Motivating your Employees while Working During Summer Months

Here are some of our tips and tricks on how you can promote employee engagement and motivation with summer vacation unfolding.

Summer is a season for unwinding, taking trips, and enjoying the nice weather. It can also be a period where companies see a slow down in the pace of work with their staff taking time off to enjoy the season. While there are many benefits to allowing employees to take this time off, it can also make it difficult to maintain employee engagement and motivation for those that are still in the office.

However, do not be alarmed! There are a number of things that you can do in order to maintain employee motivation and engagement during the quieter summer months, and ensure no productivity is lost.

Establish Clear Expectations and Goals

Setting clear expectations and goals is one of the most crucial things a business can do to keep staff members engaged and productive throughout the summer. This covers both personal and group objectives. Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated when they are aware of what is expected of them and what the company's goals are. During the slower summer months, when there may be fewer projects and less work to perform, this is particularly important so that business is still running as usual.

Encourage and Promote Flexible Work

Many employees want to take time off during the summer to enjoy the weather – go to their cabin, visit a new city, or even a ‘stay-cation’ in the comfort of their own home. Companies can meet their employees’ requirements while still retaining efficiency by providing flexible scheduling. This can entail providing more flexible hours or letting staff work from home. Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated when they believe their employer has faith in them to manage their own schedules while still getting the required work done.

Allow Time for Fun!

It is possible for workers to lose touch with one another during the slower summer months. This is particularly true if many employees are working from home or using vacation days. Companies can prepare team-building exercises that unite staff members to mitigate this. This can involve a team excursion, a volunteer day, a workplace picnic, or even an after-work social! Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated if they feel like they are a part of a team and have great relationships with their coworkers, even if they are temporarily out of the office.

Make Time for Professional Development

Offering employees opportunities for professional growth throughout the summer can be a terrific idea. Workshops, training sessions, and conferences may all fall under this category. Companies can demonstrate how much they appreciate their staff members and how dedicated they are to their professional development by making investments in that area. Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated if they feel like they are learning and developing. This is also particularly important if your business has cyclical flows of busy work, and a slowdown in the summer months. If an employee must be in the office but has limited work to do, training and development opportunities are a fantastic way to not only pass the time but improve the skills of your staff too!

Celebrate Achievements

It might be simple to concentrate on the drawbacks during the slower summer months, such as a decline in sales or a lack of assignments to complete. Celebration of achievements and victories is crucial to help mitigate this. This may be honouring staff members who have gone above and beyond, celebrating a successful project, or recognising other accomplishments. Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated when they believe that their efforts are valued and recognised.

Encourage Cooperation and Dialogue

Maintaining employee engagement is mostly dependent on communication and teamwork. This can entail encouraging employees to express their thoughts and opinions, developing open channels of communication, and fostering teamwork. Employees are more likely to remain engaged and motivated if they believe that their opinions are valued and that they have a say in how decisions are made, or simply have a channel to stay in touch with one another.

While it can be difficult for businesses to maintain motivation and engagement during the slower summer months, the above solutions can prove to be extremely valuable. Companies can help their employees stay engaged and motivated during this time by establishing clear goals and expectations, providing flexible scheduling, organizing team-building activities, providing opportunities for professional development, celebrating successes, and fostering communication and collaboration. Companies can build a productive workplace that will lead to a productive summer, even if it is slower than the rest of the year.