Summer is just about here, and with it comes a season of turbulence for many types of businesses. Some businesses might have their busy season in the summer, some might see a dip in activity. But what’s certain is that summer always poses challenges such as more employees requesting off, greater potential distraction due to the nice weather and changes in patterns and behaviors of customers and clients.
Here are a few tips that will help your business get prepared for the summer so you can maintain your productivity and hold on to healthy margins.
- Process vacation requests as soon as possible: You should ideally have people start submitting their vacation requests as soon as they know about them, months in advance. This is particularly important for small businesses, who need to make the proper plans to cover for employees who are out on vacation. It’s a lot easier for companies with large workforces to manage a couple people going out on leave. It because much more challenging when the business only has a handful of employees.
- Invest in your business: Some types of businesses see more downtime during the summer. For these businesses, the summer is a good time to invest in the company. This could take the form of handling some deferred maintenance projects, putting employees through training or ongoing education initiatives, scheduling team retreats, reviewing business mission statements and goals, and updating your marketing and branding initiatives.
- Consider seasonal staffing needs: Some types of businesses see booms of activity during the summer. If you run such a business, you might consider increasing your staff for the summer season. Adding these seasonal jobs can help you meet the growth in demand over the summer and meet your customers’ needs.
- Consider seasonal promotions: If your business runs any types of seasonal promotions, make sure you’re prepared for your summer promos. These could include special sales or marketing campaigns. Get the word out early and make sure your team is fully prepared to handle those sales, events or promotions as the day arises.
- Adjust hours: Some businesses find it beneficial to adjust hours during the summer to dismiss early on Fridays (or not open on Fridays in general). Others might be more flexible with allowing employees to work remotely. If you believe it’s feasible to adjust hours and allow more leisure or outdoor time, this can be a good way to keep your employees happy. Just make sure this is a decision you’ve thought through!
For more tips for preparing your small business for the summer months, contact us at MCG Solutions.