The holiday season brings longer lines, heavier workloads, and tighter schedules, but it also brings something else many businesses overlook: communication chaos. Customers are trying to figure out who's open, when they can get help, and whether their favorite service provider is closed for a week or just for Christmas Day. Meanwhile, your team is juggling PTO schedules, end-of-year tasks, and seasonal traffic.
That's exactly why December is the most important time to clean up, update, and streamline every way your business communicates, especially your phone system and VoIP features. A few simple updates can dramatically reduce customer confusion, missed calls, and frustration during your busiest or most unpredictable time of year.
Here's your complete December Communications Checklist to help your business stay organized, proactive, and easy to reach all month long.
1. Update Your Holiday Hours Everywhere (Yes, Everywhere)
You might update your hours on your website. Maybe Google. But what about the other seven places where customers check? Seasonal hours are one of the top reasons people call in December, and even small mismatches can lead to lost business.
Make sure your updated holiday hours are consistent across:
- Google Business Profile
- Your website header/footer
- Facebook and Instagram
- VoIP auto-attendants and IVR menus
- Main voicemail greeting
- Email signatures
- Customer portals
- Printed signs on your door or front counter
If your business has special hours for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, or New Year's Day, make those crystal clear.
Pro tip: Set those VoIP temporary hours and holiday schedules now so it automatically switches over on the correct dates. TotalBC can help with that if you're not sure where to start.
2. Refresh Your Voicemail Greeting (It Probably Needs It)
Most businesses update their website long before they update their voicemail, but customers hear your voicemail more often.
Holiday voicemail updates you may need:
Main Business Greeting
A short, friendly message that includes:
- Seasonal hours
- Any backlog or delays
- Emergency or after-hours instructions
Department Greetings
If certain teams are out or short-staffed, make sure their greeting reflects that.
Employee Extensions
With December PTO rotations, many employees are out of the office for several days. Update individual voicemails to reflect:
- Dates they'll be unavailable
- Who to contact instead
- Expected return times
Holiday Closure Message
If you close multiple days, create a temporary greeting that clearly states holiday closures and when the team will return.
Even better? Set these updates to auto-expire so the system reverts back to normal in January with no extra work.
3. Review Your Call Routing and Menus
Holiday traffic changes. Some industries slow down dramatically while others get a December rush. Either way, your VoIP routing should support your current workload, not the one from July.
Check these items:
- Overflow routing: Make sure extra calls don't hit a dead end. Route overflow to backup users or departments.
- After-hours menus: Ensure your menus match your seasonal schedule.
- Call queues: If call volume spikes, extend queue time or add holiday representatives.
- Ring groups: Adjust ring groups if some employees are out for long stretches.
- Temporary call trees: Perfect for companies with drastically different holiday operations.
Even a single misrouted call during December can lead to missed business or frustrated customers. A quick check now can prevent holiday headaches later.
4. Update Your Website Notices & Landing Pages
Your website is often the first stop for customers searching for answers. Add a clear holiday banner or "December Hours" section so visitors don't need to hunt for details.
Consider adding:
- A homepage holiday hours bar
- A blog post with your seasonal schedule
- A service-area update if holiday staffing affects response times
- A reminder about last-day-to-schedule services before the break
- A link to your updated contact or support page
If your business takes a winter break or closes for inventory, make that front-and-center.
5. Double-Check Internal Communication, Too
Holiday communication isn't just for customers, your team needs clarity too.
Send out or post:
- A holiday schedule and staffing plan
- Phone routing changes
- Who is on-call or covering departments
- How to update personal voicemails
- Emergency procedures during closures
Consistency prevents confusion, and confusion slows everything down, right when you need efficiency the most.
6. Do a Quick Technology Health Check Before the Break
December is notorious for surprise outages and issues. Before most of your team checks out, do a quick health check:
- Backups completed
- Critical updates installed
- VoIP system tested
- Spam filters and cybersecurity rules updated
- Multi-factor authentication enforced
- Remote access for traveling employees verified
If something goes wrong during the holidays, it's 10— harder to fix with a skeleton crew.
Prepare for the Holiday Break
Clear, consistent communication is one of the easiest ways to keep your business running smoothly during the holidays and your VoIP system is at the center of that. A few seasonal updates help your customers get the information they need, reduce extra calls to your staff, and give your team peace of mind heading into the New Year.
If you want help setting up holiday schedules, updating greetings, or optimizing your VoIP menus, TotalBC is here to make it simple.
Ready to make the switch to CallNet VoIP for Business from TotalBC? Give us a call at 866-673-8682 or visit www.totalbc.com to learn more and get started today!
