Ask Us: Christmas clampdown?
Last year my employees really slacked off during the period between Christmas and new year. How can I ensure they are more productive this year?
One answer would be performance management techniques that apply all year round, but before I go on to those I would ask that you consider some alternative routes.
Firstly you could consider whether you indeed need to be open over the Christmas period. Perhaps productivity is low because business is quieter. The Christmas period may be an opportunity to assess whether it is worthwhile saying open. You could choose to close for a number of days and ask employees to use their annual leave entitlement for the closure days (this needs a particular process – see our advice here).
Secondly, perhaps you could cut them some slack. It is Christmas after all. If reduced productivity does not have an effect on your customers’ experience (they may have wound down for the holidays too), then why not be more relaxed over the Christmas period? Make it clear that your expectations are temporarily reduced over the Christmas period to recognise employees working when many people are not and to reward hard work over the year, but advise that standards will return to usual in the new year.
However, if it is important that you do provide your full service over the holiday period, then you need to return to performance management basics. Some quick performance wins are:
What gets managed gets done
Are you giving your first line managers time off and their team members are not performing as a consequence? The line managers need to be in too or at least set clear objective targets in their absence.
If it’s the line managers themselves not managing performance in the absence of senior management then you need to firstly ensure they are competent in managing their team. Consider line management training for them so they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to be an effective line manager. Once they are competent, set the managers their performance objectives. Setting objectives and holding people accountable is a fundamental of performance management.
Employee Motivation
Encouraging employees to perform in the absence of a manager requires more than targets. The employees need to be motivated to perform, this could be in the form of a reward if a target is met. The reward however needs to be something that the employees value/want and the target needs to be something the employ can truly have influence over.
In addition, or as an alternative to a performance bonus you should seek out what makes each employee want to perform. Play to their strengths. Match their preferences to the tasks available wherever possible.
We hope that gives you a few ideas to consider. Do get in touch again if there’s anything you want to check about this or anything else.
