Vacations should be a time to escape work responsibilities, but leaving the office behind isn’t always as simple as turning on your email auto-reply.
The key is finding balance: you don’t want to peek at your phone for email every two minutes and you definitely don’t want to go through your inbox for the first time in days only to find out that a major project has crashed and burned.
On the flipside, it can be frustrating for managers when employees go on vacation without leaving clear instructions on when (or if) they’ll be available.
Knowing how to communicate before and during vacations is crucial in keeping productivity up at the office while people are away.
Real Business spoke with career coach Pamela Weinberg for tips on how you should communicate during vacation season.
1.  Warn the Office.
Once you know your vacation dates, tell your coworkers. Weinberg recommends giving at least two weeks’ notice for extended time off. Gentle reminders to clients, bosses and staff will ensure your absence isn’t a surprise. That can also be useful when planning upcoming projects. On that note, don’t take on new work right before a vacation. Instead, use the time to wrap up what you’ve been assigned.
2.  Delegate Responsibility.
Before you leave, be available to answer employees’ questions and give your second-in-command ample time to get acquainted with your projects and clients. Better communication now means less communication later.
“You may need to have more than one point person [if you have multiple] projects,” says Weinberg. “But it would also be helpful to have those people report to your admin so you could make one phone call at the end of the day to get updated, rather than five.”
3. Inform Your Clients.
Be sure to send clients an email with contact info for a point person while you’re out of the office. Manage their expectations. “Be as transparent as possible about what the process is going to be in your absence,” says Weinberg.
4. Don’t Talk the Talk.
Exercise restraint in giving out your cell number — and definitely don’t include it in your email auto-reply. Instead, give your number to a trusted few in the office who know the difference between a particularly challenging paper jam and a real emergency.
As for crafting an auto-reply email: “Give people a way to get whatever information they may need, whether it’s from a strong admin or a coworker who may be covering some of your projects while you’re away,” says Weinberg.
Also be sure to include the date you’ll be returning to the grid.
5. Set Email Barriers.
To alleviate the stress of feeling completely disconnected from the office, set a daily 15-minute block to read and respond to email. Weinberg says the barrier is important for two reasons: “One, the office knows that they can reach you and the information is being sent to you. Two, so you can enjoy your vacation … [and] you don’t feel that urgent need to check your phone.”
6. Trust Your Staff and Let Go.
You might be having nightmares of your inbox piling up with CC’d emails for a project, but “you have to take a step back and say, Has this already been figured out? Is this something my employees are capable of figuring out? before you jump into the fray,” says Weinberg.
Letting go of the reigns for a week not only helps you relax; it also has long-term benefits for your staff. They can get valuable learning experience in solving problems on their own. “It’s a good opportunity for other employees to rise to the occasion,” says Weinberg.
7.  Reasonable employee expectations.
When it’s an employee’s turn to go on vacation, managers should expect similar protocol. Arrange a short meeting or call with the staffer to get filled in on client issues and upcoming projects.
As for keeping in contact while they’re out, Weinberg says “in an ideal world, you would not check in on the employee, and rather have the employee check on you.”
Obviously if there’s an important question that only the vacationing staffer can answer, call or send an email. But if a manager has been properly briefed and the employee is checking in from time to time, there should be no need for frantic phone calls.
“It’s all about managing expectations,” says Weinberg. “Nobody wants to be surprised.”