Some offices close over Christmas and New Year, but many don't and it's usually the support staff - PAs, secretaries, office administrators, etc - who are left holding the fort. What arrangements need to be made to cover the Christmas break? How do you choose which staff should come in? And what happens if things go wrong?

To start with, staff working at Christmas need to be able to get into the building! Offices with 24-hour security won't have problems with access, but businesses running only a skeleton staff might need to make special arrangements with key holders, caretakers, etc. Staff may also need to be trained in how to set/de-activate burglar alarms, sprinkler systems and any office equipment which they don't usually use, but might need.

Many couriers notify their regulars of their availability over Christmas and it's often a good idea to reciprocate. Royal Mail vans call at many offices; let the post office know of your Christmas arrangements too. Even if you're not expecting deliveries something may arrive so make sure that your staff know how to accept parcels. You may already have an 'out of hours' procedure which can be invoked over Christmas. If not, draw one up; it might be useful for other occasions too.

If your office is unmanned over Christmas, remember that some courier companies will only hold onto packages for a limited period of time. Make sure that items are not 'timed out' and returned to sender in default of someone being available to receive them.

Packages delivered in person - unlikely at most times of the year, but possible at Christmas - are less easy to stop at source. If the office is closed then presumably the caller will just go away, but if it's open with a skeleton staff, make sure that everyone knows and adheres to the security arrangements for visitors. Ad hoc staffing requires more vigilant security, not less.

A smelly problem!

Staff should also have clear instructions about what to do with business gifts, if delivered. One marketing manager had a beautiful and very expensive fresh salmon delivered to the office. Unfortunately she was on leave for two weeks and it lay there on her desk going off. When everyone reconvened, the smell was appalling! There was little excuse as the package had 'Fresh Salmon' written all over it, so the incident created a stink in more ways than one.

Gifts which keep can of course be stored for the recipient but it would be a nice gesture if perishable gifts were allowed to be taken home and consumed by those manning the office. If this is the case, make sure that staff record the sender of the gift; regardless of who eats the salmon, camembert or turkey the giver still needs to be thanked by the intended recipient.

How you choose the members of staff to hold the fort is often a bone of contention. Some offices have an unofficial rota which runs from year to year - fine if staff don't leave. Asking for volunteers usually removes grumbles. If not enough people volunteer then try to sort out who has other commitments such as children, elderly relatives, visitors from abroad, booked holidays, etc. and put the name of everyone else from the boss downwards into a hat. Get a neutral person to draw. It won't please those who have to come in but it will be seen to be fair.

You could even chop days into half days, so that people only have to give up a few hours, which may appeal to those without outside commitments, who always feel they get lumbered!

Staff who are on holiday over the Christmas period need to be reminded to set up appropriate voicemail and email messages. Don't do as one office did and set up a voicemail message diverting calls to a member of staff whose own voicemail message promptly diverted them back again.

Great expectations?

When skeleton staff are in over Christmas, make it clear what work they're expected to do. Staff either see working over Christmas as an opportunity to get on with something without interruptions - which is great - or they don't really want to work at all. In the latter case their mind will not be on the job and they won't get a huge amount done. In fairness, it's difficult for support staff to work productively if most of their colleagues are on holiday. Don't expect miracles. Routine administration, weeding out dead files, possibly even tidying cupboards all need doing and might be done well by 'cover' staff. If people are literally only there to man the phone, then say so and make it clear that they can bring in something of their own to do between phone calls.

Skeleton staff are there to handle office routine but can't be expected to cover the unexpected. For fire, flood, etc. they will of course call the emergency services, but what about things which are important to the business from a PR point of view? The unexpected customer from overseas who was holidaying in London at Christmas and 'dropped in' (yes, it's happened!); the tramp who camped on the lawn at the side of the building because he didn't think he'd be noticed until after the holiday (that's happened too!) - for these sort of incidents staff need to have the contact details of senior staff and be briefed when to use them.

The best administration is always invisible. By taking a little trouble in advance you can ensure that it remains so even over Christmas.