Keep Your Employees Focused
this Holiday Season
by
Patricia Schaefer
'Tis the season for all good employees to become
distracted.
Stress. Gift shopping and giving. Sending holiday cards.
Parties and holiday lunches. Decorating. Gift wrapping. Family obligations
and gatherings. How can you keep your employees focused on their work-at-hand
without them having visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads? Just what's
an employer to do?
Set an example
Leadership is crucial to maintaining productivity during the holiday
season. If your attitude and goals are lax during this time -- coming in
excessively late and producing less than usual -- chances are your employees will
take your lead and slack off as well. Stay focused on your end-of-year goals
and chances are your employees will do the same.
Reinforce your mission statement
This might be a good time to remind employees of your company's fundamental
purpose, and your short and long-term goals. Set some new goals, and let your
inspired excitement and drive be contagious.
Don't be a “scrooge"
If you find yourself saying “Bah Humbug" to anything celebratory, think
again. Perk up morale and productivity by giving your workers a holiday treat
to look forward to or enjoy; i.e., a celebratory luncheon, festive decorations,
or a holiday cookie or Secret Santa exchange. Consider giving each employee a
company holiday gift, although this practice may be too costly for larger
businesses. If this time of year is your busiest, keep employees' spirits high
with small tokens of appreciation like bringing in bagels and coffee, or simply
expressing your heartfelt thanks for a job well done.
If possible, try not to demand excessive overtime or
weekend hours. When additional work time is necessary due to seasonal demands,
consider using temporary help to augment your regular work force. If feasible,
allow some flexibility in work-time shifts so employees can get those critical
holiday errands accomplished. Contemplate scheduling company holiday
celebrations and parties during normal business hours so you don't take away
from workers' personal time.
Don't let history repeat itself
Did productivity suffer last holiday season? Identify what went wrong and
come up with viable solutions, seeking input from workers whenever possible. If
work time and employee relations suffered because certain employees took
overly-long lunch breaks, set down strict guidelines about lunch-time limits for
all. If company orders were up last holiday season but you didn't have enough
customer service help to keep up in a timely fashion, plan on employing more
people or temporarily shifting work responsibilities in order to handle the
load.
Reflect on and share accomplishments
Take the time to think about all the great things you, your business and
employees have accomplished during the year. Focus on the positive
contributions and achievements, and be sure to share these with your staff,
being certain to thank each and all for whatever part they played. Being
appreciated lifts the spirits and goes a long way to staying motivated during
stressful and harried times.
Employing some or all of these methods should help maintain
your employee productivity level during the holiday season. But do keep in mind
that realistically you may experience some decrease in worker output. If this
should happen, eat one of those holiday cookies, take a sip of some company
eggnog, smile and exclaim, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Men."
Copyright 2005 Attard Communications, Inc. |
