It's Diwali In India But For Entrepreneurs 'The Show Must Go On' Startups know how to keep their employees motivated

Unlike the western countries, India has 'festive seasons' coming up every two-three months. This is the time when every employee is keen on family time. They miss their homes, the jokes, the laughter and the activities that families do together. The excitement of holidays, at times makes employees lose their focus and motivation at work.

But for entrepreneurs the show must on go. For them there are no festive seasons or celebration as they always keep their work on priority. These festive seasons turn out to be the most challenging times as they need to keep their employees motivated to work with same dedication.

Then What Entrepreneurs Should Do?

Entrepreneurs need to understand that they have limited resources, unlike big multinationals. So they need to keep their employees have by understanding the employees, and their joys (Emotions) associated with festive seasons.

What you, as an entrepreneur, (who want its employees to be focused on their work inspite of festive season) need to do is try to give them similar experiences at work. Keeping small parties/get together, have casual conversations; give them an opportunity to share what they do back at home during festivals; will work in your favour to make your employees work with same dedication during festive time.

Entrepreneur India caught up with some of the entrepreneurs, to know how exactly they do keep their momentum going during the festive season.

1. Flexibility In Work

Try to give your team the tools and support required for them to win. "Almost everyone wants extra vacation around the holidays, we enable it. This motivates them to achieve their goals and targets before proceeding. Further we understand the pressure they are under during the holidays for which we give them the flexibility of working from home, come in late and leave early. This enables a conducive environment for them and also motivates them to work and finish what needs to be done," said Kanika Tekriwal, CEO and Co-founder, JetSetGo.

Holidays are also the busiest time of the year which puts added pressure on the team so ensure deadlines are set only for those things which are necessary and practice flexibility on tasks which can be delayed.

Do Proper Planning

To get going it is necessary for entrepreneurs to priories their work. Work should be delegated to those employees who are still willing to give more time to work during festive time.

"Festive season PRE planning, in terms of meeting deadlines has to be done. "Startups need to plan much before hand before the festive season arrives. A lot of last minute work/ideas pop up for which the execution strategy must be planned properly. Sometimes we need to understand that some things can be executed later. The important tasks must be prioritised. The employees must be explained the importance of "the show must go on," said Medha Mukherji, Founder & Director, Feministaa.com

Rewards & Reorganization

Festivals bring about a lot of excitement often shifting the focus from work. On asking Param Daswani, Managing Partner, Pangram marketing and Solutions, what an entrepreneur should do in such situation, he said "We started off by sending all our employees for a spa session, followed by the introduction of an incentive model, where every deal cracked by the employees would enable them to earn a direct commission, a first for a marketing company. This has not only motivated them but also enabled them to concentrate on the task at hand."

Understanding Employees Sentiments

Understand your employees as they will likely become stressed as holidays will approach. "Accept that they may need a some time off. A certain degree of flexibility is always helpful. As long as you keep the workplace as productive as possible for the employees coming in they will continue giving their best even during the holiday season," said Pooja Misal, Founder and Director, SMEF's Brick School.

Adding further she said, "At SMEF's Brick School we motivate them through positive feedback and rewards. Remember rewards need not be bonuses, but keep an open atmosphere in-office, organise get togethers or small gifts. One needs to consider what rewards or incentive programs could benefit their employees."

Make Them Feel Important

"One of the many ways to make them all feel important, equally productive and not feel that their leader is biased towards certain members of the team during festivals specially is to have each member of a team become familiar with what other team members are doing, allowing them to bring their ideas for improvement or efficiency and have input put to use in real. If the roles are not too specialized, have your people rotate responsibilities from time to time. Even Small session of chai and snacks together as a team does the trick. As this keeps them motivated during festivals," said Celebrity chef-chocolatier Varun Inamdar.

Allow Employees To Step Away From Work For A Bit

We've realized that being understanding about letting the team shop during office hours, mostly post lunch, works well. It is a psychological trigger because it becomes a motivational factor as the millennial get to buy their favorite gifts at the right price before it goes "out of stock" said Mallika Soni, Creative Strategist, TheChairr.com.

Entrepreneurs, I hope after reading this you might have got an idea what exactly you need to do keep your employees happy and stay focused towards work. Believe, these tips will work for you all.

Happy Festive Time!