During the summer, productivity may not always be at its peak. Distractions abound and projects can get derailed. How do you keep employees engaged, motivated and productive when everyone is mentally on the seventh fairway or in beach mode?
Take time to look ahead.
Summer can be an ideal time to take stock of where your employees are at mid-year against their annual goals and objectives. Take stock and while you’re at it, get creative about your vacation season back-up plan.
- Meet with employees one-on-one and engage them in discussion about their aspirations. Define or revise your development plans accordingly. Make sure that all their goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.
- Meet with team members before they take time off. Discuss any assignments that will need to progress or be completed in their absence. This could be a great time to cross-train or reassign duties to less-experienced employees looking for development opportunities.
Be flexible and have some fun.
Flexibility is key to boosting productivity all year long, but it takes on a whole new level of importance during the summertime.
- Adjust work schedules to accommodate seasonal needs. Child care can be a challenge at this time of year, or people may just crave extra time to spend a weekend at a summer home or working in the garden. Consider compressing workweek schedules to allow for Friday afternoons off or other morale-boosting changes.
- Celebrate fleeting summer days and team accomplishments. Have a picnic or team outing to a park, music festival, farmers market or sporting event. Showing employees that you appreciate them by inviting them to partake in some workplace-sponsored bun helps keep spirits high and performance levels elevated.
- Make sure employees actually take their vacations. It’s important that they understand that they’re expected to take their earned time off. If not, they may experience burnout, reduced creativity, or stress and related ailments, all of which can seriously hamper productivity.
- Little things mean a lot. Keep employees engaged by offering performance-based incentives. This doesn’t have to be costly. For instance, give them that sunny afternoon off in recognition of accomplishing a particularly challenging stretch goal, or say thank you for a job well done with a gift card to an area shop or attraction.
For more tips on boosting team productivity throughout the year, contact the recruitment and workforce development experts at PrideStaff Modesto. Read our related posts for additional helpful tips.
