How to Setup Holidays in Salesforce

In our previous blog post we had discussed about What is Fiscal Year in Salesforce. In these blog post we discuss about How to Setup Holidays in Salesforce

How to Setup Holidays in Salesforce

Managing holidays efficiently within Salesforce is crucial for maintaining smooth business operations. Whether you’re managing customer service teams, automating workflows, or setting up service schedules, accounting for holidays ensures that nothing falls through the cracks during non-working days. Let’s dive into how you can set up holidays in Salesforce step by step, ensuring your teams are prepared and your business runs smoothly even when everyone’s out of the office.

What Are Holidays in Salesforce

Holidays in Salesforce refer to designated non-working days that are set up within the system to help manage business hours, workflows, and service levels. By configuring holidays, Salesforce allows you to ensure that automated processes, case management, and customer support are appropriately aligned with your company’s holiday schedules.

Why Setting Up Holidays Is Crucial

Setting up holidays in Salesforce is essential for multiple reasons. First, it prevents any business disruption during official holidays by pausing workflows, service schedules, and other automated processes. Without properly set holidays, automated actions may run during non-working hours, leading to confusion, especially in customer service and sales operations.

Additionally, holidays affect:

• Case Escalations: Cases may not be attended to during holidays.
• SLA Management: Service Level Agreements need to reflect non-working days.
• Team Scheduling: Ensuring your teams have aligned schedules helps avoid conflicts.

Steps to Set Up Holidays in Salesforce

Login to Salesforce Account

Click Gear icon Navigation to Setup

Search Quick Find box in Holidays

Create a New Holiday

Select the Start date of the Holiday

Save the Holiday

Customizing Holiday Schedules for Different Teams

Some organizations may need to create specific holiday schedules for different teams (e.g., the customer service team may observe different holidays than the sales team).

Create Team-Specific Holidays

You can create separate holiday schedules for different departments by specifying custom dates under different calendars.

Adding Holidays to Business Hours

Holidays affect business hours, and you’ll want to ensure that these non-working days are reflected in your service hours.

Associate Holidays with Business Hours

After creating a holiday, you can associate it with your organization’s business hours to pause automated actions during holidays.

Handling Holiday Exceptions

Sometimes, certain regions or teams may work during national holidays, or exceptions may need to be made for specific workflows.

Create Custom Exceptions

If specific employees or departments will be working on a holiday, you can manually adjust business hours or workflows for those cases.

Using Holidays in Workflows and Automations

Salesforce offers the flexibility to include holidays in your workflows and automation. For example, if a case escalates to Tier 2 support on a holiday, you may want to pause the escalation process.

Incorporate Holidays into Workflow Rules

When creating or editing workflow rules, you can account for holidays to ensure automation doesn’t trigger during off days.

Impact on Case Management

Case management is directly impacted by holidays. By setting up holidays in Salesforce, cases can be set to pause escalations or SLA countdowns until after the holiday.

Pause Case Escalations

You can configure Salesforce to pause any escalations or notifications during the holiday period, ensuring that service agreements remain intact.

Monitoring and Adjusting Holiday Settings

Holiday schedules can change, so it’s important to regularly review and adjust them.

Review Impact on Business Operations

Track how holidays are affecting workflow and customer service metrics.

Make Adjustments as Needed

If a new holiday is introduced or an existing one is removed, ensure your holiday settings reflect the latest changes.

Best Practices for Setting Up Holidays in Salesforce

Review Yearly: Review your holiday settings at least once a year to ensure they remain up-to-date.

Cross-Team Coordination: Work with different teams to ensure all holidays are accounted for, especially international teams that may observe different holidays.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting Recurring Holidays: Make sure holidays like Christmas or New Year’s are set to recur every year.

Not Associating Holidays with Business Hours: Holidays should be tied to your business hours to avoid workflow issues.

Neglecting Exceptions: Ensure exceptions are considered for teams that may work on certain holidays.

Conclusion

Setting up holidays in Salesforce is a vital part of managing workflows, service schedules, and case management during non-working days. By configuring your system correctly, you’ll ensure that operations run smoothly, even when your team is off for the holidays.

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FAQs

Can I create holidays for specific teams in Salesforce?
Yes, you can create custom holiday schedules for different teams based on their specific needs.

How do holidays affect workflows?
Holidays pause workflows and automations, preventing actions from triggering during non-working days.

Can holidays be recurring in Salesforce?
Absolutely! You can set holidays to recur annually or on a custom schedule.

What happens to case escalations during holidays?
Case escalations can be paused during holidays, ensuring that SLAs aren’t breached due to non-working days.

Can I edit holiday schedules after they’ve been set?
Yes, you can edit or delete holidays as needed, allowing flexibility for changes in your organization’s schedule.