Rising temperatures often bring one thing: the summer slump. Beautiful days make employees long for time away from work. While a little bit of daydreaming isn’t the end of the world, it can compound. Seemingly overnight, productivity dips.
This year, the summer slump may be even harder to manage. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people indoors. Over time, frustration builds, harming morale and outputs.
Luckily, there are things you can do to increase employee productivity, allowing you to combat the ill-effects of the summer slump. Here’s how to get started.
Streamline Hiring for COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring in Cleveland and everywhere else is a bit more challenging. Social distancing means getting together for interviews isn’t the ideal approach, potentially hindering your recruitment efforts.
Finding great candidates fast is essential for productivity. When you have an opening, your team isn’t at full capacity. As a result, productivity dips.
Couple that with vacation requests, and being shorthanded becomes the norm. Not only does this harm outputs, but it also increases stress. In time, burnout may end up more common, diminishing productivity even further.
However, by adjusting your process, you can expedite hiring. Implement video chat solutions to use when you need to conduct interviews, and consider using online skills test to vet candidate capabilities.
You can also partner with a staffing firm for your long- and short-term hiring needs. Recruitment agencies maintain vast talent pools brimming with pre-screened job seekers. By working with them, you can find the employees you need quickly, ensuring productivity isn’t harmed by vacancies.
Offer Seasonal Perks
Part of what causes the summer slump is the desire to enjoy the season. If you make adjustments to some of your offerings during the warmer months, you can let employees experience everything summer has to offer while enhancing productivity.
Consider shifting to compressed workweeks, if possible. For example, your team can work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days, they would get an extra day off every week.
Along with promoting better work-life balance, this can also boost morale. Just make sure to create a formal policy outlining the changes, ensuring everyone is on the same page regarding how it works and how long it lasts.
Focus on Priorities
In some cases, it’s best to recognize that productivity may dip a bit. However, that doesn’t mean you have to let critical tasks fall by the wayside.
If you want to make sure that summer runs as well as possible, review workloads and identify crucial priorities. Let your employees know that they need to focus their efforts on those areas. That way, all of the must-dos are done.
Additionally, if there are any non-essential projects in the works, consider rescheduling them. It may be best to wait until fall instead of overburdening your staff, especially if they are still struggling with the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, employees are still facing challenges unlike anything they’ve previously experienced. That means a bit of compassion could be the right choice.
Do You Need to Augment Your Workforce This Summer?
Vector Technical Inc. – a top staffing agency in Cleveland, Ohio – strives to ensure area companies have access to the high-quality hiring solutions they need to thrive. Let our staff find the candidates you need the first time. If you want to secure some of Ohio’s best job seekers quickly and efficiently, request an employee today!
