Are you finding it hard to keep your employees engaged during summer?

Take a second and have a look around your workplace. Do you see people looking up last-minute holiday deals? Perhaps you see some people scribbling furiously on their notepad detailing what they need to buy in preparation for the weekend’s barbecue? Or maybe someone is staring out of the window, wishing they were enjoying the sunshine.

Ensuring employee’s minds remain on the job is a challenge employers face year after year. Low employee engagement levels have a negative effect on productivity and performance, but it can also cause other employees to become frustrated as they have to pick up the slack from their disengaged colleagues.

So what can you do?

You can consider a number of different options:

Making the most of the outdoors

If it is a particularly sunny day, you may think about holding your team meeting or a one-to-one meeting outside.

Holding summer events

The summer is a great time to hold a garden party, barbecue or perhaps a formal summer dinner.

The events can, however, give rise to a number of employee grievances, for example, colleagues being overly touchy-feely, making offensive comments or starting fights after a few drinks. Remember that even if the party takes place outside of normal working hours away from the workplace, it still counts as a work-related event.

You can assume that, in the eyes of the law, the party will be considered “in the course of employment” and as such, managers are still responsible for their staffs’ behaviour and that employers will find themselves liable for any acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation carried out by their employees. Seek advice from our Employment Law Advisers to find out more about the HR and Employment Law implications of work events.

Subsidising events

If there are local events, for example a festival or a horse racing event, you may be able to subsidise the ticket price. Some cheaper options could include providing discounted gym classes or activities.

Carrying out team building activities

You can also consider an afternoon doing sports or fundraising for a local charity. This can help boost engagement, but also strengthen relationships across the business.

Introduce summer perks

You may decide to allow employee to leave early on Fridays (if you don’t have much on) or provide treats, such as ice lollies or ice cream.

More relaxed dress code

The warm weather may make staff want to take off their tie or wear more open shoes. It may not always be possible, but you may decide to make certain allowances to the dress code over the summer months to cope with those hot days.

Remember…

This is not an exhaustive list. There are many creative and innovative ways to increase employee engagement and it really boils down to you finding what bests suits your organisation.

If you are facing a HR or Employment Law challenge, get in touch. Our Employment Law Advisers can be on hand to help guide you through all the necessary procedures to resolve issues quickly and effectively.