Staffing during the summer months can be a challenge. With employees on vacation, a decreased work load, and less customer traffic, keeping normal business hours during the summer months may simply be a waste of money. If you want to increase morale and accommodate the slow season, consider these ways to adopt summer hours while still maintaining a high standard of customer service and productivity.
Half Day Fridays
There can be serious value in simply closing the office down through decreased operating costs, even if payroll stays the same. One strategy companies can employ during the summer hours to reduce operating costs is to ask employees to reduce their lunches from one hour to one-half hour Monday through Thursday and then close the doors of the business after five hours on Friday. This arrangement works best for employees who can enjoy longer weekends during the summer months but may be a concern for customers who need questions answered during the workday. Before implementing this plan, employers should use their workforce management system to assess productivity and customer interaction on Friday afternoons. If they find this time is particularly slow, closing down the office is the perfect solution for implementing summer hours.
No Staff Fridays
If half days don’t work for your company, changing your summer hours to include an extra hour of work each day and take the alternating Friday off can provide more time off for employees to enjoy the sun and also save operating costs. If letting the office close isn’t a possibility, dividing your staff in two groups that get alternating Fridays off can ensure there is still a core group of employees available to answer customer questions and address calls. While this summer hour schedule provides more full days off, some employees find the extra hour of work each day undesirable so it’s important for employers to ensure that a majority of employees are able to adjust their schedules to meet this summer schedule.
Flex Time
While consistency is nice, there are some situations where simply closing the doors isn’t an option. Instead, providing time off based on a lack of productivity or workload can be helpful. Implementing flex time during the summer months allows managers to use their own discretion, within reason, to allow employees to create their own schedule. This may include employees coming in later in the day, leaving early, or taking days off by working their hours at other times in the week. Companies that implement this system can still meet operating needs but grant employees flexibility to mold their schedule to meet their needs.
To make summer hours work for your management, your employees, and your customers, you need to truly assess your productivity and your business needs during the summer months. Including employees in the discussion of how best to implement summer hours can help meet customer demands while not disrupting employee plans or paychecks. These three schedules are just a few of the examples available to companies looking to scale back during the summer months. Use your workforce management system to assess which would be right for you.
