Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311200264
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Santa can't be far away - Scrooge either.
When the holidays arrive, already stressed-out employees also shop, decorate, send greeting cards and host and attend parties. And in retail, work becomes sheer madness.
So how do you avoid having grumpy employees, who feel cheated from time with their families, giving lousy service to equally grumpy customers? ``By planning ahead and planning together - with employees, vendors and customers - you can do some incredible things,'' said Ann McGee-Cooper, a Dallas-based business consultant and author.
Yet while small to medium-size businesses recognize the headaches the holidays bring, few plan or budget to avoid the problems. So says a national survey of such firms conducted by MCI Telecommunications Corp.
MCI hired McGee-Cooper to offer practical remedies, which are included in the company's free booklet, ``Holiday Proof Your Business.''
In part, the issue can be one of approach, McGee-Cooper says. Facing growing piles of work, distracted employees and shipping delays that anger weary customers, one staffer may see only disaster.
Another, viewing the situation from another angle, can seize it as an opportunity to foster ideas and create heroes. ``One person like that is contagious,'' she said. ``When you use fresh ideas to solve problems, that gives tremendous energy.''
Consider how Tere Zubizarreta, president of Zubi Advertising Services Inc., a Miami ad agency, tackles the classic headache of what to give clients.
In lieu of buying fancy gifts or cards, Zubizarreta gives to charity in her clients' honor. In 20 years of giving, her agency has adopted homeless families and given to children with AIDS, among others. In 1980, the agency staged holiday festivities for 780 children who arrived in Miami via the Mariel boatlift from Cuba, where they had never celebrated Christmas.
(Roanoke-based Packett Group said this week it would ask guests coming to its holiday party to donate to the Salvation Army. The advertising agency canceled its party in 1991, saying it would donate the money it normally spent on the party to charity. Last year it held the party but asked guests to support the Salvation Army's efforts.)
While the weeks before Christmas can get hectic as client budgets and plans are completed for the new year, Zubizarreta says, most employees have the freedom to come in late,
or take a long lunch to run holiday errands. But flexibility and client needs also may dictate that employees work late or on weekends during the holiday season.
``That's why I give a Christmas bonus,'' Zubizarreta said, ``whether we can afford it or not.''
The money goes directly to the staff, rather than to fancy gifts or parties.
by CNB