Summer is on the horizon and your employees couldn’t be happier. They can’t wait to spend as much time as possible basking in the sunshine, lying poolside, and soaking up the warm weather. As the boss, you’re also excited about summer, but are concerned production levels are going to tumble. You can’t afford for people to spend the season slacking off, so follow these tips to keep them inspired.

Five Ways to Keep Employees Motivated This Summer

Offer Summer Hours

Encourage your team to work their hardest all week by allowing staffers to leave a couple hours early on Friday — if their work is done. Everyone wants to shave a few hours off the end of the workweek, so this is a great way to entice people to put in extra effort, instead of growing sluggish daydreaming of summer vacation.

Let People Work From Home

Summer is the most relaxed season of the year, so allow employees to kick back a little by working from home one or two days per week. People will be able to swap their commute for some extra sleep and parents can enjoy some added quality time with kids home from school for the summer. This inspires top performance, because employees know you won’t continue to trust them working from home if they don’t keep submitting fantastic work.

Make Time for Fun

All work and no play makes for a dull office environment, so plan some fun summer activities for your team. Form a staff intramural sports team, take everyone out for ice cream or host a summer picnic for employees and their families. Having a little fun will bring your team even closer together. No one wants to let down colleagues they respect, so extra bonding time will keep motivation levels up.

Take Meetings Outdoors

It’s hard for employees to concentrate on meetings when all they can think about is the warm, sunny weather outside. Combat this by moving meetings outdoors. The change of scenery will allow people to feel rejuvenated, encouraging an influx of innovative ideas.

Grant as Many Vacation Request as Possible

Everyone wants to take vacation time in the summer, which can make coverage very tricky. It’s probably tempting to allow only a select few to take time off during these months, but that will cause a serious decrease in morale. Ask employees to submit requests as far in advance as possible, so you can plan ahead. Consider hiring temporary staffers to fill the gaps, if needed.

For more than 20 years, ECS has been providing compliant professional payrolling and independent contractor management services to companies in a wide-variety of industries. If you need a little help managing your contingent labor workforce, contact us today to discuss a partnership!