#Tennis? #Football? #Athletics? #Golf? Whatever sport or activity claims the attention of your #employees, it is likely that at some point or another, an event is going to clash with work. How do you continue to run your business, whilst allowing your staff to follow their favourite teams/sports people?
PSHR offer some tips which might help you minimise the disruption:
- Plan ahead – have a list of dates and times of major events at the ready. If you’re able, offer your employees a temporary period of flexible working to allow them to watch matches and tournaments. Take the #WorldCup, for example. Many of the games are in the afternoon or evening – are you able to allow employees to come into work earlier so that they may leave earlier? Or come in to work later following a late game?
- Expect increased annual leave requests during the #WorldCup if you know that you have football supporters. Deal with requests fairly and consistently, sticking to your normal procedure, if you have one.
- Bear in mind that not all sports are well known, you may have employees who are interested in attending less-popular events; this doesn’t mean that they are any less important to that individual.
- Ensure that you deal with unauthorised absence consistently – do you have employees calling in sick following a big match, for example? Follow your own absence procedure for detailing with those who flout the rules. Many who take time off sick don’t realise the impact on the business. Take the opportunity to educate your staff on how disruptive it can be. Raising awareness can encourage individuals to take annual leave, rather than ‘take a sickie’.
- Make your policy on use of own devices at work clear – do you allow staff to use their mobile phones during working hours, how will you manage employees using devices to watch matches / check scores etc? Make it clear from the outset what the rules are.
- Use major events as a chance to engage with your employees – if there are events during the day that are televised, consider setting up a TV in a rest area so that employees can take breaks to keep up to date with what’s going on, making up the time at a later date, perhaps. (Do ensure that you have the correct licence for this – you may need a Commercial TV Licence). It’s better to have motivated employees at work, albeit taking a break, rather than absent or demotivated ones!
- Don’t discriminate! Don’t assume that only staff of a particular gender or background (ethnic origin) will be interested in a team or sport. Any adjustments you make (eg allowing time off to attend events or watch a match) should be equally applied to everyone.
- It’s a good time to review your social media and internet policies – will you allow employees to use company equipment and resources to follow teams and/or post on social media with their views? Make sure your policy is clear on what the standards are.
The #FIFA WorldCup kicks off on Thursday 14th June 2018 with the final on 15 Jul 2018 – 18:00 Local time in Moscow. Note that Moscow are two hours ahead of GMT!
Contact us for guidance on managing your staff during this period!
