The holiday season is one of the busiest times of year. Employees are preparing for family celebrations while still maintaining their professional responsibilities. Because the focus tends to be more on holiday festivities than on work, fewer tasks may get done on time. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to manage your team’s productivity during the holiday season.
7 Tips For Managing Your Team’s Productivity
1. Be Proactive
Think about your needs during the holiday season and plan accordingly. For instance, consider potential roadblocks and how to overcome them so your team can remain happy and productive. For example, what were some hassles you faced last year? Did employees spend too much time planning parties? Did too many workers take off and leave you short staffed? What were the majority of customer complaints about? Find solutions early on before things get hard to manage.
2. Require In-Office Work
Ask your employees to work in the office rather than remotely. During the holidays, staff are easily distracted by all of the extra tasks they need to get done at home. With holiday shopping, preparing for school celebrations, and other activities, employees should work in the office to stay focused and complete their tasks. Although you may allow some flexibility with work schedules, business still needs to be a priority.
3. Set Expectations
Set realistic expectations for your team. For instance, create systems for turning challenging targets into easily accomplished objectives. Also, sit down with each team member to create a list of priorities to accomplish before year-end. Further, create a weekly team meeting to stay current on what your employees are doing, whether they have reached their goals, and to provide positive reinforcement.
4. Reduce Your Team’s Workload
Lessen your team’s workload. For instance, unless new initiatives are related to the holiday season, put off new or long-term projects until next year. Your team will appreciate having more time to attend to additional routine work and family commitments. Also, do not guarantee to your customers products/services that cannot be delivered during the busy holiday season.
5. Monitor Requests for Time Off
Closely monitor your team members’ requests for time off. Visiting family and taking care of holiday responsibilities means that most of your staff will want days off. Plan each employee’s schedule as far in advance as possible to avoid conflicts later on. For instance, clarify how many teammates need to be in the office each day. Setting expectations lets them know that they need to evaluate when the best time may be to take vacation or personal days. Also, create a shared calendar so that your staff can request days off and you can do your best to accommodate them. Your employees will be more likely to understand if they cannot have a day off due to teammates having off.
6. Block some time for you team to have fun and enjoy the holiday season together
You know your team and know the type of activities that will release some stress and allow you all to bond. Instead of looking at this time as wasted overhead, consider it an investment in the well-being and cohesiveness of your team.
7. Increase Productivity with a Top Recruiting Firm in Western Canada
Increase your productivity with Mercer Bradley! As an accounting staffing and recruitment agency, we focus on digging into each employer’s needs to create matches that work in both the long and short term. We approach every interaction ethically, honestly and transparently. Together, we’ll find the best solutions for your accounting and finance staffing needs. Contact us today to explore our services and to find the talent you need to stay productive.