How to stop December becoming January’s problem

Plan ahead for holiday leave, temporary support and January hiring so your team doesn’t start the new year already behind. 

December has a habit of compressing a lot of work into not much time. 

There are projects to finish, reports to submit, budgets to finalise and plans to put in place for the year ahead. At the same time, annual leave starts to kick in and the number of people available to do the work gets smaller. 

For Business Support teams, that combination can create a familiar problem: more to do, fewer people to do it, and a growing list of things that quietly get pushed into January. 

A little planning now can make a big difference. 

Look at where the pressure is building 

Before thinking about whether you need additional support, look at what is actually coming up across the team. 

Where are the pinch points likely to be? 

It could be: 

• several team members taking leave at the same time 

• an EA or administrator being away for an extended period 

• end-of-year reporting and planning deadlines 

• projects that need to be completed before the break 

• customer or client enquiries that still need a response 

• recruitment that has been delayed or put on hold 

• additional administration created by organisational or leadership changes 

• vacancies that will still be there in January 

Some gaps will need cover. Others may simply mean the existing team needs more capacity for a short period. 

Knowing the difference makes it easier to decide what support you actually need. 

Don’t assume the team can just absorb it 

When someone goes on leave, the first instinct is often to redistribute their work. 

For a few days, that can be manageable. 

But when several people are away, workloads are already high and deadlines are approaching, “we’ll cover it internally” can quickly mean your remaining people are doing their own jobs plus someone else’s. 

That can slow down important work, pull managers into administration and leave teams starting January with a backlog before the year has really begun. 

Temporary Business Support can help bridge that gap without creating a long-term commitment. 

An experienced EA, administrator, receptionist, project support professional or customer service specialist can step in for a defined period and help keep the day-to-day moving while permanent team members are away or focused elsewhere. 

Temporary doesn’t have to mean last-minute 

Temporary recruitment is often associated with urgent cover: someone calls in sick, a resignation lands unexpectedly or a team suddenly finds itself short. 

But it can be just as useful when the need is entirely predictable. 

If you know your team will be stretched over December, bringing temporary support in before the pressure peaks gives them time to get across your systems, priorities and ways of working. 

It also gives you flexibility. 

You may not need another permanent role. You might need an extra person for six weeks, support through a particular project, or someone to cover a team member until they return from leave. 

The right solution depends on the gap you are trying to fill. 

Think about January before everyone switches off 

December isn’t only about getting through the end of the year. 

It is also your chance to make January easier. 

If you already know you will need to hire in the new year, waiting until January to start can put you several weeks behind. 

Notice periods, candidate availability, interviews, approvals, onboarding and access requirements all take time. Starting the conversation earlier gives you more room to find the right person and get things moving before the January rush. 

That doesn’t mean every role needs to be filled before Christmas. 

It simply means you can enter the new year with a plan, rather than a vacancy and a blank page. 

Work out what can wait and what can’t 

Not everything needs to be completed before the office closes for the year. 

Part of good workforce planning is deciding what genuinely needs attention now, what can move into January and where additional support would have the biggest impact. 

Ask: 

• Which roles or tasks are essential to keeping the business moving? 

• Where will annual leave create genuine gaps? 

• What work will become a problem if it is carried into January? 

• Are existing employees covering too much already? 

• Do we need permanent headcount, or simply more capacity for a period? 

• Are there January vacancies we should start recruiting for now? 

Answering those questions early can save a lot of scrambling later. 

Start January with capacity, not a backlog 

The end of the year will always be busy. 

But December doesn’t have to create a January problem. 

Planning for annual leave, temporary support and upcoming recruitment can help keep essential work moving, protect the capacity of your existing team and give you a much better start to the new year. 

Hudson’s Business Support specialists recruit temporary, contract and permanent talent across Executive Support, Administration, Customer Service, Contact Centre and related support functions. 

Need an extra pair of hands over the holiday period, or already thinking about January? Let’s talk.