It happens to the best of them: your staff is short-staffed. Whether due to a high staff turnover or unexpected employee absences, short staffing can be arduous for managers and employees alike. In times like these, leaders need to turn to the most valuable resource accessible to them: their team. Fortunately, there are strategies you and your team can implement to make the situation more manageable for everyone involved.

Don't assume that you can replace a team member immediately.

When someone leaves, find ways to fill their responsibilities until you can hire someone full-time. It can take time to hire someone new, even if there's room in the budget. It can take weeks and months before the hiring process is complete and another few weeks before the candidate is trained and ready to go.

Keep your team updated on what's going on and how they fit in.

Make sure everyone on your team knows their role in keeping things running smoothly during this time. It may be obvious to you where you need help, but chances are your team members don't know what's going on or where they're needed. Make sure they understand the situation and how they can contribute to solving it.

Have more than one person who knows how to do each job.

Cross-training ensures that everyone gets enough hands-on experience with all aspects of the business to help out in emergencies and grow professionally. You don't want one person feeling overwhelmed with all the work piled on their desk. And at the same time, another employee has nothing to do because they're not trained on anything else.

Delegate and automate. 

Use a virtual assistant (VA) to take care of administrative tasks that don't require specialized knowledge. VAs can handle repetitive tasks like your business's billing and email correspondence, freeing time for more valuable work. 

No matter how much you plan for unexpected situations, emergency staffing will still occur from time to time. It can be stressful and frustrating, but it can also present opportunities for growth within your business. Offload tedious tasks by outsourcing or automating them and set up systems that take your business to new heights. Allow your team members to learn new skills and delegate work accordingly.