Process-wise holiday lists
Make each process a department in ZeniaHR, for example US Telecom Voice, UK Retail Chat and Domestic Banking. A holiday entered once can be pointed at particular sites and processes, so the UK chat team gets the days its client closes and the domestic team gets the Indian festivals it does close for. Agents see only their own list in My Self-Service. Because the same list drives attendance, sandwich rules and pay, a process that works through Diwali is neither marked absent nor paid for a holiday it never had.
Working through Indian festivals
Domestic processes in telecom, e-commerce support and banking often see their busiest days around Diwali, Dussehra and Eid, and US processes simply keep running. Plan festival rosters a month ahead, ask for volunteers first, and rotate the rest so the same agents do not miss every festival at home. An agent who works a holiday on their own process list is owed a comp-off day or holiday pay, and that pay should never be below double the ordinary rate. A small gesture on the floor, sweets or a festival dinner at the meal break, costs little and is remembered.
Optional holidays without empty seats
Optional holidays are popular with agents from different states, but ten people choosing the same Eid shift can break a queue. Cap picks per person for the year, and a month before each festival have WFM run the optional holiday picks report for every process. Where too many agents on one process chose the same day, the TL speaks to them early and asks some to choose another day, instead of refusing leave the week before. Publish the rule at induction so nobody feels singled out.
Client holidays when the floor is idle
When a US client closes for Thanksgiving or Christmas, the process may have almost no volume. Some BPOs give the day off as a company holiday for that department only; others use it for refresher training or cross-skilling on another process. Decide per client contract, because some clients pay for seats whether or not they are used, and post the plan on the Company Wall for that department a few weeks ahead.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Create each client process as a department so a holiday can apply to one process and not another.
- Load the full year into Holiday Calendars in December, tagging every holiday with the processes and sites it covers.
- List the optional festivals, cap how many each agent may choose, and pull the picks report four weeks before each date.
- Decide how festival duty is repaid, a comp-off day or pay at a holiday multiplier of at least 2, and record it in the overtime policy.
- Announce festival rosters and client-closure plans on the Company Wall to the departments concerned.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Do BPO employees get a holiday on Diwali?
It depends on the process. A process whose client works on Diwali, such as a US account, usually stays open, and agents on duty get comp-off or holiday pay under the company's policy. Domestic processes may close or run with a reduced floor. Each company publishes its own list, so check the holiday calendar for your process.
How are holidays managed for 24x7 processes?
The floor stays open, so holidays become a question of who works and how they are compensated. Festival rosters are planned early with volunteers first, holiday duty is rotated, and those who work get comp-off or holiday pay. In ZeniaHR, holiday lists are applied per process, and holiday work is paid through the overtime policy or credited as comp-off.
What is the holiday pay rate for BPO employees?
It is set by company policy within your state's rules. The overtime policy in ZeniaHR carries its own holiday multiplier; do not let it fall below 2, the legal overtime rate. Write the rule into the holiday policy so agents know it before they volunteer for festival duty.