For centuries, the hottest, most sultry days of the year have been known as “the dog days of summer”.

While this name actually comes from the Dog Star (Cirus) which is in close proximity to Earth during the summer months, it’s also not hard to imagine a lazy dog sunning himself on a porch when it’s just too hot to move. For most of us (much like that lazy dog), summer means a renewed focus on leisure time, the outdoors and relaxation. This is a very important time of year for us as individuals to unwind and reconnect.

For businesses however, the summer months are often plagued by empty offices, mass vacations, lower productivity, reduced motivation and lack of general focus. In short, it’s often difficult for many of us to focus on our desks, when right outside our windows there’s a beautiful summer day beaconing to us.

Here are a few ideas to help bring the motivation and the focus back to your team during those dog days, when even you would rather be on a patio than tie up those loose ends on your desk.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, HAVE A PLAN

In many organizations, it’s tempting, when summer sets in to simply try and ‘ride it out’. We often try to manage around vacation time and lower productivity that often accompanies the summer months, instead of developing a plan to really get things done.

By developing a specific plan to deal with the summer months, you’ll increase your chances of achieving your goals instead of simply just making it through. Some of the elements your summer plan should include are:

• Specific goals you want to achieve during the summer months, along with timelines and resources required for each. It’s important to keep these goals simple and relatively small (see special projects).
• A resource plan that includes key team members and their availability throughout the summer months. It’s especially important to make note of any projects that require team members who have vacation time and plan accordingly.
• Set completion goals for staff who have vacation time and ensure that their portion of the required work is completed before they leave the office, so work can continue in their absence.
• Build in small incentives for staff who remain in the office, to help keep their motivation and focus while others are away. Make sure any incentives you build-in coincide with your most critical goals. It pays to keep the focus where you want it.
• Measure, measure, measure. The expression “what gets measured, gets done” is true. If you want to be sure it gets done, you need to let your team know you’re still watching.
• Whenever possible, make it fun. If you can’t make it fun, make it interesting. It’s hard enough to get people to focus with the distractions of summer on their minds – it pays to find work that’s inherently interesting if you can.

PROVIDE FOCUS WITH ‘SPECIAL PROJECTS’

With much of the office out on vacation during the summer months, larger long term projects are often stalled or put on hold until the team is back together in September. This can leave the remaining staff with a void of meaningful work – a situation which seems to make the time pass even more slowly for those still in the office.

You can bring back some of the focus and urgency by introducing some smaller, tightly defined special projects to your remaining team. These special projects should have short deadlines (typically 1 day to 1 week) and should not require any resources outside of the team who remain in the office.

A special project such as document filing is one that (when things are busy) is often neglected because its level of importance is low when workloads are maxed and other priorities continue to come up. Yet, it’s a job that needs to be done in order to stay organized for the future. Summer is often a perfect time to really push through a project like this, without other priorities getting in the way.

LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Sometimes, despite your best efforts at planning, there’s just no way to move forward with the current projects you’ve got on the go. Unexpected absences or last-minute fires, on top of planned holidays and other summer slow-downs, often mean that some projects have to be stalled until things return to normal in September.

When this does occur, all isn’t lost. It might be a great time to work with your remaining team on some planning and initiatives for the future. Use the extra downtime to look at issues that don’t always get the attention they deserve. Or have your team ‘get creative’ and solicit ideas to improve processes and productivity in the future.

Why not hold a contest to solicit new ideas or solutions to persistent problems? Take advantage of the fact that a slower pace and more idle time means your remaining team members will be looking for a challenge – something to keep their minds occupied and make the time pass more quickly.

SUMMARY

As Canadians, we know there’s only so much summer to go around. By the time summer kicks into high gear, it’s nearly over. So it’s no wonder our collective focus wanders a bit when the sun comes out.

That being said, there’s no reason that we can’t still accomplish our organizational goals during the summer months. With a little planning, some creativity and some strategically placed incentives, this could be your summer of great results.

Personalization is a big part of our every day lives. From the way we travel and the cars we drive to how we reward those who work for us, it’s all about making people feel like they are not just a number. And while gift cards may not have been considered a personal reward option in the past, today they have certainly proven that when it comes to the power of personalization, they too can get the job done.

Personalization is all about strengthening relationships by creating unique product offerings or experiences for each and every customer. Nowadays, when you buy a book or movie online, not only does the website address you by name, but often they recommend other books or movies you may like based on previous purchases. It’s this type of exchange that shows a consumer that as a company, you know them, understand them and want them to ultimately find exactly what they want and need.

