10 ways to ...get through the summer

For many firms, the longer days of summer means having to manage annual leave for employees and reduced workload for a few months. There is also the warmer weather and the problems this can bring. Such disruption to normal working patterns and conditions can provide headaches for even the more experienced managers, but there are many things you can do to get through

  1. Plan how you're going to manage staff leave. Try to dissuade key employees from taking holidays at the same time. Make sure they know you are grateful for their cooperation in this.
  2. Think about whether you need to take on temporary staff, either because of increased demand or staff absence. You could consider providing work experience, maybe to a student or recent graduate. This can be a cost-effective solution to short-term HR needs.
  3. Consider whether introducing a summer close down would be the most cost-efficient move, especially if most of your customers are likely to be on holiday and staff absence is likely to be very disruptive.
  4. Make sure you buy enough electronic fans and anything else that will make the hot weather more bearable. If applicable, consider relaxing your firm's dress code, by allowing staff to wear shorts, for example. You might allow employees to have extra breaks, maybe even start and finish their working day earlier.
  5. Undertake a full stock audit. This will give you an accurate idea about what you need to use up as well as buy in the months ahead.
  6. Get employees to have a good tidy up. Dispose properly of things you no longer need and systematically sort everything you plan to keep.
  7. You could redecorate or renovate. A clean, orderly and comfortable working environment usually makes for a more happy, efficient and productive workplace.
  8. Look into whether there are any training courses you could send employees on while their workloads are lighter. Maybe it would be cheaper to arrange training to take place in your premises.
  9. Look at the big picture. Update your business plan so you can come up with a new business-development strategy for year ahead.
  10. The summer could be the best time to buy new machinery, have it installed and get staff used to using it. You could upgrade your IT hardware and software, as well as update any electronic data you hold.