Having a positive workplace culture should be every organization’s goal and establishing a social committee will help strengthen employee relationships and improve overall morale and employee satisfaction. Given our daily stresses, who doesn’t enjoy attending a fun work event or gathering?
Your social committee will typically organize most of the social events for your employees and your HR team may be involved but that doesn’t mean “fun” is removed. HR often manages the budget so approval will be required. It’s also best to check in with them on activities planned as well as timing of events.
Social gatherings at work provide opportunities for quieter employees or those that don’t typically interact to engage and get to know who they work with. This will also help people feel part of a team and valued. The more opportunities for staff to get involved and participate, the more comfortable they will feel, and relationships will start to build. Having friendly aquaintences at work can help to improve overall engagement and positively contribute to an employee’s mental well-being. Social events are also the best way to get employees to know staff in other departments, growing awareness and familiarity which in turn fosters a sense of connection for everyone who participates.
There’s no doubt your social committee can brainstorm some interesting ideas for events and activities but it’s also a great idea to conduct a staff survey. You may be surprised at the creative suggestions, and you can select those you think are appropriate and add them to your toolbox. This helps to ensure there is variety built into your social calendar. The committee can plan, and schedule events based on monthly or sesonal celebrations such as Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day, Canada day, etc., and therefore spread out the event calendar so that there is a regular cadence and always something to look forward to.
Here are a few fun activities, celebrations, and event ideas:
Organize an online photo contest:
Set up some basic rules for your contest and participants can submit their photos by email to a shared mailbox managed by the social committee. Create an online voting system where all employees can vote for their favourite photo but make sure it’s anonymous so there is no favouritism or peer pressure. Fun and creative ideas for photo contests include pet costumes, photo bombs, the great outdoors, wildlife, birds, bugs, plants, summer fun, fall colours, storm photos, etc. Decide on some fun prizes for the category and overall winners (and runners up) and include a printed photo for each entry so that all participants are rewarded with something.
Provide tasty treats and healthy snack options:
This is an easy and nice reward for staff, and you can include some junk food treats and healthy snacks for any occasion or simply turn it into a regular calendar event for each month. Organizing a cake once a month to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries can also be a nice treat and at the same time you can have a quick team huddle to acknowledge those celebrating. There are lists of National Days one can build in the calendar to make it fun and employees will appreciate the effort.
Include cultural celebrations in your monthly event calendar:
This is a great way to recognize and celebrate important dates for your culturally diverse team. It takes little effort to buy a few decorations and put them up in your lunchroom for a celebration like Chinese New Year, Nowruz or simply Canadian Immigrants Day where you get to express your appreciation for all your staff’s traditions. Volunteers representing the community or culture can provide some advice or share some experiences related to the meaning, value or purpose of the event. Perhaps you can organize a Potluck where staff bring a traditional food dish with a write up of the description. This also opens general conversations as others compare, reflect and share which helps boost morale and staff connection.
Organize outdoor activities:
When employees have an opportunity to go outside and have fun, they can easily relax and have quality time with their colleagues. You can arrange a few competitive games like ring toss, beanbag toss, ball shooting, ladder ball, etc., which are usually a hoot for everyone. Decide on a fun name for your game like “Summer Olympics” or “The xyz Company Olympiad” and make it a yearly tradition with prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. You can also organize a scavenger hunt where you split staff into teams and provide them with different clues that will lead them to search for hidden items and the first team to collect all of them wins the prize.
Organize themed events:
For special occasion like Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day you can invite staff to dress up in costumes and allow employees to vote for their favourites. Ugly sweater day is also an amusing themed day to celebrate before Xmas. Door or desk-decorating contests are fun and will certainly boost staff morale. Holiday parties on or off site are usually welcomed by staff as they get to celebrate the festivities of the season and it’s a great time to socialize. These parties may take a little more planning by the social committee. Include a few team building games like trivia (possibly even get-to-know staff trivia) or bingo will make it more lively.
Plan a few staff lunches and fun food contests:
Summer BBQ’s are ideal as it’s an opportunity to get your staff outside and socialize. Potluck lunches are also a great way to bring everyone together and enjoy a meal. Staff can be encouraged to make their favourite dish for everyone to share. You can put up a list for those wanting to participate to sign up and indicate what they want to bring. This will make it easier for the committee to top-up with anything that would make the lunch complete and consider those that have food allergies so that everyone is catered to. Perhaps arrange a few fun food contests throughout the year including chili contest, cookie-bake off, or best gingerbread house. Senior management can get involved by periodically serving lunch which is a simple and symbolic show of thanks.
Volunteering events:
Organizing volunteering events in support of a cause can lead to great bonding opportunities for staff. To celebrate earth day you can ask for volunteers to spend 20-30 minutes cleaning outside the office building or a nearby park. There are endless benefits of volunteering and staff will feel like they’ve made a difference and done a good deed. Planting trees are fun, and you can partner with Tree Canada to arrange a date for your crew to participate. There is always a shelter in need of volunteers including a community kitchen where you can offer help to cook a meal or even get a group to volunteer at an animal shelter.
When it comes to choosing social events and activities, there are countless options and endless ideas on the internet to choose from. Consider those that best fit with your company culture. Creating fun occasions at work where staff can get together will allow opportunities for friendships to develop. The more your staff get to know each other, the more they will feel connected and part of a team, helping each other and feeling more engaged at work. Your creativity and support of these activities can do wonders to help boost overall staff morale and improve productivity.
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