Summer Fun – 4 tips keep your team on track
Welcome to the long hot days and easy living nights of summer! Each passing day seems to be hotter and hotter and every weekend is filling up with ball games, pool parties and special events. Without a doubt, all this summer fun has an impact on your business and your team. There are naturally more interruptions at work during the summer because parents have kiddos at home and there are more activities to plan for, attend and recover from. And whether your staff is taking a long weekend at the lake or an extended family vacation, you are sure to be short-staffed from time to time.
Don’t let summer fun turn into poor progress in the office! Here’s our tips to a blockbuster summer at work.
4 tips to keep your team productive and successful this summer
Plan for summer vacations. Trying to balance the needs of the business with the needs of team members and projects can become quite the challenge during the summer. Have open conversations with your team about their plans and work projects to identify reasonable time frames. Unplugging from work is vital for healthy and happy employees, so come together to provide work/life balance.
Review the dress code. Don’t leave your team guessing about your views on sleeveless shirts, shorts and sandals. As the temperatures rise many people walk a fine line between cool business casual and summer sloppy. Even with a relaxed dress code, there should still be boundaries based on the work environment and the image the organization wants to portray. It’s best to engage your team in this conversation to gain their perspective. In fact, Scott HR has created a “dress code quiz” where staff can vote on various items as acceptable or unacceptable. Talk to me if this is something you’d like to customize for your team!
Recognize distractions. Yes, there are more distractions in the summer time! Everyone has distractions from time to time, but as managers we simply cannot allow the interruptions to get out of hand. If you find yourself saying “Once summer is over we will catch up,” let’s remember how busy the beginning of the school year is for many people. And once we fall into the swing of the school year it’s time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And once the holidays have passed it’s time for 2017 goals! Team members must recognize that excessive distractions affect their co-workers, the work environment and inhibit productivity.
Have fun with your team. Summer is a great time to plan an after-hours team event with your work family. We recommend an event that includes planned activities like putt-putt golf with a BBQ or other games to encourage team building. Check out this list of team building exercises (no trust falls!) Keep in mind potential risks of liability if alcohol is served.
All in all, summer time is a time to enjoy life! Recognizing the need for balance and effectively communicating expectations to team members will enhance that summer time fun!
- Profile – TK Business Magazine – March 13, 2020
- The Benefit of Foresight – October 22, 2019
- Goals and Bucket Lists – June 17, 2019
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