How to Keep Employees Motivated During the Holidays

With Christmas and the new year right around the corner, now is a time when productivity slips, attention spans shorten, and minds wander. It’s no surprise considering there’s so much going on outside the company: trip planning, shopping, decorating, and family gatherings. Inside, it’s supposed to be business as usual, but, the holiday season takes over. No one wants to be a Grinch during the holidays and it’s easy to let festive spirit slow things down. However, in the remaining days of the year, the pressure is on and it’s not always simple to stay the course.

How to Keep Employees Motivated during the Holidays

While some team members will be on vacation, others will still be showing up and this creates an unstable atmosphere. What’s more, you are not immune from the holiday fever and find it’s difficult enough just to keep yourself on-task. If you’re not careful, you’ll unconsciously let it be known and that’s tantamount to telling everyone to take it easy and slack off. While you certainly don’t want to portray yourself as Ebenezer Scrooge, you do need to set an example and temper your own excitement with good work ethic.

Keeping your employees engaged in their work can be a challenge during the holiday season. Considering that the holiday season lasts roughly from the week of Thanksgiving until after New Year’s, managers who don’t find ways to keep their team motivated risk losing a lot of money during the fall and winter months. —Business News Daily.com

Doing so won’t necessarily be simple and might even strike you as unnatural, but, if you want to be an effective leader, you’ve got to learn how to play different roles well. That’s what being an entrepreneur is really all about: being flexible and knowing when to take off one hat to put on another. For your employees, the holidays are not only exciting and distracting, it’s the end of the year and looking forward to next year takes their eyes off today. Here are some helpful tips on how to keep employees motivated during the holidays:

  • Be flexible with schedules. The last thing you should do is create conflict and ill will during this time of year. Try to be as flexible as possible with schedules and don’t be afraid to ask for others to step-up when necessary. If you act with team effort, you’ll get a lot more cooperation and positive responses.
  • Let the excitement in the office. There’s nothing wrong with allowing employees to decorate, exchange gifts, and fill the space with holiday music. It puts the spirit of the season to work for you instead of against you.
  • Openly communicate expectations. No one likes the sneaky, sly boss who surprise employees with unpleasant things. You have goals to reach and tasks to get done, so don’t just bark out orders, communicate in a friendly manner and always open up the discussion to new ideas — you might be very surprised by what you hear.
  • Actively engage and manage your team. While people don’t like to be micromanaged, they do appreciate being guided. You’re in a position of authority and this is a wonderful opportunity to sharpen your leadership skills, as well as demonstrate your ability to motivate.
  • Take time to reflect on the year’s accomplishments. Remind people of this year’s accomplishment and be sure to give congratulations with enthusiasm. Speak about being vigilant and finishing the year strong for the good of everyone in your organization.

In addition to these, you should also carve out some time for a party or even a dinner. Keep it simple and ask for ideas from your team about what they’d like to do and where to hold it. Give small gifts or even a Christmas card to your employees and let them know just how appreciative you are of their work and dedication.

Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you?

[shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Pinterest

Related Posts

An image of Roof on a residential house.

