January is all about fresh starts and setting goals.
By February, reality sets in. Workloads normalise, motivation can dip, and those New Year resolutions start to fade (although those who completed Dry January will no doubt be celebrating).
Why February Matters
Employee engagement often drops early in the year. The anticipation of Christmas has gone, the excitement of a few days off work eating Terry’s chocolate orange and drinking Baileys (don’t get me started on Bailey’s Chocolate Orange – I didn’t need that in my life), has passed. And performance expectations are fully back in force. If you wait until mid-year to address productivity, you’ll risk losing momentum and possibly, talent.
Some pro-active measures you can carry out in February
Review Objectives
Goals set in January can look great on paper but feel overwhelming in practice. February is a great time to:
- Meet with teams / individuals and discuss concerns they may have around their objectives;
- Clarify priorities and remove unnecessary complexity
Support Wellbeing
The first signs of burnout often appear early in the year. You can:
- Promote mental health resources and EAPs
- Ask managers to review workloads
Wellbeing initiatives don’t have to be complex—sometimes simply reminding employees that support exists is enough to make a difference.
4. Encourage 1:1s with managers
Managers play a critical role in engagement, retention, and performance. February is a good time to provide training on giving effective feedback offering support where required.
And don’t forget it’s Valentine’s Day this month. Along with lots of other pointless ‘Days’. Just a few for your diary:
Feb 2: Groundhog Day
Feb 5: World Nutella Day (should really be combined with Shrove Tuesday. They missed a trick here)
Feb 9: World Pizza Day
Feb 14: Valentine’s Day
Feb 15: Singles Awareness Day (SAD) (– is this supposed to be funny??)
Feb 17: Shrove Tuesday (BEST DAY OF THE YEAR other than Easter Sunday)
Feb 20: Love Your Pet Day
Feb 22: World Thinking Day (good to know we only need think once a year)
Feb 26: Tell a Fairy Tale Day
