With the world cup looming...

What consideration have you given to make sure people remain motivated and productive whilst at the same time maintaining good employee relations?

It may not be the most pressing of concerns right now, yet as we soon move in to June, World Cup fever is bound to hit the country and that's why a lot of people in business and HR are scratching their heads about a plan of attack on this very subject. Get it right and you can build a lot of goodwill - get it wrong and it could lead to a whole host of other resource issues.

To get you started, here are five 'thought provokers' from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on the things that an employer could do to help manage the impact of the world cup: -

1. Make a team bonding event of it. Reserve an area in a pub one night, or set up a TV in a meeting room for the big games.

2. Remind staff that if the customer base is diverse, a knowledge of what’s going on in the tournament could be good for business. Work teams could ‘adopt’ a national team, dress in the colours and be allowed time to watch the games of ‘their’ team.

3. Run a special flexitime working schedule during the tournament. For example, allowing employees to work outside of standard hours, if they wish to watch a game during usual work hours.

4. Recognising that some employees may be debating whether to use up their annual holiday or pretend to be off sick – offer staff unpaid holiday leave instead.

5. Put up a notice board or intranet page, so that colleagues who need someone to cover their shifts can contact those who are happy to work during games, and vice versa.

Which best suit your culture?