Fall is fast approaching and with the changing weather and diminishing sunlight, the motivation of employees can also decrease. How can employers and managers keep up productivity levels when the surroundings are becoming dark and grey?
It can be a challenge to work in an environment with extreme weather changes, particularly when Fall heralds the coming of the harsh winter.
But there are a few ways companies can keep employees motivated and productive, even if they can’t control the weather.
Orient Towards New Goals
The beginning of Fall—usually September—is when people return from vacation and children are back at school. While these can be refreshing for employees, it is also hard to get your head back in the game and work on customer relation management.
Allow your employees some time to settle back in and go through their emails, then work towards new goals and projects that will rejuvenate teams.
Setting new targets and working on new projects, such as a new SEO proposal, will feel like starting afresh—you don’t have to bring the baggage of your former tasks into this quarter.
As a motivational tactic, starting things anew when people have already had a break from their previous tasks and projects is a good way to improve productivity.
Support Your Teams and Employees
For employees who have been dissatisfied at work—and you can always tell who they are—Fall is the time when they will re-evaluate whether or not they should stay in the company or consider changing careers or taking up Master’s programs.
Give them a reason to stay on by providing short-term achievable goals that will extend their life at the workplace while also acting as positive reinforcement.
Fall is also a great time to show your teams and individual employees how much they are appreciated at work.
Instead of focusing all your efforts on achieving new targets, take some time out to highlight the achievements of your best employees.
Showcase a top employee or team every week or every month. Highlight their goals, how well they handled the new unmanaged VPS, and what the company as a whole can learn from them.
Don’t use this as an opportunity to bring down other teams or individuals—this is a motivational exercise, after all.
Seeing others being appreciated for their effort will boost productivity across the board in your company.
Celebrate the Festive Season
There are numerous international festivals taking place during the Fall-Winter season, and organisations should attempt to celebrate them together.
This is particularly relevant if your company is multicultural—employees shouldn’t feel that just because they don’t belong to the majority culture, that their beliefs and festivals have lesser value.
Speak to the individuals in your company and ask them about their celebrations and special occasions that they spend with family.
Organise events at work accordingly, and if possible, ask people to bring their families to the office to celebrate the occasions together.
You could also try to arrange to bring in food particular to that event that the entire company can enjoy—it will be a great opportunity for cultural exchange that may not be possible during the year.
And food is a good way to bring people together, especially when people find out that their food services are no longer free.
Alternatively, you could offer to give people the day off for their occasions—some festivals are meant to be shared with family, not colleagues, and you should be cognizant of that fact.
You should also celebrate the festivities of the country that the company is based in with everyone—don’t limit it only to people who already know about the festival.
Employees who are new to the country will likely be curious as to how to celebrate a festival and will enjoy being made to feel like part of the broader community.
Fall may be gloomy and rainy, but it can be a great time to bring the workplace together with celebrations.
Conduct Team Building Activities
Fall weather can be unpredictable but that doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up in the office all day working on PR campaigns. It’s a great time for team-building activities both inside and outside the office.
Within the office, you can play simple word games, drawing games, create mood boards using mood board templates, or play dumb charades.
You can also go outside for kayaking, beach runs, and yoga in a park. The air will be cool and bracing but that can make it more fun for everyone involved—Fall is neither too cold, nor too hot, which will make physical activity less taxing on the body.
Look into event sponsorship for larger activities, but smaller exercises can be coordinated via team chat or email.
Team building activities not only allow employees a break from the monotony of work, but it can help them connect with each other and feel refreshed and ready to take on their projects with more fervour.
Get Flexible
Fall is a particularly busy time for people—not only do employees with children have to get their charges ready for school and after-school activities, but they also have to prepare for the upcoming festive seasons.
All this can be taxing on employee’s time and energy. Why not make life simpler for them by adopting a flexible work schedule?
While you can also opt for a flexible schedule throughout the year, during Fall, the benefits are immense because of the numerous external pressures that employees face.
Allowing workplace flexibility will boost employee motivation and productivity in the long run.
Enjoy the Fall with Your Team
Fall is a beautiful time but it can lead to diminishing motivation in employees and managers alike.
Keep up the motivation of everyone in your company by making the most of the season and rejuvenating the work environment with new goals, more activities, and celebrations.
By leveraging Fall to improve employee engagement and motivation, you will set a positive tone for the winter and the rest of next year.