Ramadan in August: A Headache for Organizing Holidays
22 June 2011
Read by 1843 persons
Given Ramadan, more and more employees want to take their holidays in June and July. How to schedule departures well in advance to satisfy everyone.
In a few weeks, many companies will start to slow down, if they don't simply close their doors for three to four weeks. And for good reason, the summer period most often corresponds to holiday departures. This year, the organization is likely to be more difficult because Ramadan will coincide with the beginning of August. Many will want to leave on holiday as early as July to better enjoy, with their family, their rest period during the day.
Khalid Lahbabi, HR Director of CMCP/International Paper Group, points out that "the advancement of the month of Ramadan has meant that in the last two years requests have been made for July, which causes a bottleneck during this period". In organized companies that conduct a real human resources management policy, there should be no difficulties. "Holiday departures must necessarily be the subject of planning and a replacement chart to ensure the continuity of activities", adds Mr. Lahbabi. Except that in companies that decide on an annual closure during this period of the year, there will undoubtedly be frustrated employees. The company cannot, of course, force an employee to take leave, but it can establish a program according to production imperatives.
In short, it's all a question of organization, both for planning departures and for internal operations. On this last point, many HR experts point out that absences allow employees in post to be involved in tasks they were not used to doing in order to develop versatility and, above all, to responsabilize employees who will one day be called upon to take over.
Omar Benaini, associate consultant at LMS ORH, highlights another interest, and not the least. "The fact of entrusting the interim of a function to a person allows them, in particular, to benefit from a new experience and to improve," he observes. For an employee, this is therefore a mark of confidence that can very well influence their future behavior and involvement.
Indeed, the role of a manager is to ensure that their employees are performing. And one of the ways is precisely to push them to take charge of a certain number of missions.
However, you cannot delegate all your files, even if, in the absolute, no one is indispensable to run a company. "Certain files, such as salary negotiations, overtime management and recruitment are always left on standby. Even the CEO refuses to make decisions on these issues in my absence," assures the HR director of a large company. "It's not because he doesn't want to get involved; in the company, I master these files more than anyone else."
And in case of emergency? A hypothesis never to be ruled out. That is why it is necessary to be reachable by a handful of people, the secretary or the substitute, for example. "Today, the mobile phone and electronic mail do the job perfectly," underlines Karim Bennis, CEO of an SME. But it would be a catastrophe if the phone rang all the time. Indeed, to rest, you must know how to take a step back.
With regard to Ramadan, we must especially think of those who will remain in the company. "I have two solutions. The first is that I have set up a team of several people, dedicated to preparing meals for those who work during the f'tour. This gives the company a family atmosphere throughout this period. The second, myself and the management team make it a point of honor to arrive at least on time, if not slightly earlier. This is called setting an example," explains the CEO of an SME.
Published on June 22, 2011
Posted online on June 23, 2011
Lavieeco.com
In a few weeks, many companies will start to slow down, if they don't simply close their doors for three to four weeks. And for good reason, the summer period most often corresponds to holiday departures. This year, the organization is likely to be more difficult because Ramadan will coincide with the beginning of August. Many will want to leave on holiday as early as July to better enjoy, with their family, their rest period during the day.
Khalid Lahbabi, HR Director of CMCP/International Paper Group, points out that "the advancement of the month of Ramadan has meant that in the last two years requests have been made for July, which causes a bottleneck during this period". In organized companies that conduct a real human resources management policy, there should be no difficulties. "Holiday departures must necessarily be the subject of planning and a replacement chart to ensure the continuity of activities", adds Mr. Lahbabi. Except that in companies that decide on an annual closure during this period of the year, there will undoubtedly be frustrated employees. The company cannot, of course, force an employee to take leave, but it can establish a program according to production imperatives.
In short, it's all a question of organization, both for planning departures and for internal operations. On this last point, many HR experts point out that absences allow employees in post to be involved in tasks they were not used to doing in order to develop versatility and, above all, to responsabilize employees who will one day be called upon to take over.
Omar Benaini, associate consultant at LMS ORH, highlights another interest, and not the least. "The fact of entrusting the interim of a function to a person allows them, in particular, to benefit from a new experience and to improve," he observes. For an employee, this is therefore a mark of confidence that can very well influence their future behavior and involvement.
Indeed, the role of a manager is to ensure that their employees are performing. And one of the ways is precisely to push them to take charge of a certain number of missions.
However, you cannot delegate all your files, even if, in the absolute, no one is indispensable to run a company. "Certain files, such as salary negotiations, overtime management and recruitment are always left on standby. Even the CEO refuses to make decisions on these issues in my absence," assures the HR director of a large company. "It's not because he doesn't want to get involved; in the company, I master these files more than anyone else."
And in case of emergency? A hypothesis never to be ruled out. That is why it is necessary to be reachable by a handful of people, the secretary or the substitute, for example. "Today, the mobile phone and electronic mail do the job perfectly," underlines Karim Bennis, CEO of an SME. But it would be a catastrophe if the phone rang all the time. Indeed, to rest, you must know how to take a step back.
With regard to Ramadan, we must especially think of those who will remain in the company. "I have two solutions. The first is that I have set up a team of several people, dedicated to preparing meals for those who work during the f'tour. This gives the company a family atmosphere throughout this period. The second, myself and the management team make it a point of honor to arrive at least on time, if not slightly earlier. This is called setting an example," explains the CEO of an SME.
Published on June 22, 2011
Posted online on June 23, 2011
Lavieeco.com
