How to Use Social Events to Improve Your Company’s Culture

Today’s guest post is by Lyndsea Montgomery.

A well thought out business model keeps goals clear and people focused, while efficient manufacturing practices minimize problems and production costs. The list of issues that influence your company is huge and it is hard to keep on top of all of them.

One such issue that can often find itself falling to the bottom of the priority list is the strengthening of company culture in a given enterprise. Company culture can be defined as the shared values and practices of the employees of a company. It can have a direct effect on the success of your business and should never be overlooked. Once you have decided on the culture you want, social events are a great way to cultivate it.

First of all, the culture needs to be the same across the entire workforce. This can be very difficult if there are various departments who only have fleeting contact with each other, e.g., factory floor workers and customer service agents.

Social events that include the entire business enable everyone to meet, socialize and get to know each other, which in turn may help with improving employee engagement. Just with this increased contact you start to affect the company’s culture. Rather than seeing themselves as individual cogs employees start to see the whole machine. Only once they feel connected will company culture become uniform and therefore easier to control.

If the idea of improving company culture has crossed your mind, look through the options you have. The most popular social events include outdoor activities, corporate breaks, group sports, team meetings, and corporate parties. By organizing a themed party, paintballing session or a mini-break for all employees, the company can demonstrate how it values its people and takes care of their physical and emotional well-being. Besides, a day out together can be a starting point to improve employee relations in general.

Even though the budget may be a restricting factor, it’s believed that a day away with plenty of activities and entertainment for all can do more for company culture than long indoor parties because travelling provides lots of opportunities for conversations and more time for relaxation. Think broadly to choose the perfect social event for your business.

Company culture in general and social events in particular have a lot to do with the way current and potential employees feel about the company. Company culture may become a make or break factor for job seekers looking for long-term employment at a prospective enterprise. Introducing regular social events and thus investing in a healthy balance between work and rest may help build a strong recruitment basis.

For the company culture to really take hold you need to have your employees on your side. If they dislike the business they work for or feel they are underappreciated by it, how will you get them to adopt the values the business stands for? Putting on an event for them helps them to feel more rewarded. The salaries they get aren’t always enough. You don’t want your employees to see their work as “just a job.” You want them to be committed and engaged to the vision the company has. Extra rewards will always help to do this. If you don’t treat them as “just workers” chances are they’ll stop seeing it as “just a job” too.

It is all essentially a matter of getting the workforce on board. Social events will let them communicate with other works better, make them feel truly part of the company and give them a great way to let off steam and relax out of office hours. Do not underestimate giving your works some fun, because the rewards can be far more positive than you think.

Photo: File:David Dubinsky and Nelson Rockefeller socialize with others..jpg by Kheel Center