The pantomime season is in full swing (oh yes it is!), the Christmas shoppers and the turkey and tinsel trips have sold well, and the football games are coming thick and fast.
The run-up to Christmas is one of the busiest times on the coach calendar. Like most people reading this, I imagine you don’t get time for much that is not of an operational matter until the schools break up and the last pre-Christmas break is back.
We long ago stopped doing holidays over the festive period, for reasons that I would need a few sherries before I could face revisiting. The final straw was a call on Christmas day from a lady complaining that her friend’s room had a bigger sink than hers did, and asking me what I intended to do about it.
I nearly choked on my eggnog, and silently vowed that it was the end of dealing with people who, to put it charitably, would find that their own families did not want anywhere near the Christmas dinner table.
One thing I do consider, and something that I am never satisfied I have got right, is what to give my staff as a bonus. I haven’t had had ‘boss’ for over 20 years. Indeed, the closest thing is probably the Editor of this magazine. Putting it politely, he is not known for his Christmas spirit!
We don’t have a Christmas party, because we are too busy in the run-up. And I am sure that the staff would rather spend time with their nearest and dearest. By the time we slacken off in January, my seasonal spirit has come down with the decorations.
For years, it was the traditional cash in an envelope. But that stopped, and we now make a payment through the PAYE system. It costs more, and there is always the tax side of things, but it is tangible and it can be seen on payslips.
Just as importantly, on the most convenient afternoon, we have a brew and 45 minutes or so where we sit and talk. Drivers, office staff and mechanics have a chat and discuss their plans. It is a good way to end the year.
It gives me chance to thank everyone for their efforts over the previous 12 months, and also to tell them roughly how we have performed over that time: Percentage increase in turnover, the costs of minor repairs, and what we hope to achieve in the coming year.
Nothing too in-depth, but I think this gives the staff a sense of belonging and more of a buy-in to their place of work. The bonus always reflects our financial performance over the past year, and at least for the first month of the next, incentivises people to knock off fewer expensive mirrors!
It is possibly my favourite day of the working year, and something of a full stop. Apart from football and local service, we do little else before the schools go back. It is the only couple of weeks where I do not measure how profitable we are. The staff, some of whom have had a difficult year personally, get a good break, and I get to spend some time with my own family.
So Merry Christmas, one and all. I hope you get chance to have some rest and to recharge, because January looks incredibly busy. Did someone mention Young Voices?
