Between family visits, holiday parties, shopping, and children back at home, the holidays are a tough time to keep employees productive. However, there is hope! Here are five simple actions you and your management team can do this season to keep your team productive.
1. Encourage single tasking.
Distractions like online shopping or working out last-minute plane reservations while on a conference call or attempting to do customer service can cause a lot more problems than it solves. Encourage employees to use their regular breaks to resolve any personal issues, and to get work done while at work.
2. Get solutions from employees for no or low over-time.
Holiday overtime can cut into employee’s family time and create distractions during regular work hours. Additionally, it’s rare that an employee will actually need to work past his or her 40 hours. Even if this is your busy season you can get around distracting and unnecessary overtime. Simply ask employees to provide solutions to completing work within their 40 hours. Most employees don’t want to work overtime during this time of year, so they will readily provide thoughtful solutions.
You can even give a prize or gift to the employee that completes every task set out for them within their usual hours. Simple incentives can help encourage employees who may have been hoping for a boost in pay due to overtime.
3. Provide healthy food for employees.
Many offices have snacks available for employees during an early morning meeting, at office parties, or set out at the front desk. You may feel like a Scrooge, but make those snacks healthy. There will be plenty of sugar-filled treats available to your staff from clients, friends, and family. So, opt out of a donut breakfast and provide breakfast sandwiches. In the end, you’ll help your employees avoid a sugar crash, and they will be more productive overall.
4. Offer work at home solutions or flexible hours.
With kids at home, harsh weather, and difficult commutes, it may work out better for your employees to work from home or have more flexible hours. These options can be tougher to manage, so be sure you have accountability structured into your chosen solution.
5. Create work-related games.
Healthy competition can kick production up into high gear. Create fun games where different departments or team members compete for recognition or a prize. These may be games like: “who can beat their production target first” or “who reaches their sales goals first.” Simple games like this help get employees focused on work – and can even make them more excited about being at the office.
There are many ways to boost employee productivity all year round. Read our other employee engagement tips or get a free evaluation to discover how Business Success Consulting Group can help you increase your company’s productivity in 2017.
