How to have a hot biz summer

Summer is finally here, and this week’s newsletter is dedicated to the sun coming out. How can your business balance productivity and giving your employees valuable time outside when the weather’s great??

Flexible working, of course, plays a huge part in this. So, in this week’s newsletter, I’m going to look at four ways that you can enhance your flexibility for the summer, while maintaining productivity: summer hours, shut-down weeks, role-modelling a hot biz culture, and work from anywhere schemes.

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??Let’s get started on hot biz summer initiative number one - summer hours:

Summer hours are a great way to give more time to your employees to enjoy the sunlight. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll know the feeling of longing for the warmth of the sun on your skin, and giving a Friday afternoon off to enjoy the sun is a fantastic benefit to offer.?

If you aren’t ready to offer a 4 day or 4.5 day week all year round, it’s also an easy way to dip your toe in the water, while seeing a likely uptick in engagement as people feel valued, rested, and sunkissed. Katte & Co are a Flexified employer that have embraced summer hours, and seen exceptional employee feedback as a result.

??Hot biz summer initiative number two - shut down weeks:

Everyone knows that the public holiday week in August (or July depending on where you are) is not the most productive time - similar to the week between Christmas and New Year. Therefore, a brilliant way to offer extra holiday without sacrificing productivity is through a shut-down week that starts with the public holiday Monday.?

This gives people guilt-free time during the summer holidays, or to enjoy their gardens without feeling like they’re using precious travel time. It also helps people to fully disconnect, as when no one is working, notifications are wonderfully quiet. Of course, this won’t work for all businesses, but for those that can shut down, I’d really suggest it. We do it here at Flexa , and it’s a resounding hit, especially with us as founders as we don’t get to switch off very often!

?? Hot biz summer initiative number three: role-modelling a hot biz culture

When the summer arrives, people are going to want to work outside, and in different places. It’s up to senior leadership to show that people can work and be productive in different places. If it’s ok to take an internal meeting in the garden, then role-model it. If you want to take your focus-time to the beach, role model how productivity can happen in different places.?

The key to making this successful is by implementing an output-driven culture. Hours aren’t a good measure of productivity, but output definitely is. Encourage people to find ways of working that work for them, and if that’s tanning while writing a blog in the garden, then let them work in a way that works for them. I personally love working outside, but Maurice hates it. Output driven cultures give people full responsibility for how they use their time, and it’s pretty easy to tell when their sunbathing is taking away from their work.?

If freedom to work differently isn’t offered and role-modelled, then people are much more likely to resent being stuck in the office, and avoid giving their work their all because they long to be outside. If you want to work in a duvet hoodie on your WFH days in the winter, and roast in your garden a couple of days a week in the summer, all while getting your work done to the highest standard, then you do you.

?? Hot biz summer - the final initiative: work from anywhere schemes

Summertime is a prime time for travelling, and being able to work from anywhere during the summer months is a huge plus for many employees, particularly if you have family abroad.?

Hybrid companies can relax their in-office expectations over the summer, so that people can enjoy WFA schemes but also the benefits of a hybrid culture. And those with remote-first and remote cultures can easily implement 30 - 45 day WFA schemes with minimal tax and legal risk (always check with tax and legal experts first).?

Lucanet, FSCS, Duffel, Quantexa and Amplience are all Flexified companies that have embraced work from anywhere schemes, and many individuals are taking advantage of the freedom to travel over summer.?

?? Bonus hot biz summer initiative - keep the aircon on

There is nothing better than aircon when it’s too hot, so offering your employees refuge in an airconned office is a 10/10 option.?

Wondering how your working environment stacks up against the market (hot biz summer or not)? Take our free benchmarking quiz and get tailored insights about how you score. https://tinyurl.com/eabae5z8

If you’d like to start shouting about your flexibility on Flexa, which has over 1.2 million users searching for flexible companies like yours, book a demo to find out how to reach them https://tinyurl.com/flexademocall?