How to Keep Your Employees Engaged All Summer

For many businesses, June, July and August are the busiest months of the year.

Unfortunately, they’re also prime months for employees to slack off and mentally check out. In many ways, it’s understandable. School is out, it’s peak vacation season, and the sun beckons us to kick back and relax…

It may be understandable, but it’s certainly not acceptable (at least, not if your company wants to turn a profit).

As a manager, it’s your job to keep your employees focused and motivated to do their best work – even during flip-flop season. Use these practical tips to keep your staff engaged all summer, before a productivity slump sets in:

Institute a summer flex schedule.

Everybody loves to get a jump on the weekend – especially when it’s warm and sunny outside. By adding an hour a day to employees’ schedules Monday through Thursday, you can shorten Fridays to a half day without sacrificing productive hours. To ensure adequate coverage on Friday afternoons, offer flex hours to half of your employees one week, then the other half the following week.

Allow telecommuting.

While certain jobs can only be performed on-site, investigate the viability of allowing employees to occasionally telecommute. Adding this perk is a great way to keep staff members from calling off entirely on beautiful days.

Have more fun.

Make employees want to come to work by injecting a little more movement into their work days:

• Sponsor summer sports teams. Make sure you offer activities that are suitable for employees with varying abilities and athletic skill levels.
• Hold a field day. Get the whole staff outdoors for a fun day of friendly competition. Whether the event is highly organized or laid back, the event can be a welcome break in employees’ routine that increases their focus and engagement once they return to work.

Get creative.

If employees are showing signs of summer brain drain, shake things up. Here are a few unusual ideas to try:

• Make meetings mobile. Hold meetings outside or just take a walk around your location while you discuss agenda items. Research shows that motion stimulates ideas, so boost employees’ creativity by meeting on the go.
• Plant a company garden. Group gardening relieves stress, builds camaraderie and can be incredibly motivating. Rotate responsibilities and allow employees an hour or two per week to tend the garden. At harvest time, you’ll have flowers and/or food to share as a team.
• Plan a field trip. Take your employees offsite to a place where they can participate in a unique activity, take a tour or just learn something new. Offer a few dates and/or field trip options to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Make sure employees take earned vacations.

Sound counterintuitive? Think of it this way: When employees take hard-earned vacation time, it allows them to decompress, refresh and return to work with renewed enthusiasm. Over the long-term, encouraging team members to go on vacation is smart for your business.

Ready to maximize your company’s performance this summer?

If you need personnel to cover vacations, staff your busy season and keep your core team engaged and productive this summer, PrideStaff can help. Our Workforce Growth Solutions deliver qualified temporary employees on a just-in-time basis to manage workflow peaks and optimize your company’s performance. Contact your local PrideStaff office to learn more.