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The unofficial summer season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During this time, you will need to focus on planning for summer topics and activities. Summer is the season to implement flexible work schedules, establish a causal dress code policy, and offer internships. Summer means more vacation requests. As an employer you will have to prepare for an influx of employees asking for time off. You may want to use this season to boost morale by hosting team building events and activities. Planning for these policies and activities will require time and effort. What things do you need to consider before participating in the summertime fun?
- Flexible Work Schedules. It is likely that your employees will show interest in working an alternate work schedule during the summer season. As many businesses experience a reduction in productivity, your senior management team should consider an alternate or compressed work week schedule. For example, some businesses choose to work 10 hour days during four days of the week and take the 5th day off. Whatever changes in schedules you decide to make be sure that your business is always sufficiently staffed.
- Casual Dress Code. Depending on where your business is located, summer can mean hot, muggy weather. Many professional businesses choose to implement a relaxed summertime dress code. If this is something you are considering, make sure to clearly define and convey dress code expectations. It’s also important that your employees understand that the standard dress code may be reestablished at any time during the summer months, especially if your business will have clients or prospective customers visiting the location. Remember that at all times it’s important that your employees project a professional appearance that is consistent with your corporate culture and environment.
- Internships. According to many organizations, one of the greatest benefits to offering an internship is the fresh ideas and perspectives that students bring to the company. The younger generation also brings with them a wealth of technical insight and ideas for strategic technology that could be beneficial to your business.
- Vacation Requests. It’s fair to say that summer can be considered synonymous with vacation, especially here in the U.S. During this time of year, your employees will want to travel and enjoy their time off. As such, you should strategically plan how you’re going to allocate vacation time. Some organizations require employees to submit vacation requests at the beginning of the year while others have more lenient procedures. Your policy should enable you to ensure staffing availability, as well as give you time to work with employees if you need to alter the requested time off.
- Work-sponsored Activities. There are several factors to consider when planning summertime activities, like whether an event will be during business hours or outside regular working hours or whether family members will be included in the activity. Company picnics are a popular option because they give employers the chance to host a casual, yet relatively inexpensive event for their employees. However, keep in mind that although an event may be casual, it is still an employer-sponsored event. Therefore, employees are expected to behave in a professional manner consistent with your business values.
Summertime is a great time of year to make your employees feel at ease as they anticipate lower work volumes, flexible work weeks, vacation time, casual dress codes, and company fun. By implementing clearly defined workplace policies regarding the topics we’ve considered in this article, you will be able to face the season without any summertime woes.
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Source by David Yohn
