Social Events Your Team Will Love
How to hire and retain top talent is top-of-mind for almost every employer right now. It’s made even harder by the fact that employees feel disconnected from their teammates due to remote and hybrid work. To compete today you have to find ways to create social events that bring your team together. But how? In this article, we will share ideas on how to create social events that build camaraderie, foster relationships, and breathe your culture back into the business.
Bring Your Team Together
If you’re looking for ways to bring your team together and create social events that everyone will love, then you’ve come to the right place.
Have A Goal
Before you start planning, understand your goals. Are you creating an event to thank your employees for getting you through a tough season or meeting a goal? Are you simply trying to make sure your employees have a good time without any pressure? Are you trying to create a better team environment?
To achieve all three of these, you may need to plan an entire weekend. Or you may want to plan events quarterly with a different goal for each one.
It may also be good to speak with your staff, what are their goals? Are they feeling overworked? Are they feeling disconnected? Understanding their needs can help you create just the right event.
Be Inclusive
One of the best ways to create social events that employees will love is to focus on activities that everyone can enjoy. Whether it’s a virtual happy hour or an outdoor picnic, the key is to choose something that everyone can participate in and enjoy.
This is something many companies miss. They plan something top-notch and maybe even over the top financially, expecting everyone will like it, only to realize they created an event that left out a swath of their employees.
For example, a golf outing could be fun if everyone played golf. But do all of your employees know how to play? Do they all have clubs? Will they feel excluded or less than? Will one person be conspicuously left out? Planning your event can take time but don’t even start until you know you can include everybody.
Foster Relationships
Another great way to create social events that employees will love is to focus on activities that foster relationships. This could include things like team-building exercises or group outings. The key here is to choose activities that will help employees get to know each other better and build strong relationships.
Some examples may include a ropes course, an escape room excursion, or a fun rendition of the old Dating Game where you pair up people who work together at least a little bit and see how well they know each other.
Fostering Company Culture
Finally, another great way to create social events that employees will love is to focus on activities that breathe your company culture back into the business. This could include things like employee appreciation days or company-wide volunteer days.
The key here is to choose activities that will help employees feel proud to work for your company and connected to your company culture.
Just For Fun
Your team works hard. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and think they are valuable enough for a good break. There are a lot of ways to have smaller social events regularly that will do just that. Consider:
- Happy hours with a food truck and a bar,
- Bowling and allow them to bring their family,
- Provide breakfast on a day you know people will be in the office,
- Celebrate birthdays either as a group or take individuals to lunch for their birthday.
Your business would not be the same without your employees. Help them see that you know this.
Document It
Nothing brings people together quite as much as being able to look back at events they shared together. Document your social events with video and photography. If possible hire an independent contractor to do this for you. This will ensure that people on your team can focus on the event and not feel excluded.
The photos and videos can be used to build rapport with your current employees but used right on social media and your website, they can also be a valuable recruiting tool. Who wouldn’t want to work at a place that fosters relationships, promotes culture, and generally has a great time working together?
No matter what kind of employee social event you choose to plan, the most important thing is to focus on creating an event that everyone will enjoy. By focusing on activities that everyone can participate in and enjoy, you’ll be sure to create an event that employees will love.
