Corporate Events as a Way of Increasing Employee Motivation

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One of the major problems businesses of all sizes face is the lack of employee satisfaction. Namely,that 51% of the U.S. employees are not engaged, which costs companies between $450 and $550 billion annually.

Given these pretty worrisome digits, it’s not surprising at all that boosting employee motivation has become one of the highest employers’ priorities. And, one of the simplest and the most powerful ways to do so is to organize corporate events.

Here are several corporate event ideas you might find useful when it comes to your team.

Appreciate their Personal Achievements

To motivate your employees, you need to show that you appreciate them as individuals. Of course, to do so, you need to get to know them better. Memorize their birthdays, learn what they love and hate, as well as what their hobbies, favorite colors, and career objectives are. Do they have a family? Are they cat or dog people?

Maybe they’re going through a rough patch or they have been feeling down-and-out, and now need their coworkers’ understanding and support. These are all factors every good manager needs to take into consideration.

Once you get to know your employees better, why not . No matter if it is a new addition to their family, getting married or passing a driver’s license, these are all events that mean a lot to them.

The same goes for their birthdays. Get a cake, gather everyone in the conference room, and throw a surprise party. Think of an awesome gift that really makes sense to them. For instance, instead of a Starbucks gift card, you could . Also, you could get them a book they’ve been talking about so much, a voucher to a restaurant you know they love, or a bottle of fancy wine.

image courtesy of Shopify

Value your Employees’ Work Milestones

It doesn’t matter if someone works for you for a year or a decade, these are all people who have been there for you and helped you grow your business. Your responsibility as an employer is to show them that you value their hard work and loyalty. And, there is no better way to do so than celebrating their work anniversary or milestone and, in this way, emphasize the importance of their presence in the company. Make this a big deal and throw a huge celebration. Get an anniversary cake, give out anniversary cards or even give them a thank you plaque or a trophy.

Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

Even though this is an unofficial holiday, Employee Appreciation Day is an outstanding opportunity for you to say thanks to your employees and . There are numerous ways to celebrate this day and you just need to be creative to come up with the most effective one (just like you do when it comes to designing your event and marketing strategies). Even better, create a list of fun ideas and let your employees decide which one works for them. Apart from throwing a huge party, you could also go on a team-building outing, take your employees to lunch or even have a lunch brought in.

Photo byAshim D’SilvaonUnsplash

Organize Team-Building Events

Team-building events are the nerve center of managing employees. They give you the opportunity to build your teams’ confidence, motivation, and goodwill. Most importantly, by helping them spend time together in a non-work setting, these events also play an immensely important role in creating and nourishing stronger relationships between your employees. Here are several your employees will love:

Activity-based events will not only raise your employees’ morale, but also boost their team spirit and help them blow out stress. These events may include bowling, kart racing, paintball, as well as basketball or volleyball tournaments.
Office trivia. All you need to do is come up with a set of questions specific to your workplace and then assess your workers’ knowledge. Ask them quirky questions, like what color the bathroom tiles are, how many doors there are in the office, or how many people there are in the accounting department. You could even arrange small prizes for the winners.
Community service is an amazing way to raise your employees’ social awareness and, at the same time, boost their teamwork. Above all, by joining their forces, they will feel that they’ve done something great for their community. For example, as the holiday season is approaching, you could inspire your employees to take part in Adopt-a-Family programs, volunteer at a soup kitchen, participate in a charity race or clean up a local park.

Let them R-e-l-a-x

Always keep in mind that your employees spend between 8 and 10 hours a day at work. Sooner or later, such a turbulent lifestyle will take its toll on their motivation, satisfaction and, consequently, performance. To boost your employees’ morale and avoid major burnouts, you should let them relax from time to time.

For starters, you could arrange happy hours, as they foster better communication between your employees and build stronger relationships. You could also . Let them throw an office party, including fun games, relaxing music, and hearty meals. By letting them catch the break from their hectic everyday obligations, you actually invest in the overall workplace performance.

To Wrap it Up

Ever watched The Office? If you have, then you probably remember one of Michel Scott’s most famous quotes, saying that “The people that you work with are, when you get down to it, your very best friends.” This is a holy grail of creating an authentic corporate culture, based on mutual trust, understanding, and tolerance. With the help of corporate events, you will show that each of your workers is an immensely important cog ensuring that your well-oiled machine is working properly.

How do you use corporate events to boost your team’s morale?

Guest Author Bio:Emma Miller is a digital marketer from Sydney. Works as a blogger, Senior Editor for and a guest lecturer at Melbourne University. Interested in digital marketing, social media, start-ups and latest trends.

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