What is one company culture tip that you have for keeping your small business employees productive during the summer months?
1. Take Beach Breaks
“It depends on where you are located, but for any business near a beach, taking the day off and having a small “company retreat” can be great! I’ve found that while the beach is a great place, any break is good and healthy for the company. In fact, some of our best ideas often come out on these breaks because of casual conversation and the nature of a fun company outing.”
– SCOTT FERREIRA, FreeBike Project
2. Have a 9/80 Schedule
“Make your employees happy, and they will deliver. A 9/80 schedule during the summer months is a great way to accomplish this. 9/80 means 80 working hours in nine days. Essentially, it means your employees get every other Friday off in return for working longer hours the previous week and Monday through Thursday. It’s also great for employee retention. Would you want to give up that benefit?”
– MITCH GORDON, Go Overseas
3. Give Your Team the Flexibility to Start Work Earlier
“Flexibility to start work earlier so that people have more time to enjoy the evening and nice weather.”
– JORDAN FLIEGEL,CoachUp
4. Incorporate Summer Hours
“Summer hours. We implemented summer hours from Memorial Day to Labor Day, which means we leave early on Friday afternoons. This may seem counterproductive, but even with the loss of two hours of work on a Friday, we saw no loss in productivity.”
– JOHN MEYER, Lemonly
5. Create an Outdoor Workspace
“Don’t keep your employees cooped up inside looking yearningly out the window. Instead, set up a picnic table or other outside workspace solution, and encourage people to work outside when it’s nice out.”
– KELSEY MEYER, Influence & Co.
6. Have Walking Meetings
“Walking meetings are the best way to get people off their chats and out of the air-conditioned office — no matter how hot it is. A change of pace (literally) can make a big difference.”
– DEREK FLANZRAICH, Greatist
7. Summer Fridays!
“We have “Summer Fridays,” which means the workday ends at lunchtime on Friday. It’s a great way to keep employees motivated, and a fantastic way to start off the weekend! We also have a “four-day weekend” policy, so all traditional three-day weekend holidays (Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.) become “four-day weekends” with a full day off on the Friday before the holiday.”
– BRITTANY HODAK, ZinePak
8. Promote Healthiness
“Promote healthy lifestyle activities, such as healthy lunches or company running groups. Even if they take place during working hours, your team will get to enjoy the nice weather and may feel less compelled to leave at 5 p.m. on the dot.”
– ROBERT J. MOORE, RJMetrics
Originally published by StartupCollective. Syndicated with permission on KillerStartups.com.
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StartupCollective
