'Tis The Season Keeping your employees productive during the holidays.

The winter holiday season is traditionally the busiest time ofthe year for most businesses, with parties, decorating, giftexchanging and year-end administrative requirements all competingwith the seasonal demands of your customers and the general needsof your business. With all the distractions, how can you keep youremployees on track?

The first step is to decide exactly how productive youremployees need to be, says Peggy Isaacson, a human resourcesconsultant in Orlando, Florida. "Think about what productivitylevels are really necessary," Isaacson says.

Next, review previous holiday seasons to determine whetherbusiness suffered. "What were the hassles last year?"asks Isaacson. "Was too much time spent on party planning?Were you short-handed because too many people took time off? Whatdid your customers complain about?"