So how can you apply this same approach to the world of corporate rewards and incentives? While it’s impossible for you to get out there and hand pick a personal gift for every member of a team of 500, you can still reward them in a way that is just as meaningful. Cash bonuses are always appreciated, but a gift card that is well timed with the right message attached to it can certainly get the team motivated too. In fact recognizing the actual work that was done can often be more valuable to the employee than the actual value of the gift.

Hbc Gift Cards has really taken the concept of personalization to new levels. With each gift card, you can add your own imagery and personal message, which really allows the recipient to feel like the card is meant just for him or her. And the best part is that recipients can then redeem the card for something they really want – something they will have an emotional connection to for years to come.

So what about things like electronics, travel vouchers and cold hard cash? Are these traditional favourites still good incentives options too? Well they can be. But what Hbc Gift Cards really allow you to do is offer more than a reward, it lets you offer an experience. And it’s an experience that you get to be part of too. From choosing different graphics for different departments to tailoring the message in just the right way, you have total control and flexibility over your own rewards and incentives program.

While rewards and incentives options are changing everyday, so too are the perceptions regarding gift cards. Gone are the days when they were considered impersonal gestures.  Today, these tiny tools pack a huge punch when it comes to personalization and results. You can give them to customers, employees and anyone else who helps you build your business. And when recipients get to redeem their gift card for that sweater, camera or CD they’ve had their eye on, it’s as if you went out and personally picked it for them.

When it comes to winter Canadiana, a few things come to mind. Toques. Hockey. All season tires. And yes, our favourite Canadian retailer, the Hudson’s Bay Company. While this shopping icon has long offered incredible year-round merchandise for everyone from Bonavista to Vancouver Island, it also offers something that will warm any cool Canadian heart – it offers history.

The Hudson’s Bay Company’s story is a rich tapestry spanning 339 years.  What started as a trading post has evolved into a 21st century retailer with a loyal following from coast-to-coast. Its major retail channels – the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters – together provide more than two-thirds of the retail needs of Canadians. With 1,000,000 products and over 400 stores across Canada, the Hudson’s Bay Company continues to dress, decorate, reward and incent Canadians during the spring, summer, fall, and yes Winter too.

When it comes to buying something for the home, most Canadians head to an Hbc family store location. But Hbc has a lot to offer Canadian businesses too: Same convenience, great service, and same great feeling of satisfaction knowing you’re promoting a true Canadian experience.  Hbc Gift Cards are really one of the simplest, most effective tools when it comes to building an effective rewards and incentives program, regardless of the size of your business.

So why not just reward recipients with a wad of cash this winter, you ask? Well you can, but there’s a certain emotional experience that recipients just can’t get from cash. It’s important to offer people tangible rewards that they can imagine themselves enjoying. With Hbc Gift Cards, they actually have an experience they then connect to. An emotional toast during the holidays is now associated with your company simply because the wine glasses were a redemption item. Or a child’s first bike ride without training wheels was a byproduct of an Hbc Gift Card. This psychological aspect of rewards and incentives programs can be just as important as the actual rewards themselves. And with its history and popularity among Canadians, Hbc has the potential to create more meaningful stories for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

So this winter, lace up the skates, watch a little CBC, and don’t forget to warm up the office with Hbc gift cards. It’s really “aboot” being a good Canadian.

Remember getting a gold star for a job well done? Even more, remember the feeling of pride and self confidence you felt when you were presented with the gold star among your group of peers? The arena that we play in may have changed over time, but the feelings never go away. Employee recognition is as important and relevant now as it ever was, and gold stars go a long way in boosting morale.

While talk of a down economy has many of us feeling a little dispirited, managing those feelings among employees and turning them around is the task that many organizations are now faced with. While employee incentive programs can be a powerful tool in an arsenal towards re-engaging and motivating employees, there are several other steps that can be taken by an organization. What’s more, if implemented properly and consistently, they can create loyalty among employees towards the organization. This in itself will carry your organization through any downturns.

Effective leadership and communication are fundamental in promoting a positive environment during uncertain times. Leaders that can sincerely recognize, show interest, and reward employees who continue to make a positive “impact on an organizations future,” will reap the benefits. This is where clear communication plays a part and good managers will take every opportunity to celebrate and “publicize their employees achievements.” Internal company newsletters, team meetings, e-mails or even a good old fashioned handshake are all ways to communicate achievements. The important thing is to do it with enough frequency so that it resonates with your workforce and promotes a culture of positive reinforcement (Byam, 2009)1.

