Rotation! If you have Christmas, can't have New Years or Thanksgiving. If they all want 4th July- then no one gets Memorial day. Make it their decision. If that doesn't work- try lottery! Seriously- put names in a 'hat' & have someone independently draw a name. Good luck!

How about rotation list of holidays off? Thanksgiving, Christmas, and July 4th were the biggest days. We did that for everyone. Usually you got two out of three in a year's time.

This is an old and chronic complaint. My condolences! I guess I am a lazy manager of managers. I firmly abide by "take your issue to the person with whom you have the issue." I ask that my managers work together to arrive at a solution. If they cannot, then I will make the decision, or choose status quo. I will add that at some businesses I've worked, we weighted the holidays. So if you took off Christmas, for example, you worked Easter, or 4th of July. That way everyone got a "desirable" holiday at some point during the year. Seniority went into the weighting at times, but not always. If it's possible for any of the managers to be working but remote (this is not often possible with call centers, I know), it may soften the blow. Task the managers with exploring solutions, and give them the opportunity to present them to you, and choose the best option. Good luck!

What is at the heart of you questioning the way it has been done? You noted taking over these groups 7 years ago, which seems to mean you have been using prior precedent for 7 years, I wonder what is causing you to rethink that strategy. Not sure if these are helpful but a few questions I would ask myself as I move forward... As a manager, have I determined with my team what processes we will go through when making decisions that impact everyone? Do I feel comfortable making a final decision if my team cannot come to one? Do they trust me to make that decision if they cannot work it out themselves? If I am considering changing this policy, what is my reason why? Is that reason taking into account elements of equity? Am I ready to lose any employees over this?

I would refer to my Employee Manual. If there are no special policies allowing those with the most years of service in the department to choose favored PTO dates before anyone else, then that's your answer. Having the most days based on years of service is not the same as having priority in choosing days off. That's normally at the discretion of the manager and based on who asks first. If the policy doesn't explicitly state that, then I would ask HR for a clarification and give them a deadline to provide it to you. My guess is that's the answer you'll get. Next, go to your manager and review the problem, your plan, and the policy with them to get their buy-in so that if and when one of those managers goes over your head, the answer is the same. After that, it's time to lead and create some boundaries. Sit all three of them down in the same meeting. (Do this now so that the policy is clear to them for the rest of the year and they have time to consider how they will use their PTO.) Let them know that there is no easy way to describe how much you value each of them and how grateful you are for their years of service to the company. It's extraordinary and it's to be commended, but that you are unwilling to spend another calendar year with resentment over the vacation policy. It degrades the team atmosphere that you value and it's unacceptable from department leaders who model behavior for other employees. Let them know that you've met with HR and your boss prior to reviewing the policy with them. The policy you are about to review is *THE* policy. There will be no further discussion about how it will be administered unless the company changes it. Read the policy aloud, including HR's clarification and give them copies. Document that they received those copies. State plainly that the department vacation policy, especially as it relates to the holidays, will no longer be based on seniority. Instead, it will be approved on a first come, first served basis, date stamped and signed, copies kept, and will be subject to change should the business not have adequate coverage. If you want to go the extra mile, throw them a bone. Be willing to offer each manager who doesn't get their Christmas days one day during a few weeks of that time where you fill in for them so that they can take a vacation day. Let them know what dates will not be available and that they cannot select the same day. In return, tell them that your expectation for the year is that they work on working better together to resolve differences and present a united front to the rest of the team. Don't be held hostage by those who report to you, no matter how long they've been with the company. And be clear in what you want. They may not like you for it, but being liked should never be a goal of someone in leadership. If it happens, that's great, but the goal is offer others respect and to be respected in return.

while I agree that seniority should have it's "perks" I do think it would be unfair for one employee to "always" have Christmas off. I think it would create resentment with the other 2? I think even offering every third Christmas would be reasonable in this case. But as the above poster mentioned, HR should probably be looped in. HR can be neutral and help come to an agreement without creating bad feelings towards you.

Definitely HR issue. I'd get the heck out of that! Feel for you!

I always have HR solve these types of issues because it has to do with company policy and the grey area surround the lack of updates to address current situations. Not really your call unless you want to referee