No one said that managing employees was easy. After all, they are people who all have different backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking that, when working together, can solve some of the toughest problems, but when working in opposition, can cause strife.

Scheduling+ offers the best employee scheduling software for your small business. Our mission is to help you manage your employees by offering an employee scheduling app that your employees can use to manage their schedules, request time off, and use to log in and out when they begin their shifts. For small business owners, our innovative online scheduling software makes scheduling employees easy, can be integrated with your software, and offers task management solutions so you can track when tasks are done. Below, we’ll dive into part two of our series on how to maximize your employees’ downtime. Contact us today for a free demo!

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMPLOYEES DOWNTIMES

Spring Cleaning

No matter what business you are in — even the restaurant business — you have a storage room full of stuff. Some of that stuff probably hasn’t been gone through in a long time. If you have boxes with a year’s worth of dust on them, or they are stacked to the ceiling, then you can use downtime in your office or store to go through these boxes, see what is in them, and then either donate the materials, use the materials, or get rid of the materials. Clutter affects employees’ focus, and it can be hard to be productive, even if a room is hardly used. By going through your little-used items during slow times, you’ll free up space and make yourself feel much better.

Assess Where You Are At

Previously, we discussed goal setting in your downtime at your place of business. While this is hugely important, it’s also equally important to take some time and see exactly where you are at and what you have accomplished. This should be done periodically, and with Scheduling+’s task reminder settings, you can set yourself a reminder every three months to review. This can be an invaluable experience for employees who can take some time and really see how far they’ve come in the past year. This can also be an eye-opening experience for some, as well, and may lead to a renewed vigor in the workplace.

Team Build

One of the best activities you can do is have an impromptu team building activity during your employees’ downtime. This can be as simple as playing hangman, or having a competition to see who can make the best drink the fastest. Or, to keep the environment calmer, you can all gather around the coffee pot, pour a cup of coffee, and either talk about work or personal lives. This lets employees know that you value their lives outside of work and builds rapport within your team as more connections are made.

Catch-Up

If you’re one to put small tasks aside until later and then later never comes, then using downtime to play catch-up is a good idea. Return phone calls, finish imputing data, or write a client a thank you note are excellent ways to be productive during your downtime.

Not Do Anything

We all need mental breaks from tasks in order to be our best. While it’s good to maximize your employees’ downtime, if all of the tasks are finished that you’ve created using Scheduling+’s task management feature of our employee scheduling software, then there is nothing wrong with just letting employees hang out and not do much. This could give them renewed energy for when your store or office does pick up again. Plus, it shows that being laid back is acceptable. You’ll just want to avoid not doing anything turning into a habit during all downtimes.

SCHEDULING+ EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CAN HELP WITH EMPLOYEE DOWNTIMES

Every business should have some sort of scheduling management software. You can spend hours setting schedules if you do it the old fashioned way — either with a spreadsheet or a pen and paper. Plus, your employees like knowing their schedule in advance, and as soon as you are done, your employees will be notified, and they can check the mobile employee app.

Downtimes may be few and far between for your business. However, when it is slow, it’s important to still be productive, but in a more personal development way. With Scheduling+’s employee management software, you can create your own downtime of sorts since you and your employees will save time with our employee scheduling app. Affordable and powerful, this scheduling software makes it easy for everyone to use.

Scheduling+’s mission is to free up your time so that you can have some downtime during the day to rejuvenate and recharge. Contact us today for a free demo!