OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 330 25th October 2018 | Page 20
OMG Digital Magazine | 330 | Thursday 25 October 2018 • PAGE 20
Business
It's Diwali In India But
For Entrepreneurs 'The
Show Must Go On'
Samiksha Jain
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international
franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
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!