Employee events are often excellent for engaging employees with the company culture. But it's important to get them right if you want them to have a positive effect. If you don't approach them in an effective way, you could end up doing the opposite of what you're aiming for. A bad event could make employees resentful, especially if they're giving up their free time to attend it. You might need to modernize your approach to employee events if you want to successfully engage your employees and build their care and enthusiasm for your brand and company. But what steps should you be taking to achieve that?
Make Virtual Events Fun
With many businesses moving to a remote or partially remote model, virtual employee events have become more common. They're a more inclusive option to allow all employees to join in, whereas in-person events could risk leaving out some people. However, virtual events can be more difficult to make engaging and useful for employees. It's important to think beyond simple video conferencing and explore activities that might be enjoyable and offer something different. Activities such as virtual escape rooms or other games could allow everyone to engage in team building while having fun.
Give Away Items That Will Be Appreciated
Free stuff for your employees is appreciated, but they don't want anything that won't be useful to them. They're looking for items that they'll be able to use, whether it's a water bottle, a pen, or something more expensive. Choose your promotional products carefully if you're intending to give them to employees in a way that benefits both you and them. Give them the right items and they'll use them more often, providing more exposure to your brand while also helping to cement their loyalty to the brand.
Concentrate on Making Events Valuable
The most important thing to keep in mind when planning employee events is that they need to be valuable not just for the company but also for employees. They need to feel like they get something out of it, rather than just having to check a box to make their boss happy. That's where gathering feedback can be valuable, allowing you to understand what your employees are looking for in events. You can find out what skills they want to build or how they want to use their time socializing with others.
Put the Focus on Social Events
While some employee events might aim to build certain skills, sometimes they don't have to have such a clear goal. In many cases, your employees may simply be looking for a chance to socialize with each other. Social events can be more relaxed and help to improve relationships within teams. They might also give people a chance to meet others they haven't met before, or who they have only spoken to via email or over the phone. These types of events benefit the company without feeling like a burden to employees.
Employee events have their place, but you might need to think about how to make yours more modern. Make sure they have value for everyone involved.
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