6 knock-on effects of being understaffed

Managing holiday requests can be stressful and time consuming, and if misjudged can have a real impact on the running of your business – fortunately, online management tools like Atlas make it simple.

Here are some common problems your business could be up against in the event of an employee shortage.

1. Stressed employees

If you’re short on numbers, inevitably, others will end up picking up the slack. We’re not saying your employees are shy of a hard day’s work, but it can soon take its toll – especially if workloads were already tight.

With stress comes tension. If employees are feeling the heat, it might put a strain on colleague relationships and result in disputes – adding to your workload if they land on your doorstep.

2. Reduction in quality

Could standards slip if there are fewer employees around to get the job done? Whether it’s faulty goods, a drop in service quality or a delay in response times, the end result’s the same: a dip in customer or client satisfaction, which ties nicely into our next point….

3. Unhappy users

The knock-on effect of unhappy customers or clients can be far reaching. It could result in negative feedback, losing loyalty or, worst case, they might stop using your business altogether.

4. Increased costs

If your business simply can’t cope with fewer employees than normal, you might be forced to recruit agency workers or offer incentives to encourage existing employees to take on overtime. You’ll incur higher costs for both – something no business wants.

5. Increase in illness

If employees are overstretched for too long, it could eat into their work-life balance, run them down and cause illness. The result? Even more employees off!

6. Safety in numbers

For businesses where a set ratio of employees to service users is needed for safety reasons, too few employees could be a safety concern, and even break regulatory requirements.

Get it right

The easiest way to avoid these problems is to make sure you manage holiday requests right in the first place. How, we hear you cry? With our online management platform, Atlas.

With Atlas, you any other managers can add absences, view team calendars and accept holiday requests in one, online, easy-to-use place. To find out how else we can help, just get in touch!