Keeping team productivity high during the summer months can be quite challenging. Among employee annual leave requests, school holidays and the great weather outside, you may struggle to keep staff motivation and engagement on point. That’s unless you’ve prepared a set of strategies to stay afloat.
It is often hard to focus on the job at hand when it’s nice outside. The weather can make you feel overwhelmed and distracted from your work, but there may be a scientific reason why that happens!
According to this study, higher temperatures reduce brain functionality- making logical tasks more difficult with increased strain over time. Researchers even claimed this reduced mental performance could impact drivers’ ability to quickly decide what course of action to take when behind the wheel.
In this article, we will explore 7 steps to keep team productivity high during the summer months and keep business growth consistent.
Define Summer Business Goals for You And Your Team
Before anything else, it’s important that you have a clear understanding of what success looks like for your team during the summer months. This means taking into account things like annual leave requests, school holidays and other events that may impact productivity in your team. Implementing a clear policy that requires plenty of notice and a limit on multiple requests for time off is fundamental.
Once you have established prospective times off, you can then start to put together a plan of action that will help you keep team productivity high. This may involve introducing some new systems or processes, or simply making some changes to the way you work.
Help your employees understand the importance of planning ahead. Highlight KPIs and goals for the summer and define the steps they require so your team can work towards them while enjoying some time off.
Encourage Regular Communication And Collaboration
With clear goals and objectives, it’s important to encourage regular communication and collaboration. This will help ensure everyone is on the same page and work process keeps running smoothly.
There are a few ways you can encourage regular communication and collaboration:
- Use project management tools like BPM software, Asana or Trello to keep track of tasks and progress
- Schedule regular check-ins with your team to discuss progress and any challenges
- Encourage employees to share ideas and feedback openly
If you can encourage regular communication and collaboration, you’ll be more likely to keep team productivity high during the summer months.
Acknowledge the Importance of Work/Life Balance
As a business leader, you need to be understanding of other non-work-related commitments your team members may have.
One of the best ways to keep team productivity high during the summer months is to encourage a healthy work/life balance. This means ensuring employees have enough time to enjoy the summer months, while still meeting their work deadlines and quality standards.
Here are 4 ideas to promote a healthy work/life balance in your organization:
- Encourage employees to take their full allocation of annual leave
- Be understanding of other commitments employees may have
- Offer flexible working arrangements
- Emphasize the importance of regular breaks
If you can encourage a healthy work/life balance, you’ll be more likely to keep team productivity high during the summer, and the rest of the year.
Get Rid of Distractions
There are a number of things that can impact employee productivity, but one of the biggest distractions in the workplace is social media.
While it’s important to encourage regular communication and collaboration, you also need to ensure employees are focusing on their work and not getting distracted by social media.
Make sure you use technology to your advantage. There are social media blocking tools like Freedom or StayFocusd that you can easily implement in the work process. This way, it will affect all team members and you won’t have to rely on each individual’s due diligence.
Also, encourage employees to do short walks away from their work station. Sitting for several hours in a row can eventually take a toll on their initiative, mental health and overall well being. 25% of remote workers struggle with disconnecting so make sure you also communicate the importance of off-screen time to your work-from-home colleagues, too.
Make Time for Exercise
Summertime is the perfect opportunity to get employees moving and encourage them to exercise. Not only will this improve their physical health, but it can also boost their mental well-being and productivity levels.
Here are some ways you can encourage employees to exercise:
- Offer discounts on gym memberships
- Encourage employees to walk or cycle to work
- Host fitness challenges
- Provide standing desks
- Set up a gym on your office premises
- Organize group activities
By encouraging employees to get active, you can improve their physical and mental health, which will, in turn, boost their productivity levels.
Provide Daycare Assistance
Summer school holidays can make productivity very difficult for working parents. Even if you provide flexible time or remote work days, having a kid at home would require compromises.
Childcare is expensive and parents may find themselves pulled between work, family life or home if they can’t find adequate help. Providing daycare assistance or on-site childcare services is one of the most beneficial things you could do for working moms during the summer season because it lessens their anxiety while also giving them more time to devote to employment which will ultimately increase earnings potential!
Bottom Line
Summertime can be a great opportunity for team productivity, but only if you take the right steps.
Start by defining your business goals and KPIs for your team and yourself. Then, encourage regular communication and collaboration and acknowledge the importance of work/life balance. Use technology to your benefit to get rid of distractions, and make time for exercise.
If you do all this, you’ll be able to enjoy a productive summer season while keeping your team morale high. And if you need more ideas or want to exchange tips with other entrepreneurs, reach out to CEO Hangout – we’re always happy to help!