Managing Flexible Schedules Post Summer

Managing Flexible Schedules Post Summer

The summer months can often bring a different rhythm to the workplace. With annual leave, school holidays and employees working around different commitments, teams may have been operating with reduced capacity or covering for colleagues.

Now that September is here and more employees are returning to their usual routines, it is a good time for employers to reset priorities, review workloads and make sure teams are ready for the months ahead.

Start with a workload check

After a busy summer period, it can be tempting to simply return to business as usual. However, employees may be returning to a backlog of work or finding that priorities have changed while they were away.

Managers should take time to consider:

• What work has built up over the summer?
• Are deadlines still realistic?
• Has anyone taken on additional responsibilities to cover colleagues?
• Are workloads now fairly distributed?
• Are there any upcoming deadlines or projects that need additional resource?

A short team meeting or individual one to one can be a useful way of identifying any pressure points.

Don’t expect everything to happen at once

Returning from annual leave can mean coming back to a full inbox, outstanding tasks and a long list of priorities.

Encourage managers to help employees distinguish between what is urgent, what is important and what can wait.

Trying to clear everything immediately can lead to unnecessary pressure and mistakes. Agreeing realistic priorities can help employees regain momentum without feeling overwhelmed.

Review temporary arrangements

During the summer, businesses often make temporary changes to cover holidays or manage reduced staffing levels.

As employees return to their usual working patterns, review whether these arrangements are still needed.

This could include temporary changes to responsibilities, additional cover, different meeting arrangements or work that has been shared across the team.

Make sure responsibilities are clear so that temporary arrangements do not accidentally become permanent simply because nobody has revisited them.

Revisit priorities and expectations

Regular communication with employees should, of course, continue throughout the year. However, the start of September provides a useful opportunity to revisit priorities following the changes that often take place over the summer.

Managers can use existing one to ones or team discussions to consider:

• How workloads have changed over the summer.
• Whether priorities and deadlines are still clear.
• Whether any temporary changes need to be adjusted.
• Whether employees have the support and resources they need.
• What they should be focusing on over the coming months.

This doesn’t need to be a separate formal process. Simply using existing conversations to reflect on what has changed and what needs attention can help ensure everyone is clear about the next steps.

Look ahead

Once the immediate post summer workload has been reviewed, look ahead to the remainder of the year.

Consider upcoming projects, busy periods, planned annual leave and any areas where additional resource may be needed.

Planning ahead gives businesses the opportunity to address potential staffing or workload issues before they become urgent.

A simple September reset

Ask yourself:

✔ Are workloads balanced across the team?

✔ Are priorities and deadlines clear?

✔ Have temporary summer arrangements been reviewed?

✔ Does anyone need additional support?

✔ Are there any upcoming periods where the team may be under pressure?

✔ Have managers checked in with their teams?

Taking a little time to reset now can help create a more organised and productive few months ahead.

Get the team back on track

The start of September provides a natural opportunity to pause, review and reset.

Rather than expecting everyone to simply return to business as usual, take the time to understand what has changed, rebalance workloads and make sure your team knows what the priorities are.

A well-managed transition can help employees feel supported and give businesses a stronger foundation for the months ahead.

Need support with managing your team?

At Hallidays HR, we can support employers with employee relations, performance management and wider HR issues.

If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0161 841 1660 or email hr@hallidayshr.co.uk. And of course, visit the website: Hallidays HR Website  and our LinkedIn page: Hallidays HR LinkedIn