It's the most wonderful time of the year! Let's be honest, those last couple of weeks in the lead up to the Christmas break can seem to drag on when all we want to do is go home to our families and eat and drink to our heart's content.

Unfortunately for employers, in between renditions of Walking in a Winter Wonderland and stuffing the Christmas turkey, they find their teams can drop the ball on the work front. Being the busiest time of the year for many of my clients, it's imperative to keep staff motivated over the Christmas period - particularly in the retail sector and target-driven roles.

Did you know that organisations with highly engaged employees accomplish double the net income of those with not-so-engaged staff? Plus they are 87% less likely to leave their companies. Christmas is the busiest time of year and business should be booming. So here's my top tips to keep your team committed to the cause during this chaotic time:

1. Invest in Teambuilding

Teambuilding activities have a myriad of benefits which include improving communication flows, increasing employee engagement, building trust, boosting morale and most significantly – increasing employee productivity! With staff, you get out what you invest in, tenfold. What a great excuse to arrange a summer staff BBQ one night after work?

2. Allow Flexible Working Hours

This is a very easy and cost-effective way to motivate staff. Allowing a store manager with end-of-year targets to hit, rosters to complete and general admin a couple of hours at home will appreciate being able to crack on with work with less distractions. It can help reduce stress for those with children, allowing them to work to their own schedule while juggling all of those busy family commitments at the same time.

3. Arrange a Charity Event

Employees love to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. They take comfort in knowing their company has more compassionate goals than simply making money. Arranging a charity event is sure to spread the cheer while bringing everyone a little closer together for a good cause. How about a visit to a soup kitchen, create donation bins at work, or group volunteering?

4. Host a Christmas Party

An obvious one, but worth mentioning nonetheless. The Christmas party should be a time spent celebrating the achievements of the business and individual employees over the year, also giving them something to work towards. You could even do an award-ceremony style event! Not quite the Oscars, but a great way of recognising, rewarding and motivating staff.

5. Lead by Example (and embrace the Christmas cheer!)

As a leader, you are responsible for setting an example to your employees, so if you're a grinchy bah-humbug, the negative energy will have a ripple effect and productivity will suffer. But if you're 100% committed and working hard yourself, all while embracing the Christmas spirit, staff are more likely to feel inspired all the way and consistently remind them that you are all working towards a shared goal together.

6. Run a Competition

Encouraging some friendly competition can highly motivate employees if they know an exciting winning prize is in reach. How about some Gold Class cinema tickets, cash bonus or some retail vouchers from their favourite shop? If you have a bigger budget you could even stretch to a mini holiday! What could be more motivating than that?

7. Award a Christmas Bonus

A motivational tool that many of my clients use is the Christmas bonus, awarded to those who have achieved and exceeded their KPIs over the year. If your employees know that this extra pay cheque relies purely on their performance, all the way up to Christmas, they will want to put in the hard yards.

8. Hold Performance Reviews

Some think you should wait to hold performance reviews for a more 'serious' time of year, but this could be missing a huge opportunity. A review is a period of self-assessment as well as an opportunity for staff to voice their opinions on management and the two-way professional relationship. It's also a time to reflect on the past year and how they can improve for the year ahead, keeping them engaged and mindful about their performance, right up to the holidays.

9. Bring your Pet to Work

Create a roster where a staff member can bring their pet to work – what a great way to attract more customers, keep the staff happy and the furry friend gets some love! This simple exercise reduces stress, increases productivity and creates a cooperative environment.  It's a win win for all!

10. Thank you

The best thing you can do is recognise the hard work your staff contributes throughout the year and especially during peak periods. Showing gratitude is the best thing a staff can ask for! It is amazing what an impact these simple two words can make. Thank you.

On that note, with every Christmas comes a Happy New Year, which also means New Year's resolutions and fresh new starts. It's the time when people will most likely be looking for a new job, so they can start fresh in January.

If you want to hold on to your most valuable staff (which of course we all do), it's essential to keep them engaged and motivated. By following the above tips you'll be in a strong position to prevent withdrawal and apathy… better yet, you might even have some top industry talent come knocking on your door, wanting to join the team. Word travels very quickly after all, especially when it comes to the best employers in the market!

Looking for more advice on keeping your workforce inspired and perhaps even building the team? Give me call on 03 8606 0364 today.

Jennifer Smith is an expert Sales and Marketing Consultant at Morgan Consulting specialising in Retail, FMCG, and Pharmaceutical sectors.