Yes, I am a planner. Yes, some of my friends call me Julie McCoy (Cruise Director from the TV show the Love Boat). My friends tend to look to me for: What should we do tonight? What are we going to do when we are on vacation? What show should we see?
Over the years the atmosphere and morale of wherever I worked has always been important to me. I always thought (and still do) if people are happy, they will work a little harder and communicate their smile to clients–which can only help your business grow. Over the past 3+ years at M/A/R/C, we have tried a number of company activities. Some have worked great. Some missed the boat. A number of them were surprises–from the standpoint of people really enjoying themselves.
Here are a few activities we have done with the staff and my opinion of how it went:
- Chicago softball game. The intent here was to play a coed game where no one could get hurt. A normal softball is twelve inches around; this ball is sixteen inches. The ball is lot bigger and softer and frankly the ball doesn’t travel that far. This style of softball is popular in Chicago—hence the name! We have played three years in a row and I think people have really enjoyed themselves. Grade B
- Murder mystery holiday party. I had the idea that it would be fun to go to the Gaylord Texan for a murder mystery holiday party. This turned out to be a comedy of errors: there were not enough seats for our group, the food wasn’t that good at all, the show wasn’t that funny and of course they added another group to our group (yes, we were supposed to have a private show) which was an elderly group with everyone over 75. The staff hasn’t forgotten about this experience and reminds me (thanks TA) very often. Grade D-
- Ugly tie contest. A few years ago we had an ugly tie contest with three judges. We gave everyone an opportunity in front of the office to strut their stuff on a runway highlighting their tie. Since we only did it one year I am not sure how successful it really was. Grade C
- Whirleyball. I was very , very concerned about doing this. For those of you who don’t know what whirleyball is, picture an indoor basketball court with no rim, no net, and a target on the backboard. There are two five-person teams that are trying to catch a large wiffleball with these scoops while on whirly carts (which is another name for a bumper carts). Tons of fun, and can be very physical and challenging. We did this a few weeks ago and the staff is still talking about it. Grade A+
- For the second year in a row we will have the MARCy’s. This is our version of the Academy Awards. Every year the staff makes a company video. For the past two years, we have had the entire company vote on the best performances. And so far–in year two–this has been very successful. Yes there is a red carpet, yes there are interviews, trophies and acceptance speeches and yes we are very goofy. Grade A-
Company outings can be a challenge. You have different ages, gender and interests that you need to incorporate into the activity to ensure most of the staff participates and enjoys themselves.
- What activities have worked for your company?
- What activates missed the boat?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Pat Billups says:
Having been an event planner, I understand the challenges of producing an event that everyone enjoys and participates. The most memorable party I produced was themed around grade school. It was a birthday party for three men about 50 years young. They each chose their teams from the invited guests and then competed at a variety of games familiar from their youth. Games varied from dodge ball, kick ball, and relay races. The surprise hit was pin the tail on the donkey. We nearly went hoarse and deaf encouraging our team mate or impeding the efforts of our competitors during this event. People are still talking about it more than 10 years later.
Jeffrey Lorber says:
This is a theme near and dear to my heart – Best Ever award goes not to a particular event, but to a concept:
How much money can we raise for the American Cancer Society?
We set up teams and the company awarded the winning team with paid days off. We held bake sales, cook-outs, chili contests, raffles, yard sales, book sales, you name it. (Lots of food!)
The beauty of this “event” is that it lasted for a month – so it wasn’t a one time shot, we felt great satisfaction at raising thousands of dollars for a worthy cause, everyone was able to participate and contribute, we went outside of the “office” and raised money in the community, people got pretty creative coming up with ways to raise money – and it really served to unify the company across disciplines.
This may be tough to do with multiple locations, but definitely worth the time and effort. A+
Nancy Domenichelli says:
Back in my pre-digital days, when I had a local staff of transcriptionists, I treated my nearly burned-out staff and their significant others to night out during our summer slowdown. We caravaned up to Tanglewood in the Berkshires to enjoy the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the stars. We brought our own blankets and candelabras for our lawn seats, but I also arranged with a local establishment to provide gourmet picnic baskets and a few bottles of wine. It was a lovely evening, relaxed, and not overly social–important since not everyone wants to necessarily recreate with their coworkers.
JFK, Jr’s plane went down just a few days before, so it made for some bittersweet moments. The atmosphere lent for some deep sharing, which so many of us needed to do. So it was memorable in many ways and provided the much-needed relaxation for us all.
Chau says:
The company I work for consist of about 100 employees and we know how to have fun. Top 5 memorable activities:
- The company shut down half day and went to go play paint ball.
- Went to watch the Rangers play during the day. To make it more entertaining, we had a contest on which group could accomplish the the most task: pictures with the players/mascots, getting autographs, getting onto the big screen, getting the game ball, and doing other things.
- Converted half the building into a life size monopoly board game
- Half day kickball tournament
- Easter egg hunt in the office
Lydia Player says:
I don’t host an actual company event, but I’m always looking for a fun annual activity for a client appreciation event. It must be something that appeals to a wide variety of ages & personalities.
Last summer I rented one of the theaters at the Studio Movie Grill for a private showing of the newest Harry Potter movie. I sent out the invitation 2 weeks before the movie came out and held the event 2 days after the release. The favors were ‘muggle’ mugs. We had a full house and a fun, memorable event.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Quick update on a company activity that we had yesterday. Co-ed kickball. Seemed to go over very well – people enjoyed themselves and no one got hurt during the game……Although we had a team member (FS – speedy recovery) break not one but two fingers during a company practice.
Merrill