Keeping Up Employee Engagement In the Summer

Are you counting down the days until Summer? You’re not alone. The sun is out. The weather is warm. Vacations and “day-cations” are around the corner. Depending on your business, work tends to slow and productivity can take a dip. Employees have their mind focused more so on the “life” side of work/life balance.

At the transition into summer, employers will be left with the question – how do I keep my workforce engaged during the warmer months? Fortunately, it’s not impossible. There are a number of exciting ways to keep your workforce focused on business, while bringing the team together in a fun and morale boosting way. Summer is an opportune time to organize events and outings that not only increase productivity, but also strengthen working relationships.

Check out the list of tips and tricks below to keep your employee engagement levels up this summer.

1. Plan Summer Activities

One of the highlights of the summer months is that it is easier to arrange outdoor activities. Profiles hosts an annual mid-year meeting, where each employees from its three other metro offices travels to headquarters in Baltimore, MD for a half-day. And afterwards, the team enjoys a crab fest for the rest of the afternoon. So, if your budget allows, company outings and picnics are perfect for team bonding, especially those companies with multiple, but accessible locations. Not much room for a whole outing? Consider ice cream breaks, happy hours, and company lunches.

Not only do such events strengthen workplace relationships, improving productivity in the long run, these events also keep workers focused and on track; something to look forward to and work towards.

“50 % of employees feel more rested after a vacation.”

2. Encourage Vacation Time

As the weather gets warmer, the more the vacation requests come in. As they should. The best thing employers can do for their staff is encourage their workforce to take time off to travel and reconnect with family. Employees need time to rest and recharge their batteries. Certainly, according to Entrepreneur, vacations improve staff morale and productivity considerably, with 50 percent of employees on average reporting that they feel more rested and rejuvenated after vacation time.

Iron Stone HQ explained that a good way to offset the deficit in manpower during vacation time is to enlist the help of summer interns. Such an arrangement is mutually beneficial – you will be able to get help with any unfinished projects and the intern will acquire invaluable experience for his or her resume.

Finding yourself stuck in your candidate search this summer? Profiles is the leading Marketing & Creative staffing agency in the Mid-Atlantic area, serving companies nationwide. Contact Profiles today!

3. Implement Casual Fridays

Wearing business formal outfits to the office during the height of summer can be uncomfortable for staff members – after all, few people will enjoy wearing a suit and tie when it’s 90 degrees out. However, if you’re reluctant to change your dress code altogether, strongly consider implementing a casual Friday, wherein shorts, t-shirts and the like are welcome. Staff will likely feel more relaxed as a result, and productivity and engagement levels have been shown to increase in such scenarios.

Along with Casual Fridays is the ever popular Summer Fridays policy. Let the staff cut out an hour or two early, or if all is well, consider half-days. While this may not be effective for all organizations, it could work for some, dependent on your company culture and the amount of work you have to get through. If you can swing it, do it.

5. Be Flexible

It’s the digital age and across many industries it’s possible to simply log on and work from home. If this is the case with your business, consider offering your team more flexibility to make their own hours during the summer months. After all, as long as the work is getting done, the time doesn’t matter, right? So if an employee wants to take a two hour lunch and then finish up from home later on, why not let them? Flexible work policies increase productivity and drive morale because employees are able to work at times that better suit their schedules – an exceptional perk for the summer months.

6. Set Goals

Setting clear goals will likely improve your staff engagement. The summer months can be slow for business in general, and with less work, objectives can become less apparent. Remedy this by holding routine team meetings and communicating with your staff about the business goals.. A little encouragement can go a long way in keeping your employees focused on work.

Take this a step further. Set goals and then offer rewards to the workers who meet them, Career One advised. In the summertime you can offer prizes such as paid days off, or free meals out.