How to keep your employees engaged during the holidays

11.05.2015

dog with hat by torbakhopper

Photo by Torbakhopper on Flickr

The holiday season is rapidly approaching. Did you know it’s only 16 days until Thanksgiving? We use Thanksgiving as a benchmark because it seems to mark when it’s alright to start listening to holiday music, and when you start to wonder how much of your office is on vacation for the week. Prior to Thanksgiving, vacations are more sporadic and the pressure associated with preparing for and showing up to family gatherings has not seeped into the workplace.

The holiday season is challenging for many managers because there is a fine line between giving your employees the time off they need and deserve and still being able to make your numbers, maintain productivity and end the year successfully. Below you’ll find five strategies to keep your team engaged throughout the holiday season.

1.Time off is time off, be present when you’re in the office
Your team probably already knows this, but in November and December a friendly reminder is a good thing. You’re committed to giving them the time off that they need and not emailing them after they’ve left for the day, but this also means that when they’re in the office you don’t want to walk by their office and see them holiday shopping online.

2.Give them a goal
If you can give your team something to chase above and beyond their daily responsibilities, you might find their focus recalibrates and they put in additional effort to reach this goal. Of course, this means there needs to be a reward for meeting this new goal. A little extra cash around the holidays is a proven motivator, and rarely seen as an annoying distraction that isn’t worth the extra effort. Additionally, if you can act as the cheerleader on the way to the goal and keep everyone in the loop on where they’re at in relationship to the percentage to goal, or coach and suggest key strategies or suggestions that your employees can use to get there, you’ll make your employees feel like you want them to win, and you’re part of their progress.

3.Celebrate Success
This is most easily associated with setting a goal for the holiday season and your team meeting or surpassing it. As a manager, this generally means you did nearly everything right along the path to reaching the goal. You worked with your team, coached them, kept them updated on their progress, and now get to break the good news. The way that this whole scenario de-rails is when your team actually reaches the goal. You need to make a huge deal about the success, you need to make sure everyone is included in the announcement and celebration, and you need to tell your team when and how they’re going to receive their reward.

If it’s a reward that they can/should use during the holiday season, you should be ready to reward it right away. The worst outcome possible is your team working hard to meet this goal, being excited about their progress, but not receiving their reward until after it’s useful. It’s one thing to buy a swimsuit on sale at the end of the season knowing you’re not going to be able to wear it for nearly a year, but when it comes to a reward at work, your team doesn’t expect payment for a job well done five months after their accomplishment. If there’s a good reason for you to delay the reward, you should explain that immediately. But that should only be done when it’s REALLY necessary and easily explained. -Otherwise, the next time you set a goal for your team, it’s going to be tougher to get buy in for the next goal you want/need to reach.

4.Create a positive environment
Celebrating your successes as mentioned in point number three is a huge contributing factor toward creating an environment that all your employees want to work in. If you have figured out a way to energize your team and have them working toward a common goal, even the scrooges in the group will likely be happier throughout the holiday season. You likely know that giving praise and kudos to your employees is an important part of making them feel like they are valued and appreciated, but it’s especially important during the holidays. With all of the added financial pressure, special preparations that add stress to schedules, and just the overall feeling of being overwhelmed, the holidays can feel like a pressure cooker for some employees. It’s a big undertaking, but if you can follow at least a couple of our suggestions, work might end up being an oasis for some of your employees during the holiday season. At work, they will be surrounded by happy and productive people that are working toward a common goal, no one in the office is hounding them for a menu for their holiday meal, and they don’t have to worry about whether their family is going to judge the cleanliness of their cubicle. Voilah! Oasis at the office.

5.Make their lives easier
If there’s something that your employees have been wanting to make their work lives easier, there’s no time like the present. If you can upgrade software/ technology, replace some ailing office furniture, bring in lunch a couple of times when they’re close to meeting their goal or close to a deadline, or manage to solve some of the “little things” that just drive your employees crazy, they’ll realize you’re listening to them and are concerned about their happiness. This is an especially important step toward creating the oasis like feeling we know you’re hoping to achieve during the holiday season. Additionally, you’ll find that your effort will be paid back to you by many of your employees long after the holiday season is closed. They’ll remember your extra effort, coaching, and willingness to listen and solve their problems and likely want to work harder for you in the future. -Or at least not mind when you ask them for something above and beyond their normal responsibilities or goals.

You already know that a happy staff is a productive staff from studies by Gallup-Healthways and Harvard Business Review, but keeping everyone engaged during the holidays can be a challenge. With these five strategies we hope you and your team have a fantastic, happy, profitable holiday season!