When the temperature rises outside, summertime employee productivity usually falls inside your business. This is understandable, as many employees will be out of the office for vacations. But does summertime doom your bottom line?
A study from Office Pulse left some leaders feeling surprised and nervous about the summer months. Among the findings, people reported that:
- There are more distractions (51%)
- A lack of availability of coworkers (41%)
- Productivity goes down (17%)
It’s important employees take time off from work and recharge. With some smart strategy, you can control how these comings and goings impact summertime employee productivity. Consider these tips:
Know Who is Where
Whether it’s a calendar or some other system, make it easy for employees to know who is going to be out of the office. It shouldn’t be a secret. This way people have time to make adjustments to plans, ask questions, or schedule meetings more effectively.
If you only learn of vacationing coworkers from out of office messages, then you don’t have a good notification system. It’s not surprising productivity falls during the summer months.
Revisit Training To Boost Summertime Employee Productivity
Are there scenarios where only one employee knows how to perform an important task? This means that when that person is out of the office, the work doesn’t get done.
Consider making sure at least one other employee knows how to do the task. And if that backup leaves your organization, train someone else.
Some employees may be nervous about teaching someone else how to do these things, as they can represent a form of job security. But it’s also a way to make sure you’re not having to answer frantic phone calls or emails while on vacation.
Reduce the Amount of Internal Email
When an employee is out of the office, consider grouping your emails to them, rather than sending a message every time you have an idea. Over a week or two, these little messages take a lot of time to review, when the employee returns.
Instead, can you put those emails into a daily or weekly summary? This will make it much easier for the returning worker to respond.
Leave Some Breathing Room
It’s a big challenge to walk back into the office and find out that in a matter of minutes, you’re expected to take part in an important meeting. Immediately, any stress relief you experienced during your vacation vanishes.
Make sure people who return to work have a little time to catch up and build momentum before they’re over-scheduled. While you may be eager to reengage the employee, you don’t want them to feel like they’re being punished for taking a vacation.
