Summer Celebration vs Summer Connection: An Important Milestone For Employee Retention
“Employee engagement is an investment we make for the privilege of staying in business.” Employee engagement expert, Ian Hutchinson, shares his belief that taking care of employees’ happiness is just as essential as a company’s customers and profits. We’ve read several articles and studies that share a similar sentiment yet also provide insight and even warnings about the forecasted decline in employee engagement and retention performance due to Return to Work initiatives, a shift in benefits, and a gap between employee expectations and what employers can offer. These are accompanied by significant internal budget cuts that can result in social engagements becoming more and more limited. Companies are reevaluating their spending priorities concerning maintaining company culture in order to yield successful retention and recruitment results. Among other valuable priorities - inclusion, a sense of belonging, and work-life balance are still quite high on the list to stay competitive with new hires while retaining top talent.
One of the most successful ways to address these priorities is through internal company events. However, with limited internal event budgets, a common trend is to allocate those funds for Q1 sales, marketing, or company wide off-site events in lieu of smaller seasonal celebrations each quarter. Companies are relying on the energy from a once a year gathering to sustain their team’s energy for a full 12 months. Employees really benefit from being reminded of their value more often. Energy needs to be renewed, boosted, and at the very least preserved.
In more traditional times, the mid-year blues used to be combated with a vibrant “Company Summer Picnic” designed to showcase recognition and appreciation by bringing colleagues together for fun and connection and often included their immediate families. Over the past few decades, gatherings like these have dwindled and have even gone away completely after the Pandemic.
At Bash, we feel that instead of removing the summertime social engagement, try taking a different perspective at boosting mid-year morale with an alternative format for your team centered around intentionality and inclusivity. Leveraging the celebratory nature of the summer season provides a unique opportunity for corporate events and initiatives. These can be done pretty easily in the office or remotely, with the right guidance and a little bit of budget. You can even craft experiences for employees that are inclusive of loved ones, allowing team members to share the pride and enthusiasm for their place of work with their partners, kids, friends, parents, or roommates. Therefore, creating an environment where employees are encouraged to spend more time with their inner circle, introduce them to colleagues, and provide an opportunity for families to get to know each other.
Lastly, if you are curious how a more inclusive event in the middle of the year could also be more cost-effective, engaging, and impactful…please reach out as we’d love to explore your unique needs to develop a tailored experience for your team to help them thrive year round!
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Bash Creative is an event planning company that specializes in incredible gatherings that go beyond just great design. We’re known for teasing out smart goals for your event and serve up a stylish execution that will keep your guests buzzing. Located in San Francisco, but often found in New York, Austin, Chicago, Seattle, and beyond.