Monday, August 6, 2012

Keeping Employees Cool in the Heat of the Summer

This time of year employees are itching to be outside so they can enjoy the weather with their friends and families.  More than likely you’ve had plenty of vacation requests. We all know that vacation is a vital piece of keeping a healthy employee and environment.  It's important to keep employees happy by granting those requests that are reasonable.  It's also important for a productive work place to have employees that know that they have a manager who is going to recognize their need for some time away to maintain a healthy balanced life.

Keep the work force and your clients happy by maintaining an organized system that allows your employees the ability to take advantage of getting away from the workplace without disrupting the actual workplace. At Herndon Recognition, we utilize a sign up calendar and submit vacation requests to management. The department manager then approves or suggests alternate dates to ensure there will be enough team members scheduled to attend to ongoing project details while the employee is on leave. This reduces stress for the company as well as the employee because it allows the employee to feel confident their immediate work is being attended to in their absence.

One of the best ways we communicate in the office environment while on vacation is to have the vacationing employee set up email auto responder and voicemail.  This communicates to clients and associates that the employee is away on vacation, listing dates and offering other team members to go to for urgent matters in their absence.

There’s no questioning that a rested, balanced worker is going to be more productive and contribute more than a disgruntled, over-worked employee. Create and maintain a system that will allow employees the much needed break from the workplace. Co-workers will be more likely to pick up the slack of the ongoing projects for their team members while away when they know they can be confident that they will be given the same support when they go on vacation. A well planned vacation can truly rejuvenate an employee.

For more information on how you can improve the workplace atmosphere, visit www.herndonrecognition.com.