Don’t Let Project Risks Ruin Your Summer Plans

Summer fundamentally changes how work gets done. Key team members become less available; senior team members and other decision-makers take extended vacations; and deadlines that seemed manageable in the winter start feeling unrealistic by July. This happens every year, and yet, these challenges are often treated as sudden crises in many organizations. But with systematic preparation, these predictable challenges become manageable risks, and  can even create new strategic opportunities.

Anticipating the Summer Slowdown 

When workplace productivity drops during summer months, there are three primary risk factors that project managers must navigate: 

• Resource availability risks emerge when extended vacation periods (e.g. 2-3 weeks) create significant resource gaps and overworked employees providing coverage.

• Decision-making delays, as senior management and project sponsors may be unavailable for key decisions, creating bottlenecks for approval processes. 

• Communication breakdown risks intensify when project managers themselves take vacation, requiring good risk management practices to ensure projects continue as smoothly as possible without their constant oversight.
  

While these risk categories apply across industries, there is a good amount of variation by sector. Non-profits often face reduced donor engagement and board availability; those organizations doing direct service work (i.e. food insecurity) may simultaneously manage increased community program demands. Professional services firms (i.e. management consultants) and tech companies navigate both internal capacity constraints and client availability challenges. Tourism businesses see their demands increase. And don’t expect to hear back from European organizations in July-August (they’re doing it right).

Regardless of industry, these challenges can be anticipated and addressed systematically. 

Follow These Risk Management Strategies

Use this step-by-step approach to prepare your projects for summer:

1. Assess your projects: Review your current projects and identify all deliverables due from June-September. Document critical deadlines and dependencies that cannot be delayed or modified.
   

2. Create planning systems for the season: Establish a vacation tracking system, as early as possible, that documents when team members will be away. Maintain shared vacation calendars to identify resource conflicts months ahead. Require vacation requests at least three weeks in advance to allow time for workload redistribution and team awareness.
   

3. Map critical project dependencies: Review the critical project deliverables and dependencies for the June-September period, specifically evaluating how vacation schedules impact critical path activities and decision points. Identify: 1) which deliverables cannot be delayed; 2) what decisions require specific stakeholders who may be unavailable; and 3) where single points of failure exist if key team members take time off.
   

4. Establish delegation and coverage processes: Meet with key decision-makers to walk them through the risks and bottlenecks you’ve identified. Then, get their input and select a decision-making delegate. Delegates should receive clear criteria for making decisions in the absence of their primary stakeholder.

   1. Document the updated decision-making authority, create step-by-step handoff directions, and confirm backup coverage for urgent matters. (Tip: To develop process guides, check out the free versions of Scribe and Loom to make it easier and less time-intensive for the preparer, and easier to consume for the team.)

   2. Prepare your team in joint meetings and 1-on-1’s to maintain progress independently during leadership absences so you can step away for your own vacation without living on your phone.
      

5. Develop communication protocols: Create or update templates for common project communications like progress reports, deadline reminders, and meeting agendas. Schedule check-in meetings with key stakeholders before they depart for extended vacations (more than two weeks), and establish communication protocols that account for reduced availability while maintaining project momentum.
   

6. Host a project update conversation: Share all of these summer adaptations with your project team and stakeholders through a structured conversation that addresses identified challenges, updated strategies, and revised expectations. Your goal is to create shared understanding and buy-in for your summer project management approach. Adjust your plan afterward as needed."
   

Summer Opportunities

While summer disruptions pose real challenges, they also create unique opportunities for project improvement that can’t happen during busy periods. The key to reframe summer challenges: rather than viewing reduced capacity as only a negative, project managers should also recognize summer as ideal timing for strategic initiatives that provide long-term benefits.

For example, tech system upgrades, workflow optimization, and administrative improvements often get delayed during busy seasons but can be tackled systematically when typical demands are temporarily reduced. The time invested in these improvements pays off when full teams return.

Summer also provides a moment for more in-depth team development activities. Professional development days, skill-building workshops, and relationship-building initiatives (e.g. mentorship) that feel challenging during peak periods become more feasible when schedules are less tight. These types of investments in your people will help enhance project performance throughout the year.

For your current projects, summer offers a natural pause point to assess progress, adjust goals, and prepare for a strong finish in Q3-Q4. Use this time to analyze what has worked well, identify areas for improvement, and establish realistic plans for the remainder of the year.

Start Now

Many summer project challenges are predictable, which means they are also preventable. Success depends on your preparation approach. Begin implementing these strategies now, before peak vacation season arrives, to ensure your projects maintain momentum regardless of team availability. Then enjoy your well-deserved time away! 🏖️