If you’re a manager or business owner, you know that it can be challenging to get your team motivated after a return from the holidays. After all, everyone is coming back from vacation mode and may not be feeling their most productive. However, there are plenty of ways to motivate staff after they’ve returned from time off. Tackling this the right way can help get your staff off to a good start for the year and set the bar for the following months so it is important to ensure you don’t ignore this aspect of managing a team. Below are some tips on how to ensure your team starts the year off on the right foot:
- Set realistic goals: Before getting into work tasks, set clear expectations for yourself and your team members. Make sure that these goals are achievable so that everyone feels a sense of accomplishment when they reach them. This will help keep motivation levels high even after returning from the break.
- Show appreciation: Acknowledge the hard work of each team member by showing appreciation in whatever way works best for them – thank-you notes, verbal recognition during meetings or simply just taking an extra few minutes to chat with them one-on-one about how they’re doing post-holiday break can go a long way towards boosting morale and motivation within the workplace environment.
- Encourage conversation with your remote workers and inhouse staff: With remote staff they can have a harder time than in-house agents when returning to work as they can be isolated from motivating conversations that inhouse agents receive so it is important to ensure you include them and encourage regular communication between the in-house and remote staff. This type of bonding experience helps build relationships among teammates which can inspire creativity when it comes time to tackle projects!
- Set up refresher training: Depending on how long staff have been away on holiday, they may struggle recalling everything they need to be effective and efficient staff members. You can help resolve this through developing simple refresher courses for your teams that they can access at any time if they feel they could do with going back over the important points of their role. This can help keep compliance and quality up and encourage a certain level of self-management by allowing the agents to access such material at their discretion.
There are many more activities a manager can adopt to help smooth the transition back into work after the holidays and it is up to each group to work out what works best for them. What’s important is to be aware of the impact a poor transition can have and the positive impact that can be had on starting off a return in a positive manner with good tools and support for your staff.
Written by Sam Rae
