Six things to do before you go on your summer holiday

Summer is here – hooray. For those of you planning a getaway, be it abroad (hopefully avoiding some of the airport chaos) or around the UK, it’s the first post-covid-restrictions summer! All of us at DSC wish you a lovely break if you’ve something fun planned, even if it’s just a week at home relaxing.

Of course, your beneficiaries won’t stop needing the help of your charity whilst you’re gone, so your colleagues will continue all the hard work in your absence. It always helps to step back and plan well when taking leave.

Here’s a little checklist of things to remember to consider before you go on leave, to help your colleagues in your absence:

1. Identify your AIA

Identify someone to act in absence (AIA) for you. At DSC we have an Acting in Absence policy which is so helpful when arranging leave. The template for our policy is available in our publication – Charity Policies and Procedures Templates.

2. Create your handover document

As part of this process, I always build a handover document. This could have links to key documents, notes on how to do tasks, meeting notes etc.

3. Schedule an AIA handover meeting

Put into the diary an AIA handover meeting a couple of days before you leave, and book a hand back over meeting for your return. This ensures continuity and the opportunity for any questions.

4. Let all your colleagues know

Send a message to all colleagues at least a few days before your last day, notifying them as to who is AIA. This leaves things crystal clear for all colleagues as to who they can go to in your absence. This also empowers the person AIA for you. Plus people know they have a limited time to bother you before you go away :-).

5. Set your out-of-office message

Make sure that you remember to set your out-of-office message so that anyone who emails you knows when you’ll be back. Add the contact details for the person who’ll be acting in your absence.

6. Holiday reading list

Who said learning should stop when you’re away?! If you want something to read whilst you’re poolside, we have a whole range of e-books covering everything from governance to fundraising, check out our virtual library here.

Bonus tip – always pack a pair of sunnies :-).