Compensation Consultant: I think you win at HR. Well said. Especially the part about setting expectations during recruitment.

I guess what I was really going for, though my own occasional problems with authority may have gotten in the way of posting this clearly, is some variant of the honey/vinegar business.

I did recently find a new job in the midst of this economic mess. I therefore feel justified in sticking out my tongue in the most juvenile fashion in I can muster. But I’ll resist.

First, make sure at the recruitment stage that all potential employees understand that December/January are the busiest times of year, and while no one will have to work Christmas Day, nor can anyone take more than x days of leave at this time, as per policy. The same goes for leave around month-end (my husband used to work in accounting, and could never take the first or last week of the month off. Never.)

Second, accountants are well-paid professionals. Treat them as such. Trust them to arrange their working and leave periods around likely client demands, and to have a nominated secondary contact when they are on leave. But manage their performance. If they take leave at such a time that they can’t or don’t meet a client committment, that is grounds for a performance discussion (which could lead to no bonus, or no job).

One woman residing in an automobile does not change this.

Let me also say a smart employer will take care of their employees and protect their investment in them.

The company I work for has a mandatory shut down for a week in the summer in order to help use up employee vacation days during our slow time. This helps to insure that employees are there when you need them because they don’t have very many vacation days left when the end of the year comes around. They also publish the days they are closed to our customers so the expectation of service is maintained. When we do have people taking off at inopportune times such as the end of the year, the rest of us do what good teams do… we cover for them.

…and yup, I’m under 40 and I agree with Mari.

Rotating holiday leave sounds fine to me when there’s a genuine business requirement – but to me, your reasoning/attitude is like nails on a chalkboard. Don’t ask me to be grateful to have a job. Tell me how grateful you are that I do so such for you. If I’m a top performer, I could be somewhere else a month from now, regardless of the economy… and if I’m not, I could still run off once the skies clear a bit.

And yes – I’m under 40. But people of all generations chafe at being lectured and appreciate a little gratitude.

In a smaller firm [which this probably is since they don’t seem to have a policy in place]rotation can probably work because most people will stay at least 2-3 years and they probably don’t have a huge influx of new hires each year.