Where are you going on vacation?
Summer has arrived and vacations are on everyone’s mind. For dedicated private service professionals like you, booking some time off demands extra care and consideration.
When reserving your vacation dates with your employer, the golden rule is simple: plan well in advance. The vacation days to which you are entitled are written in your employment contract, but you must work as a team with your employer and keep their needs in mind.
In some households, vacation request forms are provided to help manage employee’s personal time off. In a less formal household, inform your superior verbally, then send an email or print a letter with all the details to help the estate manager or human resource staff process your request.
Follow your employer’s schedule. When the employer is gone from the residence, it may be the time when maintenance work or more thorough cleaning tasks are done, which means that you may be required to work. Remember that you are a precious element of a team.
Some life events may be impossible to plan such as a birth, illness or death of a relative. When facing such events, do your best to help train a replacement if applicable.
Following this golden rule – plan in advance – will help make vacations an enjoyable time for everyone, including those who are replacing you while you are away.
This post was written in collaboration with Jean-François Deslarzes, an Estate Manager in New York City. He has been working in private service for 30 years and is still as passionate as on his first day.