Community Champion
Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Are you winding down for the end of year festivities? Whatever that looks like for you, here are 10 things to consider when heading into the holidays.
1. Thank your team
I’m sure you do this all the time anyway, but as a gentle reminder, this is a great time of year to be thanking people for the work they have done over the past 12 months.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money (or any money). A digital card, a message on your corporate internal social network, a thank you in person or on email: it all makes a difference.
2. Thank your suppliers
Suppliers have had a tough year, just like the rest of us. Rising costs and clients who have had to scale back their plans as a result of belt-tightening have made it a difficult economic climate for many, especially small businesses.
3. Organise a celebration
Whether it’s a Christmas jumper day, a lunch out to mark the end of another year and still being together as a team, or simply the option of meeting in person, try to find some time to celebrate what you have achieved this year.
Look back at the projects that the team delivered, or the successes that have happened on your journey in your current project. Find something that everyone can do, so your celebration is inclusive.
4. Remember that payment runs are early
Back to business: payment runs are early in December. Your Finance team might be processing everything a week or so before the normal cutoffs to account for people being out of the office or bank deadlines due to the holiday season.
Make sure you get any invoices or expense claims in on time so you don’t miss out.
5. Be prepared for the change freeze
Your IT department probably has a change freeze planned for the holiday period. This is a time when they won’t make changes to production systems, normally because they are running with a reduced staff due to people taking time off. It might also be because it’s a busy time of year for your business and they don’t want to do anything that would mess stuff up.
If your project needs IT changes, talk to them about the dates for the freeze and get your change requests to the CAB (Change Advisory Board) as soon as you can.
6. Do your accruals
If the end of the calendar year coincides with the end of your financial year, you might have to do accruals. This is where you financially account for items that have not yet been delivered but have been ordered, or have been delivered but haven’t yet been invoiced.
Talk to your finance team about what they need from you. In my old job, we used to get a form to complete from Finance that detailed all the info they needed about open purchase orders so they could close the books for the year.
7. Send feedback to line managers
If you have benefited from having subject matter experts on your team, take a moment to send some feedback to them and their line manager about their contribution to your project. That can be included in their performance appraisal.
8. Prep for your end of year review
On the topic of appraisals, if you have an end of year review coming up (ours are often in January), take half an hour or so to document what you have achieved this year so you can reference it in your meeting.
9. Be mindful of other people’s leave
Even if you aren’t taking much (or any) time away from the office, your colleagues may well be. Try to bear in mind their leave dates so you aren’t bothering them with emails during their break.
10. Set your out of office
It’s time to take a break from the office, so update your out of office message and let people know who to contact while you are away.
Now all that is done, you can rest up and enjoy the holidays! I hope you have something lovely planned to mark the end of another year.
Posted on: December 01, 2022 08:00 AM |
Permalink