Involving your employees in open communication and gathering their input on such things as incentives or the current situation of your organization, will help them feel more secure and engaged. Transparency during and after times of change in an organization, is critical to maintaining trust (Watson Wyatt, 2009)2. Not to mention, when employees see that they have a direct impact on the type of incentives that are of value to them, then they are more likely to participate in working towards them. Encourage your employees to contribute ideas for team based activities such as a potluck lunch to strengthen ties among co-workers. Promoting affinity and mutual trust between employees will lead to a sense of shared commitment to each other and the organization.

Regardless of the times, many of the above tactics should be employed continually in an effort to create a work environment that breeds motivated employees and a positive culture. While we can get lost in the day to day stress of keeping up with everything that needs to get accomplished, its sometimes a nice change of pace to stop and recognize what is going on in your organization and who are the gold stars that continue to shine in good or bad times.

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¹ Byam, Mike. Five Ways to WOW! Employees on a Budget, Incentive Magazine; The Recession Survival Guide. February, 18, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.managesmarter.com

² Watson Wyatt. Consistent, Open Communication Crucial During Layoffs, According to Watson Wyatt, Watson Wyatt. March 10, 2009, Press Release. Retrieved from http://news.prnewswire.com

A recent survey conducted by Career Builder found that nearly four in ten (38%) of employers plan to cut back on various employee benefits in an effort to curb overall operating expenses (CareerBuilder.com, 2009)¹. If you’re a manager who’s been told to cut budgets and try to squeeze every last penny out of your programs, then you are not alone! However, if you started with your employee incentive program, then you may want to take a minute to re-assess the value of these programs and how they can help you through the economic downturn. Now is in fact the time for incentives and the time to take steps to grow and flourish as an organization despite the bleak economic outlook. Doing so, will not only manage your current situation, but set you towards a promising future.

Sometimes it’s all in the way we look at things that determines the final outcome. In a recent interview with Incentive Magazine, Patrick Lencioni (President of The Table Group, a management consulting firm focused on improving teamwork and employee engagement) makes a great point by stating that we have to ask ourselves the fundamental question: “Do we believe things will get better?” (Lencioni, 2009)². If the answer is no, then we’ve essentially pigeon-holed ourselves into an inevitable conclusion. However, most people would admit that in due time, the economy will rebound and we should take this time to invest in employees; the backbone of every organization.

Now is the time when employee morale can be low and employers are looking for ways to energize and restore confidence. The reasons for low morale are many: whether it’s worries about money, job security, the stress of having to take on more work as a result of company layoffs, or the general media negativity seen and heard all around, the impact of the situation can be overwhelming. As such, it is the role of organizations, and more specifically upper management and HR, to help employees feel secure and reduce their level of fear and anxiety. Employee incentives, coupled with positive communication and leadership, are steps in the right direction to re-engage and motivate employees towards a common organizational goal.

Now is the time when a tiny gesture of recognition through an incentive will go a long way in restoring morale. During a time of abundance, when everyone was living in a sea of prosperity, such gestures could go unnoticed. The same is no longer true and many organizations are finding that a small reward and, more importantly the recognition it carries, are doing wonders in making employees feel valued. The impact of such gestures can be amplified further if the reward is personalized through symbols that the recipient identifies with (eg. their name or project name). This can be easily accomplished through customized and personalized gift cards.

Now is the time when talent management must be considered a top priority within an organization. Current conditions in the economy can leave an organization vulnerable towards a talent sweep by the competition. Maintaining your current talent workforce will not only sustain you through the down times, but it will also ensure that your organization is ready to compete during boom times. Some industry experts suggest that this environment can lead to greater innovation and discovery of new efficient procedures (Hebert, 2009)³. An incentive for idea generation can be built into your current program to recognize the top talent in your organization.

Hbc Gift Cards has incentive solutions that can fit in with your existing program. Talk to us today about the many options that are available from standard, to personalized and customized Gift Cards. Visit www.hbc.com/b2b or call us at 1-888-461-2323 to learn more.

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1 CareerBuilder, Nearly 40 Percent of Employers Plan to Trim Benefits and Office Perks This Year, Finds New CareerBuilder.com Survey. Press Release, February 18,2009, Chicago. Retrieved from http://www.careerbuilder.com

2 Lencioni, Patrick. Leaders, Take a Ride on the “Down Economy” Bandwagon, Incentive Magazine; The Recession Survival Guide. February 20, 2009.  Retrieved from http://www.managesmarter.com

3 Hebert, Paul. Now Is Your Chance…Thrive!, Incentive Magazine; The Recession Survival Guide. February 19, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.managesmarter.com