December is a month full of challenges for both small and large companies. Due to the general excitement for the upcoming holidays and the volume of work that must be completed by the end of the month, and thus by the end of the year, it is a great deal to motivate employees to maintain focus and persevere in tasks. That’s why it’s important for managers to recognize the risks that December brings and anticipate the obstacles that may come in the way of the teams they lead.
Find out how to motivate your team in 5 effective ways and successfully achieve all the business plans you have defined for the current year:
Organize Quality Time With Your Team Members
Despite the heavy amount of work on cold, December days, it is very important to organize Quality time with employees outside the office day-to-day conversations. Whether you’re having one-on-one conversations with employees or bringing them all together for a group discussion, it’s important to talk about different topics to improve productivity in the workplace. Let them know that their opinion is important and that you want to hear from each of them what business challenges they encounter, as well as suggestions for potential solutions to such situations. Perhaps through Quality time you will find out what the team lacked in the previous period and how you can compensate for the time spent.
Get Into the Holiday Spirit With Themed Team Buildings
New Year’s and Christmas holidays are the favorite part of the year for many. Instead of suppressing the holiday spirit in the business environment, encourage it with different themed team buildings. From Secret Santa gift exchanges, to decorating the tree or organizing Ugly Holiday Sweater Fridays – there are many options! Chat with people from your team during a break or take a short online survey where everyone can express their wishes and suggestions. Depending on which activity you decide on, agree as a group when and where you will enjoy the holiday euphoria together.
Optimize and Prioritize Daily Tasks
In the vast sea of daily tasks, where everything seems equally important and urgent, employees easily get lost. The consequences include being late with deadlines, forgetting important information and lighter duties, and often the output of teamwork is of lower quality compared to previous periods. A simple way you can solve this challenge is to agree every morning with the team which tasks are important for that day, what must not be late, what can be postponed, transferred, etc. If you notice that there is idling, talk to the team about how you can optimize their work process.
What To Do After the Holidays?
The business tension during the holiday euphoria is high and there is a lot of room for mistakes, and it often happens that the return to work is even more stressful for employees, because they do not know what will await them after the break. Organize a meeting with employees and agree on plans and goals for January. This will be especially important for your people, because they will be able to enjoy their vacation in peace, and when they return to work, they will not be greeted by chaos and stress, but by a well-planned directive. It is also important that the goals you set are realistic from the employee’s point of view in terms of scope of work, time frame and type of work.
Be a Personal Example To Your Team
Being a team leader is no easy task. You are the person that every employee can turn to, you make sure that all deadlines are met and you are responsible for the general functioning of all members of the group. Employees look to you when the workload increases, when there are internal and external changes in the company, and when they seek advice on a particular challenge they have encountered. If you set yourself up as an example of a focused, responsible and organized worker, you will unconsciously (individuals may also consciously) motivate your team to apply the techniques and principles that guide you to carry out their own tasks.
Conclusion
The motivation and inspiration of employees is a matter of good organization and quality preparation of the company’s leading managers. Use the holiday euphoria to your advantage and encourage your employees to excel in their work and achieve business goals for the current year in a healthy and productive environment. Organize your time for conversations with team members and listen to their wishes, needs and suggestions for successful business.
In the countries of Western Europe, it is a common practice to give holiday bonuses or the so-called “13th salary” to your employees, because when you show people that you respect their work and effort, then they will also give their best in the following business period.
It is important to recognize that one of the important factors for the general satisfaction of employees in the company is the office space where your team spends time. Every detail in the room must be in favor of the employees, so that they can deal with their daily tasks unhindered, without obstacles and difficulties, and if you want to find out how Desk&More can help with this factor, take a look at our offer.
