff that in addition to providing for their future vacations, you are also making sure that you are compensating them adequately.
3. Maintain a prominent group calendar.
While you can’t possibly foresee the unexpected, you can be annoyingly meticulous about tracking anticipated absences. Further, you can ensure that you remind everyone who plans to be out and when. Many small business owners mistake collecting that information for themselves but fail to share it widely. Frequently, there is an underlying assumption, especially in smaller businesses, that everyone “just knows” what’s happening.
Even if you’re 100% sure everyone is on the same page with anticipated absences, publish them widely anyway. The most straightforward means is to create a digital company calendar accessible from any device, anywhere. Review planned absences weekly to confirm and remind others if you hold team meetings. Public posting may prompt one of your employees to ask who will cover specific tasks you hadn’t previously considered.