Investing in the Core of Your Business
Did you know that happy employees are about 12% more productive than their disgruntled co-workers?
Employees are the heart of your business.
Smart businesses invest in the things that make their company grow, but only the most successful understand the value in investing in creating a happy, productive company culture.
Annual picnics and other offsite company-sponsored events are investments that pay off both in the short and long term. The value in producing a positive work environment is priceless, but the payoffs are real, measurable results.
In fact, one of the most changed verticals at the hiring table has been that employees are negotiating benefits with employers that go beyond hourly rates. The message? The most productive (and desirable) future employees want to feel appreciated.
In this article, we’ll explore employee appreciation events benefits and ways to boost employee morale outside of a typical recognition program.
Short-Term Payoffs
The biggest short-term payoff from having an employee appreciation event is a happier, more productive team. By giving employees a day of recognition, you are boosting morale while inspiring gratitude and demonstrating commitment. Rewarding employees is valuable to your company as much as it is to them!
Pro Tip: Try throwing milestone parties that celebrate the success of individual employees or departments. Whether it’s celebrating high performing employees or something a little more unique, awards are a great way to recognize your team. Award ceremonies that recognize an employee’s 5th, 10th or 20th year with your business go a long way to encouraging new employees to stay longer. Did your team go an entire year without a work-related injury? Celebrate it! Does a certain time of the year yield more ‘call-outs’ than others? Plan a party or picnic to boost attendance!
A spike in higher attendance is also very common after a work-related party. In fact, it is one of the top 10 ways to boost attendance at work. Employees begin to network and foster healthy work relationships with their co-workers (and bosses!) at these events. They also offer the ability to network between departments (or shifts) that normally would never otherwise get a chance to integrate.
Invest In Your Business
Employees that have healthy relationships with their bosses and co-workers tend to have more invested in your business which leads to better employee retention and perspective of the company (by both employees and customers!!). If you include team building games and activities at your events, you’ll reap the benefits of strengthening teamwork while they have fun. See what the City of Palo Alto did for their greener company picnic. Or spice things up like Huy Fong did for their employee appreciation picnic.
Pro Tip: A well planned event can yield marketing material to be used in commercials, advertisements, social media and on your website. Ask our event planner how to encourage your employees to share their love for your business online- your SEM/SEO will love you for it!
Our professional event planners can also help you leverage your company picnic or other events for material to be used in social media. A well-planned event can lead to a huge increase in @, and # mentions of your business as employees and their families share their experiences online. A huge bonus is that these events are also tax write-offs which can help offset the cost of both the event and running your business.
Long-Term Payoffs
The long-term payoffs of investing in employee appreciation events include long-term retention (like retaining top talent) which reduces your overhead in training and recruitment costs.
An employee that likes the company they work for will also produce far superior work over their career. The seeds that grow from the networking your company picnic, holiday party, or employee appreciation event provides can lead to greater innovations, streamline processes and even foster the next generation of employees as your employee’s children learn to love the business mom or dad work at!
The benefits of employee recognition and appreciation are long reaching. Creating a culture of recognition is valuable in the near and far future. In the now, you improve employee engagement, increase productivity and job satisfaction, and make a positive impact on employee mental health.
In the future, you’re guaranteed to attract top talent through fostering a company culture of recognition and support. So, too, as mentioned above, will you attract future employees from your team members’ families.
Pro Tip: Make your annual company picnic more than just a day at an amusement park. A private picnic is not only cost effective enough to invite the whole family but can be tailored to your business with branding. A company outing where everyone does their ‘own thing’ (such as an amusement park) does not foster teamwork nor networking. A company picnic at Knott’s Berry Farm only reinforces love for Knott’s- not your business!
While you have everyone gathered up, use your private time to educate everyone on new information about the business. Hold awards at safety and compliance events to continue to encourage safe work practices.
Performance reports at conferences and sales meetings help every employee feel like they are part of the bigger picture. Informed employees make better decisions about their role in the business. Finish off your team building event with some fun that includes everyone to practice all that teamwork! See some ideas for team building events San Francisco offers for more inspiration.
From janitors to customer service representatives, every member of your team is vital to a positive interaction with your customers. That customer’s experience influences their perspective of your business and can decide not only if they will return as a customer for life, but also if they write a review (positive or negative) and refer others.
Pro Tip: Leverage your next event to educate your employees on company wide goals in a way that sticks in your employee’s minds. Hungry, distracted and bored employees don’t retain (and therefore do not use) the information presented to them in ‘just another meeting’. Use a professional corporate event planner to get tried and tested ideas. Often times it is the small details that help ingrain company goals and values into your employee’s minds.
Get The Most Out Of Your Investment
Taking the time to discuss with a professional event planner what your business really wants out of the next event can make all the difference in investing wisely. Private company picnics and employee outings can be tailored for any budget and for any size company. For the cost of taking the office out to lunch, you can create an experience that they’ll never forget (and even thank you for!).
Here at Event Solutions, we know your employee appreciation events are more than just a party- they are an investment into the very core of your business. Let our specialists help you make the most out of your budget and give you all the employee appreciation benefits of a successful event.
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