01/ 02/ 2006
by Tamara E. Holmes
The holidays are generally a busy time for people personally and professionally, often requiring them to exert more energy than usual. While your business may benefit from that energy boost in the weeks leading up to the holiday season, employees can easily become burned out once the New Year rolls around. By following a few suggestions, however, you can keep spirits and enthusiasm high among your employees and stop the post-holiday slump from setting in.
One of the best ways to keep spirits high after the New Year is by taking advantage of the resolution craze. January is when most people set goals for the upcoming year. You can capitalize on this trend by setting your business’ performance goals at this time and letting employees know how they fit into the picture. Since people are generally excited and hopeful about all of the things they would like to accomplish in the New Year, you can coach your employees into being excited about what they can do in the workplace.
Involve your employees in this process by asking them to write down their yearly goals. Once they do that, meet with them and discuss how you both can make it happen. This is a good way to increase morale among your employees and to show them your interest in the evolution of their careers. This also lets you get a glimpse inside of your employees’ minds, so you can determine whether they are happy in their present roles or whether any other changes might need to be made.
If your employees tell you they'd like to make some changes to their workload in the coming year, pay attention. The New Year is when employees often think about changing jobs. By talking to your employees about what they're looking for in their day-to-day work lives, you may keep one or more of them from jumping ship.
Similarly, the New Year is a time in which people are more open to change. If you would like to add new responsibilities to certain employees’ workloads, or you have other changes you'd like to make, the New Year can present an opportune time for you to make those adjustments. Again, you'll be appealing to people’s natural inclination to start over with the New Year, unlike at other times of the year when employees might be more likely to view the changes as a threat to their status quo.
Something you might want to pay close attention to once the New Year rolls around is the fact that routine will be setting in again, whereas the holidays likely afforded employees with a lot of excitement. Keep that in mind and give employees a chance to wind back into their daily routines. Some of your employees may have recently taken vacation time; others may have had family in town for the holidays. With all of the activity that generally accompanies the holidays, some employees might not be psychologically able to give 100 percent to the job. If you can't afford to cut your employees a little bit of slack and give them a couple of days to get readjusted to their normal routines, be mindful of their workloads and don't pile them too high in the immediate days after the holiday season.
The flip side of this equation is that the beginning of the year generally gives businesses a lengthy stretch of time before a major vacation season. Employees tend to think of vacations during the summer months and during the holiday season. As a result, you'll likely have full attendance in the early months of the year, and people will be somewhat rested once the holiday season has ended, making this an ideal time to begin new projects and customer relationships.
The holiday season is a busy time that brings its share of challenges to any small business. By taking advantage of your employees’ natural tendencies after the start of the New Year, you can ensure that your business gets off to a good start in 2006.
