Looking for a New Way for You and Your Staff to Recharge After a Hectic Holiday Season?

Question:

Looking beyond the holidays, how do you and your team typically recharge after a hectic holiday season?

• Team dinner with gifts and recognition. — Vickie Silva, The Eye Center, Pembroke Pines, FL
• We usually have a holiday party to help relax and reward staff for a great year. — Scott Thielen, North Country Eye Care, West Lebanon NH
• December and January are our largest gross business months due to Cafeteria Plans used by years end and VSP plans that roll over January 1st. We will recharge by Valentine’s Day when we can take off a bunch of time off so our employees can go spend their Christmas bonus. — Texas Smith, OD, Dr. Texas Smith and Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• We celebrate with some days off! — Dierdre Fogle, OD, Eyetopia Eyecare, Littleton, CO
• We’re fortunate that historically, some of our doctors take vacations immediately following the new year. It slows a bit and staff gets to recharge. — Justin Tenczar, Berkshire Eye Center, Pittsfield, MA
• Small pizza party while chatting. — Emily Kincaid-Smith, Sports Optical, Denver, CO
• Sleep. — Chris Gregg, IGH Family Eye Clinic, Inver Grove Heights, MN
• We get together for a holiday celebration but with COVID it has been postponed for now. — Sonja Franklin, OD, Modern Eyes, Austin, TX
• We usually do our holiday party after the first of the year. It is a less hectic time for everyone. — Amber Fritsch, OD, Precision Eye Care, Mt. Juliet, TN
• Tequila. — Rick Rickgauer, Vision Associates, Girard, PA
• By attending an education conference. Last year we had our first ever office retreat in the mountains. It was wonderful! Came back recharged and closer to one another as a team. It gives us something to look forward to after the holiday letdown when we have something planned for us. — Melanie Jenkins, Spring Hill Eyecare, PLLC, Spring Hill, TN
• There’s usually no time to recharge. It’s just go, go, go! — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South Georgia, Valdosta, GA
• Well not much time for recharging after the holidays. In Florida, our season starts and lasts till maybe June, so the recharging doesn’t start until spring. — Julie Uram, Optical Oasis, Jupiter, FL
• Morning gatherings, idea seeking moments. — Janet Cole, Dr. Pattison Family Eyecare Center, Roseville, CA
• We stay charged thanks to those Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Starbucks being next door! — Gayle Bergthold, Bee Cave Vision Center, Bee Cave, TX
• Depends upon how hectic. — Richard Frankel, OD, Atlantic Cape Eyecare, Wildwood, NJ
• Take two days off at a resort to relax and plan strategies. — BJ Chambers, Carrera Optical, San Antonio, TX
• Taking advantage of the slow months before income tax checks start rolling in and business picks up again. — Danielle Doniver, Heritage Optical, Detroit, MI
• That’s when we do recharge! Helping people spend their flexible spending money, people wanting sunglasses for gifts … it’s pretty cool. Lots of patients come in with home baked goods or send cards. That is a nice boost to make up for the few Karens throughout the year. — Angel Miller, Cynthiana Vision Center, Cynthiana, KY
• We recharge with a lot of food and plenty of snacks! — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• We are re-structuring with new staff and new department heads. I think this holiday season will be a great way to see our practice grow more quickly. — Heather Aites, Family Vision Center, Westminster, CO
• I feel with COVID it has been hectic all year. My hope is maybe a long weekend going into the holidays and then after. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• Keep moving! — Valorie Davis, Big Lake Eye Care, Okeechobee, FL
• We are starting to take more time off during the holiday season and not work our tails off. We need to go home to our families. — Scott Keating, OD, Vision Trends, Dover, OH
• January is often a good month for PTO! — Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• Recharge? I’m not really sure we ever truly get a recharge. — Christine Howard, Attleboro Vision Care, Attleboro, MA
• We do our celebratory “office Christmas party” in January to have fun after the craziness. — Cynthia Sayers, OD, EyeShop Optical Center, Lewis Center, OH
• We typically take extra time off at the end of the year to let everybody spend time with their family and recharge. And before the holidays we take everybody to VEW to get them motivated and find new ideas. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• Vacay. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• We love the holidays and appreciate that everyone is in better spirits! We recharge by having a relaxing January with no sales and then looking forward to Valentine’s day. — Star Taylor, Richens Eye Center, St George, UT
• Long weekends during the winter at the beach. — Kristina Jordan, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• We have our staff holiday party in March, after we are all caught up. — Steve Burek, Metro Eye, Milwaukee, WI
• Oddly, with treats from Starbucks. — Kris Kittell, Torrey Highlands Optometry, San Diego, CA
• Honestly, in our rural area the holiday season is only a bit busier than normal. Christmas and flex spending aren’t as huge of a deal. We close two days for Thanksgiving, one and a half days for Christmas, a day for New Year’s, and again for MLK Jr. Day… typically, people feel pretty recharged just with all the extra time off! — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• A few days off with family. — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI