Keeping Themed Attraction Development Going Through the Holidays

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The holidays are a busy time for everyone, but the hustle and bustle of the season tends to have increased impact on the themed attraction industry, when most final deadlines don't arrive until spring and summer. When people leave for holiday vacation, and major deadlines seem far away, it can be difficult to keep your themed attraction production on schedule.

One of the best ways to minimize the holiday struggle is to hire an experienced design and engineering firm to take on some of the work your team can't quite finish. If you're not sure that's the best move for your company quite yet through, here are a few tips to help your team maintain focus on a big project over the holidays:

Finish or Suspend Big Projects in Advance

The best way to avoid the holiday lag is to plan for it. Move deadlines up before the holidays set in, or find a reasonable stopping point and press pause until everyone comes back from their holiday time-off. While this doesn't necessarily boost your production, it does minimize the discouragement everyone feels when they come back in the New Year to deadlines already passed.

Identify Key Priorities

If, like many themed attraction developers, you don't have the luxury of suspending big projects, make it easier for teams to focus on key priorities. Make expectations very clear, and move the focus from those final deadlines in the spring and summer to more tangible midpoint deadlines that are closer. Encourage everyone involved to make a list of what they need to accomplish before they leave, and work with them to ensure they complete as much as possible.

Foster Collaboration

During the holidays, most of your themed attraction production teams are working in skeleton crews. Instead of letting everyone struggle along shorthanded, encourage inter-team collaboration. This can incite innovation, and it takes some of the pressure off of employees who aren't able to take much holiday vacation.

Offer Flex Time

A little flex time can go a long way, especially during the holiday season. If you offer a few hours off for employees to get some of their holiday shopping done, you'll find people are more focused on the hours that they are in the office. Consider offering everyone a choice afternoon off for more focus at work.

How Hiring a Creative Product Solutions Firm Can Help

There are a lot of ways to encourage more productivity from your existing teams, but when most of your themed attraction production groups are already working short handed, it can be asking a lot just to get through the normal day-to-day. That doesn't leave much room for additional innovation or new ideas through the holiday season, which can hurt your attractions in the long run.

If you know your team just won't be able to get everything done over the holidays, consider hiring a creative design and engineering firm for additional support on a project or two. Fresh, rested eyes and a new perspective can spark innovation, and help keep themed attraction production going. Here are a few other benefits of hiring an industrial design firm to start or finish a new project over the holidays:

Increased Productivity

If you're running a little short handed through the holiday season, the right design and engineering firm can help give your productivity a boost. It takes some of the burden off of your teams’ shoulders, and affords them the time they need to complete the rest of their tasks efficiently.

Hiring an industrial design firm also helps speed your production along a bit. A firm you hire to develop a product has the team they need to meet your deadline on hand. Their team will be dedicated to your product, and only that project, whereas your own team probably has quite a few tasks on their plate.

Minimize Overload

When a number of employees leave for the holidays, it leaves everyone who remains with an inordinate amount of work, which can cause a lot of stress that hinders productivity. By hiring a qualified outside firm to handle your project, you lessen the overload on your pared down teams, ensuring they can come into work every day refreshed and ready to get their work done.

Boost Innovation

When we are all struggling to meet deadlines, especially over the holidays, it can be difficult to allow adequate space for innovation. When employees focus on nothing but "getting it done" so they can move onto the next task, they're unlikely to infuse the same innovation and creativity they might have if they were working with more time and less pressure.

The added benefit of a creative product solution firm is that they're approaching your product with fresh eyes and a new perspective, which means they'll bring new concepts and ideas to the table. This boosts innovation, and helps put your themed attraction project ahead of the competition.

Specialized Expertise

With key people out over the holidays, you don't always have the experienced team members on hand that you usually do. When you choose to hand a project off to an industrial design firm, you're essentially hiring on specialized expertise with a laser focus on your project. There's no worry of training or experience level, because you're hiring a team full of experts who know exactly what they need to do to create the product that will take your themed attraction to the next level.

In the end, hiring an industrial design and engineering studio gives you a highly qualified support team with the experience and innovation you need to keep themed attraction development going through the holidays.

If you're looking for a bit of extra help this holiday season, Fredricks Design can help. From new product development to project management, we've got the experience, creative talent and the engineering know-how you need to continue project development, even through the holidays. Let us know what we can innovate for you.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a fantastic 2019!

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