When I planned my maternity leave with my clients, two of them asked me a question that just warmed my heart: What can we do so you can take all of the time off you need?

I was lucky. These two clients viewed me as a valued partner who they wanted to invest in to make sure our relationship was long-term.

On the other hand, I had another client who only viewed our relationship as transactional, and according to them, I was not living up to my end by taking a maternity leave while having someone fill in for me. After compromising with them (they thought I didn’t need a maternity leave), I took two weeks for my time off. And I still regret that, especially when I fired this client six months later after repeated offenses.

I really hope that most clients choose the example of the two clients rather than the one. But maybe you don’t understand why it’s in your best interest.

Why should you support your social media consultant taking time off?

I have had clients who expect me to work twenty four hours a day for them. This is despite having the hours I am available to them in my contract. Social media is constant, and they think I should also be constant.

Here’s the problem: That’s a recipe for burnout. If I’m burnt out and exhausted, my work for clients starts getting less and less effective because it’s harder to connect with a human when you don’t feel like a human. And mistakes are more likely to happen. One mistake can create a crisis situation for your brand on social media.

Is it your consultant’s job to make sure they are taking the time off they need? Yes. But some clients make it very difficult to actually take that time off. I have endless client stories about this. Some were very apologetic and some were… not. If you want a long-term relationship with your social media consultant, it’s better if you support them and make sure they get that time off they need. So let’s talk about how to make that happen.

Ask what they need to get that time off

Yes, it’s as simple as asking. If they approach you about taking time off, the first thing you should ask is how you can make it possible for them to fully have that time.

And then you fully listen. If something seems unreasonable, counter with what you are able to do. Make this a real conversation, so you both can get what you need.

Once you have settled on what needs to get done to make that time off happen, follow through on it. I’m not saying that you need to make this your top priority. We all regularly have way too many priorities. Just make sure it gets done. And if you can’t, say something. There is nothing more frustrating than thinking you have all your ducks in a row for time off and then finding out at the last minute there is more to do.

Work ahead

For my maternity leave, I asked all of my clients to work towards having two weeks worth of content done ahead of time. This was new for clients who had trouble getting me content I needed twenty four hours ahead of time. There were definitely looks of panic. I told them we were six months away from needing to be in this far ahead. We can work a little at a time to get there. And if something more pressing comes up, it takes priority. That definitely made them relax about the idea of working further ahead.

If your social media consultant is considering time off, that usually means that you will have to work a little ahead. That’s obviously not feasible if they tell you that they’re taking two weeks off starting tomorrow and that they need all of the content for those two weeks right now. To me, that’s a fireable offense. It shows a lack of respect.

However, if they say, “I’d like to take a day off a month from now, and to make that happen, I want to make sure we have content ready and approved by this future date,” take that a bit more seriously. Tell them what you can do and come up with a solution that works for both of you.

Consider doing the community management

To me, I don’t expect clients to take on any kind of community management when I take time off. This is why I hired someone when I took maternity leave, and it was the majority of what they did.

What do I do when I need a day off here and there? I still do regular community management check-ins, as well as checking in to make sure the scheduled content is posting correctly. I personally just need time off from the client management end of my job. It just requires more of me than anything else I do, and the community management actually energizes me.

I’m weird though, and some people may need that full time off. So look at your workload and see if it’s a possibility to check in from time to time to make sure everything is going well. Sometimes clients do this anyway, so it’s not really anything added to their workload. But it is a meaningful way to say to your social media consultant that you value them enough to give them a little time to rest and recharge.

How are you supporting your social media consultant when they need to take time off?