How C&S Roofing Grew Revenue 400% Without Losing a 60-Year Family Legacy

A Family Legacy at a Crossroads C&S Roofing traces its roots back to 1958, when Harold Benard Patterson founded a small Phoenix-area construction company built on honest work and lasting relationships. More than sixty years later, the business — now run by his grandson Collin Patterson and Collin’s wife, Susan, under the DBA C&S Roofing — has never had a single complaint filed against its contractor’s license. That kind of track record is rare. But by 2020, Collin and Susan realized that reputation alone wouldn’t carry the company to its next stage of growth. The business had hit a plateau, and they knew it was time to bring in outside expertise. “I have worked with John for quite some time now, and it has been amazing. They have helped guide myself and my team with a very aggressive growth and have done an amazing job. We have hit our growth goals for the 2021 year and are looking forward to growing with the Waters Group in 2022,” said Collin Patterson, co-owner of C&S Roofing. Uncovering the Gaps When Waters Business Consulting Group (WBCG) began working with C&S Roofing, the picture that emerged was a familiar one for fast-growing family businesses: strong craftsmanship, but disorganized workflows, unclear project management processes, and financial forecasting that couldn’t keep pace with the company’s ambitions. Collin and Susan had a solid handle on their current financials, but cash flow tracking and revenue forecasting were largely reactive rather than strategic. Roles within the organization were loosely defined, which created friction as more people joined the team, and the company lacked a clear enough view of its capital needs to build the credit foundation required for serious growth. Building Structure Around a Strong Foundation Rather than reinvent what was already working, WBCG focused on giving the Pattersons the systems and visibility they needed to scale with confidence. That started with a full financial model — one that tracked expense margins and revenue generated per sale, and connected the dots between product sold and the growth targets the company was chasing. From there, the team built an organizational structure that clarified roles and responsibilities, mapped out a workflow process from the first customer call through project completion, and introduced key performance indicators so every employee understood what they were accountable for and how their work tied back to results. Just as important, the engagement helped the Pattersons step back and define the vision and culture they wanted to build the company around — the kind of clarity that turns a family business into an organization other people want to be part of. The Payoff: Structure That Scales The results showed up quickly and kept compounding. Since 2020, C&S Roofing has grown revenue by 400%, with record sales projected to surpass $8,000,000 in 2022 alongside improving net profit margins. The company added key talent that fit its culture, freeing Collin and Susan to focus on leadership and vision rather than day-to-day firefighting. C&S Roofing has since partnered with two national builder clients and one international client on major projects across the Phoenix and Tucson markets, and was actively bidding with two additional national builders at the time of this case study. Just as meaningfully, the ownership team now has real clarity and confidence in the direction of the business. Responsibilities are clearly assigned, metrics are tracked across the pipeline and financials, and marketing has stabilized into a predictable growth engine — a far cry from the plateau the company was facing just a couple of years earlier. Ready to Build That Kind of Structure Into Your Business? Every growing company eventually hits the same wall C&S Roofing did — great work, but not enough structure to scale it. If your business is ready to move from reactive to strategic, Waters Business Consulting Group can help you build the financial clarity, organizational structure, and accountability systems to get there. Contact Waters Business Consulting Group to schedule a free consultation.

Read More »
Financial crisis illustration

Why a Recession Spells O-p-p-o-r-t-u-n-i-t-y for Successful Entrepreneurs

Economic downturns hit every business differently — and the difference often comes down to mindset. While some entrepreneurs pull back and wait out a recession, the boldest ones see it as a rare opening to gain ground while competitors play it safe. Curious how advertising, acquisitions, and smart streamlining can turn a downturn into your biggest advantage? Read on.

Read More »
Waters Business Consulting graphic

Your New Neighbor Is a Nightmare. This is the Way Smart Business Owners Shut It Down

You’ve been doing business out of the same location for years now. But suddenly, there’s a seismic shift coming right from next door. It’s more than just a little annoying. The new occupant is thoroughly irritating, disruptive, and, what’s more, hurting your business. You’ve never experienced anything like this before and wish that you could just ignore it, but that simply isn’t an option. So, what can you do to resolve the problem? Unfortunately, this won’t be an easy fix, but that’s certainly not to say that it’s impossible to resolve; you just need a little astute guidance to make the situation right.

Read More »

Imagine Selling Your Business…

How Would Your Life Change?

You didn’t start your business just to stay busy—you built it to create freedom, security, and options for yourself and your family. Selling your business can be life-changing, but the real question is whether you’re intentionally building toward that outcome or simply leaving it to chance.

Sign up below for a free consultative session to learn what your business could be worth today and in the future! 

Thank you for your interest in learning what your business is worth. We will be in touch shortly.