How do you keep your crew motivated and paid when work slows down?

Question

Every year, that slow season creeps up on us. One minute the phones are blowing up, and the next it feels like the world goes quiet. When jobs slow down, keeping your crew busy and positive can be a real challenge.

I’ve tried different things over the years. Training days, cleaning up the shop, and even team outings just to keep morale up. But the truth is, it’s hard when the pipeline dries up.

How do you keep your team motivated and paid when things get slow? Do you cut hours, find smaller projects, focus on marketing, or use the time for business planning?

I’d love to hear what has worked for you and how you turn downtime into momentum for the next busy wave.

richardm · Answer

We offer year-round property maintenance contracts that roll from one season to the next. So for us, our staff wages are always covered, even if there is no work to be done on site. Not to say that our staff stay idle. There is always something to do.

To note, we have two shoulder seasons.

Winter to Spring transition: There is no snow to move, but we cannot start the spring cleanups yet.
Fall to Winter transition: Fall cleanups are complete, and it's not snowing.

We offer seasoned firewood and waste bin rentals. During our shoulder seasons, these two services ramp right up. We also use this time to get the growing-season equipment ready and, likewise, the winter equipment in the late fall.

I've seen lots of service companies venture into holiday lighting. If you are good at it, you can make some mad money. People love their Christmas lights!

judithvirag · Answer

We do residential house cleaning.&nbsp; We also have our slow seasons.&nbsp; Usually in January.&nbsp; We ask our team to take vacation during this time.&nbsp; In the summer time (we are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with about 5-6 months winter) we get our team to distribute doorknockers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

karly · Answer

Preventative maintenance contracts, cleaning/organizing vehicles and taking inventory

katebrownell86 · Answer

That’s a challenge a lot of us face during slower seasons. One thing that’s worked for me is being upfront with the crew about the situation and involving them in finding solutions. Transparency builds trust, and people appreciate knowing what’s going on rather than being left guessing.

On the motivation side, I try to keep them engaged with smaller projects — things like equipment maintenance, training, or even community service jobs that don’t bring in big revenue but keep everyone active and learning. It helps morale and builds skills for when business picks back up.

As for pay, some owners set aside a “slow season fund” during busy months to cover reduced hours later. Another option is offering flexible schedules or partial shifts so everyone gets something rather than laying people off completely. Even small gestures, like bonuses tied to training completion or loyalty, can go a long way in showing you value them.

I think combine transparency with creative ways to keep people busy, and plan financially during peak times so you can support the team when things slow down. It’s not easy, but keeping morale high now pays off when the busy season returns.

Forum Discussion

How do you keep your crew motivated and paid when work slows down?

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