It’s the new year and your team is back in the office, sipping coffee from holiday mugs as everyone turns off their out-of-office automatic responses and thinks about the year ahead. When resetting after the winter holidays, you may find your office’s spirit and energy levels up in the air. Some folks may be rejuvenated after a relaxing time with family and friends and ready to start the next quarter head-on, while others may be reluctant to come back to morning meetings and emails.
“As manager and leader, you are in the perfect position to set the tone and get your team up and ready for another year of great work.” Says Abby Prince, ProSearch Director
Get the new year started on the right foot with our tips on how to reset after the holidays:
Reconnect with your clients
Set the New Year’s You up for success by touching base with your clients before the holiday rush. Figure out the upcoming steps in your current projects or launching points for new or future work for the year. Because the first days after vacation are always a scramble in anyone’s office and inbox, scheduling your reconnect before the holidays is a great way of being ahead of the curb and avoiding bombarding your clients with first-touch emails while they’re still settling back themselves.
Ease your team back with something fun
Everyone is already buzzing to reconnect with their coworkers and swap stories and photos from vacation and family time. Take this opportunity to bring in the team and reset/revitalize the environment with a lowkey activity or event. This can be as easy as bringing in breakfast or lunch (because what better way to get back into the swing of things than over a cronut or burrito?) or for virtual teams, having a quick Zoom meeting to catch up on where everyone is and what they can expect from the year ahead.
When assessing business goals, focus on the big picture
Studies show that winter is usually the least productive time of the year, with productivity levels picking up in spring and summer, then peaking in the fall. As a leader and manager, steer your team’s work culture and attitude in the right direction by working smarter, not harder. After all, no one wants to return to the office after a week of comfort food and family time to a list of new KPI goals and back-to-back meetings.
But that doesn’t mean your work has to be at a standstill. To work smarter, use this time to focus on your business’s big picture and shape your high-level priorities for the year by meeting with your teams to review current and upcoming project starts and restarts. Making the time and space to get a bird’s eye view of your goals rather than stressing about getting x, y, z done is not just a way to dodge stress and burn-out, it’s also a great way of utilizing productivity and focus levels to strategize and plan for another great year.
Realign and check in with your team
Resetting after the holidays also means reassessing your team and the work you’ve done together and are looking forward to doing in the future. As you’re taking a bird’s eye view of your business goals, take a moment to also evaluate what you as a leader can do to support your team. During your beginning-of-year status and project meetings, take the time to talk to your employees about how they feel about their work. What can you do as a leader to ensure they have another successful year?
A huge part of leading your business on a successful year is ensuring that everyone feels supported and that your team has its best fits. As you reassess your goals and how to help direct your team to reach them, think about the talent that you’re bringing on and use effective strategy to build lasting partnerships.
At CSS ProSearch, we understand that finding the best fit is a critical part of running a successful team, and we take a consultative approach to getting to know your business and placing the top talent that you have been looking for. Take a look at our blogs for more tips on how to build your team and drive your business or reach out and see how we can help with your specific needs.