We’re entering our busiest time of year as a team. It’s max hours. Max emotions. Max effort. Max efficiency. And as we’ve been an established firm for over five years, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to motivate your team during crunch time. 

Now, you might be thinking, Dawn. I don’t run an accounting firm. True. But does your team ever have deadlines? Busy seasons? If so, you can still learn from our wins (and some of our mistakes). 

1. Understand the Crunch.

If you are CEO, you’ve probably been busy running a company and you might have forgotten what it’s like to be in. the. grind. To have a stack of paperwork and empty coffee cups taking over your workspace. To be booked back-to-back with clients. Or to know you need to deliver a project by the weekend.

So, take a second to remember the grind. Talk to your employees or your managers about what’s happening. Get a pulse on the situation before you run in saving people. 

Remind your team that yes this work is essential for the success of the company, but it’s also a testament of THEIR expertise. THEIR ability to handle busy seasons with ease. Cuz if you got it, flaunt it, Team! 

2. Set a Communication Expectation. 

Teams live and die by their ability to communicate. Create open channels for questions, feedback, answers, etc. Remember a channel can run both ways! Be open to receiving some yourself. 

On our team Slack we literally have a channel called “IDK WHO TO ASK” and it’s when you have a question and you have no idea where to find the answer. And let me tell you…it’s probably our most used channel during Tax Season. Because we don’t let one question stop us from doing our work. Open lines of communication is how we motivate our team during crunch time. 

3. Celebrate the Little Things.

With big deadlines it can be easy to forget the small things. Like a small comment at the end of an email that says “Idk what we’d do without you guys”. While you may see these things all the time, your team might not. We like to throw it in our Positive Feedback Channel on Slack and tag whoever is involved with those clients. (hint hint: if you’re a client, our team loves this) So copy/paste those p.s. notes or little DMs and comments. It can really boost morale. 

4. Set Realistic Expectations. 

Clear expectations benefit EVERYONE. As a manager, I’m not confused about what I communicated with my team. As a team member, I’m not floundering around wondering what to do next. 

For example, at the start of tax season one of our managers sent out a detailed message about hours. She explained the importance of meeting the hours that you signed on for, communicating when you will not meet those hours, she set a timeline for when max hours are to be met (through the duration of tax season) and she also communicated what to do if you’re finding it difficult to meet those hours (i.e. too much or too little work). 

Now as an employee, I know what to do if I don’t have enough work to meet my hours or vice versa (too much work to stay within hours). I also have the assurance that I will get the hours I need financially because my manager has my back. 

As a manager, I’m positive about the expectations being clear. I opened a forum for questions and I took that feedback (HINT: TAKE. THE. FEEDBACK). 

5. Remember They Are People First. Employees Second. 

Now we’re going to take a step up on our soap box for a brief moment. You hired these people because you saw something in them that you liked. If all you cared about was work ethic then CHATGPT probably would do their roles just fine. They are people and they are also your friends. Take the time to listen to their needs, their thoughts, opinions, etc. 

And remember, people need breaks. People need self-care. Sunshine. Good food. Laughter. Sometimes during busy season we forget that. Great managers are there to remind their team members just how human they are when they forget. Send them a coffee on you. A day off when they’re clearly sick. Cancel meeting so they can dip out early for date night. You’ll know what’s best because you know them best. 

So back to our question, how to motivate your team during crunch time? 

Understand them, see them, communicate with them, celebrate them, and remind them that they’re human. And you’ll be the best boss ever!