Back to School: How Business Changes With the School Seasons

Back to School: How Business Changes With the School Seasons

Whether you have children or not, you know the drill. You also know how big of a struggle it can be juggling work schedules to make everyone’s timelines fit. It’s like a puzzle. Parents need the flexibility to take their children to school and pick them up. They also need to be available in the evenings. The employees without children are asked to work around those demands.

As a boss, scheduling around the school seasons isn’t always easy. Here’s why and what you can do about it.

Demands Change

Your employee demands change when school is in session. Teachers are able to take care of the kids, making it easier for your employees to come into the office and work. When school is out for summer, Fall break, or the holidays, things change. Your employees might need more time at home to be with their kids. Or, they might need a little more flexibility to get their children to and from the bus stop before they’re able to come into work.

Your customer demands change too. Depending on your industry, school breaks can bring you more, or less, business. If you’re a mechanic, you might see more business flowing through your doors during the summer because more people need help preparing their car for a roadtrip. If you are a marketer for a software company, you might see the opposite happen. Things pick up during the school year because more parents are back at work.

How to Keep Your Business On Track

School seasons make scheduling a little more challenging all around. There are a few ways you can keep your business on track while still offering the flexibility parents need.

Let employees work from home

Is it possible for your team to work from home? Many bosses are worried about making this arrangement because they cannot see their employees working. How do you know your team member is doing what she says she’s doing? The answer: Output.

Show your employees that you trust their integrity by offering this option whenever possible. If they abuse it or their productivity declines, they’ll need to come back into the office. That’s motivation enough for not letting their work slip.

Encourage Bring Your Child to Work days

Would your employee benefit by having her child at work and not having to pay a babysitter? Make a day of it! Hire someone to help take care of the little ones when school is out. Your employees will appreciate the extra help and you’ll keep your team intact.

Embrace scheduling apps

Give your employees the option of viewing and updating their schedule and availability with apps like ScheduleBase. By using these apps, your team can better plan around PTO meetings, bake sales, and soccer games. You make your employee’s life a little less hectic by letting them plan around their work schedule earlier.

The Gist

The start or stop of school doesn’t have to bring your business to a standstill. Balance is key. With ScheduleBase you can adjust hours around your employee’s home demands and the demands from your customers.

Have you noticed a change in business picking up or slowing down based on the school schedules?