We have a nice walking path outside our workplace. On sunny days I try to make an effort to invite all of my employees out on a team walk. I am able to justify this with my Sr. Management team by having it fall under our 15 afternoon break. I have seen this boost morale well. The walk increases production as many people are suffering from the 2pm sugar crash since their lunch has digested. It also creates an environment for employees to talk about their personal lives 'outside' of work. As a manager I find it is important to invite ALL direct reports so that nobody feel left out.
Posted by: Becky
04/04/12 at 12:14 PM

Keeping staff energized is the task at hand during these economic times. No raises in 4 years and still the work force is stable and professional, but not energized. Need some new ways to have FUN at work without costing a lot of money. For Nurses week we are going to have everyone fill out a form with everyone's name on it and ask them to assign one adjective that describes them and then complile the list and place it on a certificate.
Posted by: Donna S
04/04/12 at 11:55 AM

I can appreciate the questions posed on HOW do we implement this and looking for some ideas... The best way to find out the HOW and WHAT would be to ask your staff for their input- you might be surprised by the responses, in a good way! Some easy and cost effective rewards might be a special parking space for a week, a gift card to Starbucks, a "trophy" that gets passed around the office to the top performer of the month, a card or certificate with a personal thank you from you and/or the President of the company, or rewarding with and extra hour of vacation. Making work fun might be just having a random pot-luck lunch, have a decorate your desk competition, bring in balloons, make popcorn for everyone in the afternoon, tell your staff that if you meet the benchmark you'll bust out your victory dance for them! Every office and group is different, so ask THEM what THEY want!
Posted by: Nicole
04/04/12 at 11:39 AM

I can appreciate the questions posed on HOW do we implement this and looking for some ideas... The best way to find out the HOW and WHAT would be to ask your staff for their input- you might be surprised by the responses, in a good way! Some easy and cost effective rewards might be a special parking space for a week, a gift card to Starbucks, a "trophy" that gets passed around the office to the top performer of the month, a card or certificate with a personal thank you from you and/or the President of the company, or rewarding with and extra hour of vacation. Making work fun might be just having a random pot-luck lunch, have a decorate your desk competition, bring in balloons, make popcorn for everyone in the afternoon, tell your staff that if you meet the benchmark you'll bust out your victory dance for them! Every office and group is different, so ask THEM what THEY want!
Posted by: Nicole
04/04/12 at 11:23 AM

Often a Manager will send out an Email to employees asking them to contribute an idea on a given subject or respond to an inquiry. For those who do respond, they receive a $10 Dunkin Donuts card. And, to encourage others to participate, we do announce this as well. I received one, not expecting it, and was really pleased.
Posted by: Diane Duryea
04/04/12 at 10:29 AM

We instituted "Movie Hangman" to our day. One office whiteboard has it. The movie title is blanked up there and a "hint" is provided. Throughout the day we all stop by and write our alphabet guesses. Whoever solves it, is the next one to write a movie title and "hint." It is a pleasant, fun diversion that breaks up the day! Note: use group/age appropriate titles!
Posted by: LeeAnn
04/04/12 at 10:21 AM

AMEN
Posted by: Gayle Hellemn
04/04/12 at 10:09 AM

These are all great ideas, however, I would like someone to share the "HOW" of some of these. "How" to make work fun? "How" to reward? What are some ideas?
Posted by: Cheryl
04/04/12 at 10:06 AM

I send cards/notes to an employee especially when I know they are having a personal struggle of some sort. Although it may seem hard to do this all the time; it works out. It means so much to us to know that someone cares and may be praying for us during a trial we may be going thru. It is a practice that I do and I find that it means so much to the staff just to receive a note that says "I CARE!"
Posted by: Tammie
04/04/12 at 10:03 AM