10 ways to engage your employees
Employees who are engaged in their work are more likely to be committed and motivated to the core values of the employer.
Employees who are engaged in their work are more likely to be committed and motivated to the core values of the employer.
We gathered 10 ideas on how to engage your employees, each and every one works great (tested on our own company). A practice which proves how well small surprises and tokens of appreciation offered throughout the year help maintain a positive atmosphere within the company.
Check them out, apply and share your experience with us.
1. GAME ROOM (Table games (Air hockey, tennis, football))
What’s the best way to be more efficient and creative on the job than finding time for a break? A nice game room will help you with that. Office games serve as ways to get to know each other. For an introvert, a gaming area can help develop relationships with coworkers and come out of their shells. Game rooms increase productivity, job satisfaction, morale, creativity and efficiency. It helps reduce stress and frustration. A fun work environment develops a stronger sense of community and encourages collaboration.
Top 3 activities of our Game Room:
- Air Hockey – one of the most popular and enduring arcade games of recent decades.
- Table tennis – also known as Ping-Pong, the most popular racket sport globally. Requires some skills, but it’s never too late to learn.
- Table Football / Table Soccer, also called Foosball – great game to bring people together.
2. Real FIFA cards
Every person has a need to feel appreciated and valued. When employees feel appreciated, their level of commitment increases and encourages them to continue contributing to the companies’ growth.
But how do we show them our appreciation? What about real FIFA cards? Yes, the ones football players get for their merits, mentioning their level of proficiency. Except that our employees are equally important and great for us. So we prepared cards of appreciation, displaying the top qualities which each individual possesses in the vision of their team leaders. Same size and design as those FIFA grants to their players. Our team is what we treasure the most. Our employees make our company special, they are our ICONS.
3. Win-win lotteries (April Fool’s Day)
Want to lift the spirits and add some excitement to office life? Organize a Lottery!
Everyone likes to win and nobody likes losing, that’s why not everyone wants to play. But what if every participant leaves with a prize? A great solution would be a WIN-WIN Lottery.
We organized one for April Fool’s Day. Pick a number and get a prize. All rewards wrapped in bright paper and only a small, funny note next to the winning number hints at what is inside. Every number WINS! Some numbers win a Pack of Red Bull, Parsley seeds, Canned fish, or a cool toy. OK, there was no full-size Porsche Panamera or a Trip to Bali, but it was really fun! A simple game that brought so much laughter to our office.
4. Letter contests (February 14th)
Office contests can re-energize and motivate the team. Perfect moral booster that improves the overall work environment.
It is said that writing contests are a fun way to evolve your writing skills, show your hidden talent and win a nice prize.
We thought that Valentine’s Day is a good moment for such an activity, and we announced a Love Letter Contest where employees could write a phrase, a poem, or even a novel declaring their love and/or appreciation of working here. Big advantage – employees working from home could easily participate. What can I say, we sure have some secret Shakespeare and Dickens within our team.
5. IQ puzzles
Proven fact – Puzzles are great!
Solving puzzles reinforces the existing connections between our brain cells and speeds up the generation of new ones. Those effects greatly boost our thought process.
Puzzles don’t only improve your memory, problem-solving skills, and IQ score, they enhance your mood and lower your stress levels.
By the way, did you know that puzzles help build collaboration between teammates? Coworkers can puzzle together, and it improves their relationships and the ability to cooperate and teamwork.
When you are happier and less stressed, it is easier to focus. If you’re having trouble focusing on work, take a break and do a puzzle, it will reset your brain.
That’s why we gave IQ Puzzles to all our employees. A small surprise, but so pleasant and useful.
6. Friday evenings
One more way to engage your employees and give them a chance to get to know each other better is by organizing small after-work Friday Parties.
Order pizza or some other tasty snacks, organize some cocktails soft Drinks, and let’s get the party started! Wait! Just food and drinks won’t do. You’ll need a fun activity, like Board Games! Then your evenings won’t be just fun but also beneficial.
Board games improve analytic processes like memory and critical thinking, sharpen teamwork skills such as decision-making and communication. Additionally, board games motivate team bonding in a fun and relaxed environment. Our favorites are ACTIVITY, DIXIT, UNO, EXPLODING KITTENS, MAFIA and CODENAMES. There’s a huge selection of board games on the market.
And if your team is more into gambling, a Poker Night will suit you well. Just don’t play for real money, it will still be exciting and nobody will leave upset.
7. Massage day
One way to gain your staff’s hearts is to treat them with a spa momentum, without the need to leave the office.
On-Site Chair Massage (also known as Seated Massage) is one of the most popular corporate treatments provided on wellbeing days. Due to its simple application, it can be offered in a variety of environments. It can be organized in almost any space using the specially designed portable chair; easy and unobtrusive, there are no oils or creams used during the treatment, and it is administered over the clothing.
Take care of your employees, raise workplace morale and share some world-class wellness in the middle of the workday, without leaving your office.
8. Online photo contest (Halloween, Work from home office)
Photo contests are incredible for engagement and integral to corporate culture. People love to share their photos. And, when you add an amazing prize, people will campaign to make sure they win.
You can time the contest for dozens of occasions throughout the year.
Your company is forced to switch on Work From Home mode? Organize a Best Home Office contest, as we did. It helped reduce the frustration caused by new circumstances and helped employees feel a part of the team, see how their coworkers are coping with the situation.
Another idea is to run a contest that gives away a thematic photoshoot. For example, Halloween. In our Halloween photo contest employees had a chance to practice creativity, staging, and makeup skills. Some photos were funny, some were really scary. But the contest certainly added a festive mood to our routine.
9. Detox Day (Gingershots, detox juices, smoothies)
Employee well-being is a buzz phrase we’ve heard for years, but how do we make it happen? Try offering them some healthy drinks.
Everyone loves a cold glass of juice! Pineapple juice, orange juice, spinach juice – no matter the fruit or vegetable, it’s a refreshing staple. These drinks pack a lot of nutrients into small bottles.
Smoothies are also full of nutrients and flavor. They provide a power-packed start for the day, and keep you from eating junk food.
And because we are In the times when everyone is concerned about their health, we also served our teammates with ginger shots. Drinks made from concentrated amounts of ginger root, these are claimed to help ward off illness and boost your immune system.
Such small detoxifying drinks are a good start of a working day, especially after holidays. So don’t hesitate to cheer up your employees with a ginger shot, a smoothie or a fresh juice.
10. Another cultural food experience (Poffertjes, Turkish delights)
Travel is one of life’s greatest teachers and that’s what we lack the most in this hard period of our history. Thankfully there is a way to experience different cultures without leaving your own country, and you can even bring it to your office and share the experience with your coworkers. Try a foreign cuisine! Sample new, international flavors of different countries and regions.
Our first choice fell on the most popular Turkish traditional beverage – Turkish coffee. A drink so loved by employees and so different from what they are used to, from taste and the way of cooking it to its presentation. A great way to better feel the culture and lifestyle of Turkish people and together with Turkish delights it just made our day a positive one!
Our company has Dutch roots by the way. That’s why another cultural food experience that we prepared for our team was poffertjes – Little Dutch Pancakes. Poffertjes are sweet doughnut holes, served with powdered sugar and a variety of syrups. Sweet start of the day and a taste of another culture.
The year is full of interesting holidays, all you need to do is apply some imagination, observe what your employees are more interested in and think of an activity that will suit them the most.
Soon, we’ll get back with 10 more ideas that we applied in our company. So stay tuned.