We all look forward to the next holiday: vacation, family activities, sleepovers, etc. However, just because the calendar recognizes that it's a holiday doesn't mean that your website or customers really care (especially for those in e-commerce).

So what if you website crashes or a customer has a major product problem they need help with?

Holidays mean different working hours for companies and different schedules for departing employees. If a problem comes up during that time, it can be a nightmare to get through trying to get hold of the right people to solve the problem – and if you have a physical storefront, it can be difficult to access if the person who has the keys is on an island enjoying an extended vacation somewhere.

Before you and your team can enjoy a well-deserved break, it's important to set one up crisis management plan so that your business is ready to handle any issues that arise. This doesn't mean you have to make employees work on holidays or disrupt your work-life balance. However, your team should be prepared in case of an emergency.

Related: The 10 Commandments of Successfully Managing a Business Crisis

Step 1: Get contact information and schedules

As each major holiday approaches, you should create an ICE (in case of emergency) list of contacts that everyone on your team has access to. Ask your employees to provide the best way to contact them and what their schedules look like. It is important to have alternative contacts as well.

For example, if your website developer is going camping off the grid and won't have a cell signal during the holiday break and two days beyond, you should have an alternate contact in place that the team can reach if the website is down. yours crashes.

Step 2: Rotate the call schedule

Senior management must be available in a crisis. Each holiday, create a team member in management who is the point of contact if a problem arises. Rotating this ensures that everyone can enjoy the holidays all year round. Let managers know they need to provide their contact information and the best way to contact them so everyone knows who and how to contact them.

Step 3: Put a plan in place

Once everyone has provided their schedules and an on-call manager has been established, it is important to provide your team with a PLAN. This will look different for every company and industry, but a brief outline of a plan might look like this:

1. A certain person must control the company. This could look like checking the customer service line or reviewing the CRM to make sure customer orders are being accepted.
2. If something goes wrong, the person on the call will have to decide how to handle it. Maybe they can fix it quickly if it's something small. You can provide a decision tree for your team that shows what is considered a small issue and what is considered a bigger issue that requires someone else higher up the food chain to handle. If it's a bigger problem, the person assigned to the call can use the emergency contact list to get help.
3. The problem should then be logged somewhere in a central location. This helps your team avoid similar issues in the future and ensure proper procedures are followed.
4. Once the right people are contacted and the issue is documented, hopefully it will be resolved. However, if not, make sure you have something in place that you can send them CLIENTS to let them know that the problem cannot be dealt with until after the holiday.

It's a good idea to think of a few things that could go wrong so you can give your team examples of what to do. For example, what should your team do if they notice that customer orders are being rejected by CRM? What happens if your social media account gets banned because of a problem with a post? Ask your team to give suggestions on what could go wrong so that you are as prepared as possible.

Related: Your step-by-step guide to overcoming a business crisis

Step 4: Remember that everyone is human

It's okay to also remember that everyone is human and he needs a break. This means that it is acceptable to just let customers know that your team is out of the office and cannot be reached. Just be transparent with your customers and they will be understanding. Wherever your customers can find you, put a note that no one is available, but after the holidays their concerns will be addressed immediately. This should look like web banners, out-of-office email notifications, social media posts, etc.

Don't forget to give your team some grace too. If you decide to have someone on the phone, let them know that if a big problem comes up and they do their best but still can't solve it, that's okay! As long as they follow all the procedures you set ahead of time, you know they did their best.

No matter how much planning, brainstorming, or just worrying you do, you can't anticipate every single emergency. The best you can do is make a plan, train your team and admit at the end of the day that you all deserve a party too. Your team needs to feel supported whether they're on call or fully enjoying their holiday break, and a crisis management plan can help them feel safe.