The past year was a learning curve for many people as we adapted to life in lockdown. It changed the way people communicated, how we worked, and how we tackled day-to-day activities. Many businesses either closed during lockdown or adapted their workforce to work from home where possible and the change was difficult as staff learnt to communicate through online means instead of hosting face-to-face meetings.
One thing people lacked during lockdown was socialising, and if your office is a social bunch, you may have tailored to hosting game nights over Teams or sharing a few drinks and a quiz over Zoom. But now that we can enter the office again whilst respecting social distancing rules, it might be time to up the socialising to get the whole company involved. This is especially important if over lockdowns, your company has still experienced a lot of growth and there are many new employees within your ranks. Social events are also a great morality booster and a fantastic way to say thanks to your staff for working hard during these difficult times. Below are just some of our favourite social events you could do.
Pick a team building activity.
This is a great opportunity for teams to catch up after a year of not seeing each other and a perfect chance for any new staff members to get to know their team. There are plenty of ideas you can choose from that incorporate teamwork and strategy, including Escape Rooms, Scavenger Hunts, and Sports Days.
There are even team building activities you can choose that don’t necessarily need to cost much and that you don’t necessarily need to travel to. Even just some smaller games will help your team get to know each other better which can heighten the morale of your team.
Dress up and enjoy yourself.
Sometimes it’s nice to get your glad rags on and relax. Throwing Summer and Christmas parties are great for laidback socialising whilst the drinks flow and people dance. Invest in a company minibus so travel is easy for staff to attend events that don’t take place in the office. And it also means staff don’t have to stress about travel.
Parties are great to tighten your staff’s bonds. It also encourages mixing between departments that don’t usually work together. Nowadays, many employees want great benefits from their job – providing free social events heightens staff loyalty and will ensure that staff retention will be higher in an increasingly competitive job market.
Happy employees are productive employees and strengthening the camaraderie within your workers and letting them connect positive memories with your company will increase employee satisfaction.
Having the opportunity to showcase how much fun your staff is having on Social Media is also a great opportunity for some positive PR.
Icebreakers
Hosting social events in the office works just as well as an outdoor or location party. Icebreakers are a great way for staff to get to know each other. Colleagues are like a second family to most and it makes sense since we spend a lot of time in the office. Host quiz nights, ask for baby photos and guess who the baby is as an adult, or play two truths and one lie. It’s a great way to get to know everyone and there are tons of opportunities to strengthen the bonds within your team.
Awards Night
Nothing says ‘well done’ better than hosting an awards night. It shows that the company notice the hard work staff put into their work and is an opportunity to say thank you. It’s a great way for staff to let their hair down and enjoy the hard year that has passed. When employees feel like the work they put in day in and day out is actually appreciated they are often inspired to keep working hard.
It can be a good idea to not only let these sort of awards be guided by KPIs and numbers but also have a few awards be given out on a voting of every employee. Not everyone can be a top performer, but people that work hard and to their best to help keep morale high deserve recognition and praise as well. People contributing to a positive work environment that make a positive company culture help other people achieve their best.
Another way to incorporate awards would be to give out gifts and prices to employee hitting certain milestones like having been in the company for 1, 5 or even 10 years. Honouring the time a dedicated worker has put into your company will truly make them feel like the time was well-spent.
Social events allow staff to take a break and recuperate and it works as an incentive. Remember to praise your staff especially after the difficult year many have faced.
