Summer is officially here, cue the kids breaking up from school, out of office alerts going on and the mass exodus from the office as we all head out in search of summer fun. Maintaining engagement with your team over the summer months can be tricky. A Town & City Gift Cards survey found that just 17% of people say they feel most motivated in the summer – fear not though, we’ve got tips to make summer staff engagement a breeze!
1. Leaning into summer
With colleagues, clients and customers often away, summer is a naturally quieter time in many workplaces. Making the most of this natural lull through initiatives like summer Fridays – when the team clock off a little earlier – which can help your team to re-energise for the September ramp up in workload. 90% of PwC staff said reduced summer working hours had a positive impact.
2. Holiday treats
The average UK employee took 33.9 days of annual leave in 2023, including bank holidays, down from 36.7 days in 2022. Give your team an extra incentive to take some much-needed time off with a Town & City Gift Card for their choice of over 100 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland. From traditional holiday hot spots like Brighton and the Isle of Wight to city break destinations like Bath, Edinburgh and Cardiff, they’re sure to find a town or city they’d love to explore.
3. Summer socials
While we often think of Christmas as a time for social events, there has been a resurgence of firms making the most of the warmer weather by hosting summer social events. When a large event isn’t practical, giving departments the means – like a Town & City Gift Card – to socialise together as a team is a good alternative.
4. A trivial twist
The hazy days of summer are the ideal time to make the most of beach days, ice creams by the river… and the trivial benefit scheme! This scheme allows you to gift staff a non-cash reward of £50 multiple times through the year, tax-free. It can’t be linked to employee performance but it can be used for other reasons, such as a summer reward or thank you. Just the thing to make your team smile.
5. Community focus
CSR is on the agenda for forward thinking firms year-round but summer could be the ideal time to give your CSR efforts a boost, and employee engagement too! Scientific studies show a strong link between CSR and employee engagement – people feel engaged when they work for firms that show they care. A Town & City Gift Card is more than a Gift Card, it’s a way of showing commitment to your community.
6. Boosting wellbeing
Lighter and longer evenings make summer the ideal time to boost staff wellbeing, from encouraging staff to take care of their physical wellbeing with access to fitness classes to workshops and activities to boost mental and emotional wellbeing. Town & City Gift Cards can be used on everything from fitness sessions to new glasses, days out to learning new skills.