Five ways to keep your business running smoothly this summer holiday season

Whether your team’s heading to the beach, dialing in from the garden, or working around busy family schedules, just because it’s summer doesn’t mean business stands still.

But staying productive at this time of year can be challenging.

Here are five tips to make sure your business stays connected… and help your people properly switch off when it’s time for a break.

1. Take your business calls anywhere with CloudComms

Your biggest fear about vacating the office during the summer might be missed calls. Just because the weather’s improved, that doesn’t mean your customers don’t need you. But there’s a straightforward solution: CloudComms.

We’ve already talked about why CloudComms is great for SME businesses here. But imagine being able to make and take calls from your mobile, laptop, or tablet, wherever you are, whatever time of day. It’s easy to keep work moving wherever the summer takes you.

2. Get more done with productivity apps

Tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace let your team collaborate in real time, share documents, and keep business moving - even if half the team’s out of the office. A quick refresher for your team on how to access these tools on the go is all you need for an agile workforce that gets things done.

Now at this point, we should add a quick caveat.

Just because your people will be able to pick up their work wherever they are, doesn’t mean they should be expected to. It’s important to give your team time to switch off and enjoy their holidays. Expecting work to be done during annual leave is a sure-fire route to a (rightly) disgruntled team. And that’s definitely bad for business.

Which brings us nicely to our next point.

3. Check your out of office settings

Before the holiday starts, double-check email auto-responses, call forwarding, and voicemail. The goal is to make it easy for customers and colleagues to reach the right person, or to know when they’ll get a response.

Unless it’s urgent, most people are happy to wait if they’ve been given a timescale. And for those urgent moments when something needs picking up immediately, they’ll know who they need to contact.

4. Communicate your summer hours

While you’re at it, make sure to update your website and customer contacts if your opening hours are changing. When people are trying to find you, it’s helpful if they know when they’ll be able to get hold of you. The alternative is a potential customer spending all day Friday trying to get through when you’re closed till Tuesday. A quick and simple update can help prevent that kind of experience.

5. Boost your security and make a backup plan

If your team are taking their work devices away from the office, now’s a good time to remind them about password security and leaving devices unattended. Accidents happen, and whether a device is lost or stolen, it’s important that the data on it remains secure.

Add broken devices to the mix, and you’ve got the three big reasons why it’s also good to have a robust cloud backup plan in place. If someone’s laptop goes missing while they’re away, it shouldn’t mean a week of lost work.

No matter how busy the summer season gets, a few smart changes can keep your business running smoothly. With the right tech and a little forward planning, you can stay connected, secure, and productive from anywhere. If you’d like help getting set up, or want tailored advice for your business, our team will be happy to help.